Support Your Provincial Association

I have been President for almost a month now and just yesterday I was told by a past President, “Whatever plans you have set for your association in the next year, get ready for them to change because something urgent will pop up and surprise you!” My first thought was, what can happen to us as brokers that hasn’t happened already? Then I said to myself, I have seen the “pop up” happen to two past Presidents … they had to deal with major industry shifts in each term, which nationally impacted all of us. Both consumed much time and somewhat took away from their initial directives, but they worked hard to provide clarity through ongoing communication.

My point is, without our broker association, we would have been guessing on what to do for a very long time. Did you know that AMBA is a broker focused association? AMBA does so much behind the scenes for us, they make it look easy. So easy, we take it for granted.

By now, you probably know where I am going with this. One of the reasons I wanted this role was to have a say. As a practising mortgage associate, I feel I need “a say.” In this market, when business is slow and we decide to cut costs, the first thing we do is cancel our membership and drop our say. It is the start of a mortgage associate losing touch with the industry. You know what happens after that. I cannot say it any more directly­support your industry! With communication and accountability, we can begin supporting each other. We need your say. Instead of taking the time to complain about the industry, take the time to make a difference and take the time to offer positive input.

I’m excited about the future of the mortgage broker industry in Alberta. Although AMBA has a long-term vision, we’re aware there will be surprises and challenges along the way. We need your say­it is how we work together communicating as an industry that will determine how successful we can be moving forward.