I served as President of OAMB in 1994. We had just completed a “merger of equals with another mortgage group, the OMBA. This merger was the beginning of an organization of exceptional quality and power. This merger brought such talent as Armand Cosenza, Jim Nabors, Jim DeGeronimo Sr, etal. into the fold. This would be the year OAMB would take the risks and steps leading to our becoming the largest, strongest, most effective mortgage organization in the state as well as one of the strongest in the U.S... My marching orders given me by the OAMB Board was . . . Hire our first employee and set up a state office. This would require lots of money of which we had little. Armand Cosenza made his never to be forgotten (by me) statement, “Bill you put the plan in operation, I’ll get the money”. That was good enough for me; Armand isn’t given to idle comments or promises. A member offered free office space so the next step was to find the person who could run the office. This job would be formidable to an extreme. I interviewed by the dozens, hired and released three people who just didn’t have the capabilities and mental toughness the job demanded. The fourth hire would be the most fortuitous move that could have come our way. MaryEllen Addessi joined the OAMB in 1994 and I planned on up to six or seven months of learning/organizing. It took me about nine working days to figure out the best thing I could do was to Give MaryEllen the basic game plan, step back and get out of the way! The rest is history. The OAMB has been the exceptional management recipient of one of the most effective and multi talented Exec Directors in the country. She had the game plan (and in many instances made the game plan) and we never had to worry about a failure of the plan. An era has ended; MaryEllen is retiring as of June 1 ^st 2008. As she put it in advising us of her decision . . . “after 14 great years the time is right for me to walk away, I’ve got Grandchildren to spoil and a few projects I want to work on and enjoy”. I guess I was most privy to her performance, being in the same building for those 14 years and let me say this, “Don’t even think we are going to be able to replace MaryEllen . . . . FUGETTABOUTIT !   The best we can hope for is to start a new era and hope we once again get lucky. MaryEllen we all wish you the best and thank you for 14 years of excellence.

 

How could any column . . . go without including a take on the good Reverend Jeremiah Wright? This guy is a genuine Obama nightmare. I was not unlike millions of others branding him a psycho after watching the video clips. Many of the clips were truly disgraceful media tricks/partial sound bites, but he is an extreme egotist and going way overboard with his “15 minutes of fame”. Having said that, I have listened to him twice in the last few days and I can tell you for certain sure, I wouldn’t want to debate this guy on any subject, dynamic falls short of describing his persona.

 

Blah, blah, blah, blah . . . . .  could supplant my usual comments on the economy as of late. Listening to our leaders will give you an opportunity to hear whatever side of the situation you desire. Looks like a genuine Duncan yo yo mess to me! Gayle and I took a 7-day road trip in mid April. Drove down to our favorite get away spot, Ocean Isle NC. I had just bought a 1984 Chevy van to haul all our 14 grandchildren and friends around. I truly dislike cars of any vintage with the exception of the only beautiful car ever manufactured . . . the 1957 Chevrolet 2 door convertible. Anyway, the van was a cream puff and it had A CB RADIO! Our route took us down US 77, which had lots of truck traffic. Listening to these truckers talking almost made me turn around and go home to preserve our money. More than one of them announced this was their last trip; they were going to leave their truck for the finance co to pick up and hitch a ride home. Others were a bit more militant and had some stronger measures in mind. As I viewed the diesel fuel prices, they captured my spirit also. $4.25 was the norm, 100+ gallon tanks and 6 to 10 miles per gallon for these trucks truly take your breath away. A $400 fill up to get you 600 to 800 miles down the road? $1.50 per mile fuel cost, and I heard several say it cost them $1.85 per mile.

 

Ok here’s my pitch . . . . . . This gasoline thing is going to bust our tails if we don’t look it straight in the eye and root out the bad guys. Sure, the oil nations and oil companies are poking us in the eye, but try this. .. .  . Our government and the securities and exchange regulators should tomorrow morning announce, “All oil speculators and commodities traders have 60 days to unwind all their positions relating to oil forward contracts. No more trading/buying oil futures except by those companies who will actually take delivery of the oil! This would immediately create a TRUE SUPPLY AND DEMAND MARKET IN OIL. .  No more chaos and false conditions in the real availability and supply of this commodity. The oil commodities/futures market speculators represent million and millions of  barrels of supposed demand for oil that is never delivered. Contracts are simply closed out at a profit or loss, no oil changes hands. The announcement itself would be such a psychological blast that gasoline could plummet $1 in a matter of days. Will this happen? Of course not, the congress and regulators are bought and paid for by lobbyists and the investment banks would pull out all stops in seeing something like this would not happen. One of these days we are going to have to take back our country.

 

The transition at OAMB . . . . . is underway. The OAMB is just like the mortgage industry , adjusting, analyzing options, and repositioning so your association will seamlessly adapt  and be a part of creating the new rules and requirements in mortgage lending and continue to lead the way.

 

There is a Program . . . . you can use in micro-soft word that will spell check your writing, count your words, etc. it will also grade the caliber of your writing as to grade/college level . I hate to brag but . .  A year or so ago I checked my rating: it rated me at 8^th grade 4^th month. I just had this Potpourri rated and I am now writing at high school SOPHOMORE LEVEL! I am so proud .

 

Looks like the Cavs are going to have to turn up the heat if they make a run for the golden ring. The more I read of the Browns actions/moves confuse me a little but the management seems to have grown greatly over the past year. They have a REAL NFL schedule for a change, I think they will answer the bell !!!!