January 22, 2025 • 43 mins
Margaret Greczek, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Lending at Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union, offers an insider's look at the nuances of the credit union mortgage industry. Her story is one of openness and kindness, underscoring the personal connections that have propelled her success. Join ACUMA President Peter Benjamin and Margaret as they discuss unique insights on what sets her credit union apart. Creating bridges between mortgage departments and branch operations is essential, and the discussion digs into the necessity of such relationships. Communication and understanding between the branches and mortgage departments are essential. Margaret and Peter share their thoughts on how branch managers and loan specialists can foster these critical connections, leading to more robust advocacy for mortgage initiatives. With practical strategies for breaking down barriers and empowering teams, this conversation is a treasure trove for anyone interested in strengthening internal collaboration.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The views and opinions expressed in this
podcast do not necessarilyreflect the views or positions
of Acuma, its board of directors, its management staff or its
members.
The podcast discussionpresented is conversational in
nature and for generalinformation only.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hello and welcome to Actors On Point Podcast, a
series focused on sharing thestories of people who are making
a positive impact in the creditunion mortgage industry.
I'm your host, peter Benjamin.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
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Speaker 3 (01:13):
Today I'm joined by Margaret Gretzczyk, Senior Vice
President of Real Estate Lendingwith Polish and Slavic Federal
Credit Union.
Margaret, how are you doingtoday?
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I am doing well.
Thank you so much for having meon this podcast.
I'm really looking forward toit.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It is absolutely my pleasure, margaret.
I met you, I want to say,shortly after I became president
of Acuma, so almost three yearsago, we'll say two years, 10
months ago Actually, not quitethat, not quite that, but it was
at the Potomac Curin, I think.
You were visiting, because atthat point in time the tri-state
(01:51):
area didn't have its own Curinand you and I sat down at their.
I said, I guess thepost-conference, post-potomac
Curin meeting dinner, and westarted talking and I was
fascinated with your story, yourcredit union story.
I was taken aback by how openyou were and how kind you were,
(02:14):
but I was also blown away withhow your credit union really
operates and how they do thingsand against the overall story.
So I hate the fact that it'staken us so long to have you on
this podcast.
I'm excited for our conversationtoday.
This is a unique conversation,one that's near and dear to my
(02:34):
heart.
I said it to you and I'll sayit again this is a topic that I
feel as though has contributedto my success as a leader within
mortgage.
So I'm excited to get to it.
But before we do, I need to.
I need to pause, like I alwaysdo.
I need to bring Justin in Hawk.
How are you doing?
And, please, what is the latestand greatest happening over at
(02:58):
Acuma?
Speaker 5 (02:58):
I'm good, peter.
How are you Live in the dream?
That is awesome, you know.
For a moment I actually thoughtthat you were not going to say
the hawk.
It kind of stalled and I waslike, oh, it's not coming.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
No, I upset him today .
I can't go a pod and not saythe hawk, because now that
Maddie found the hawk screechand we have that, that sound
clip it's.
And one thing now, and now thatwe also know that it kind of
gets underneath crystal skin weare just going to keep saying it
(03:32):
.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
Do you feel her eyes like staring at you right now?
Oh my god, yes, yes, yes thereyou go.
Well, it's been cold.
It's January, it's cold, buteven it's cold.
But even though it's cold,we've been super busy getting
our next in-person event ready,so registration recently opened
(03:55):
up for our Viewpoint RegionalSummit, which is going to be
held this year in Pensacola,florida, so warmer temperatures
are on the horizon.
That's the only thing I keepthinking is it's cold right now,
but Florida's got sunshine thisyear.
The event's going to be April8th and 9th, so it is a little
bit different.
Not only are we going to offerexceptional educational content
(04:18):
that we have planned for you,which the agenda is coming
together and looks absolutelyamazing, but we also have
included some amazingexperiences also for you to take
in, with the Acuma team, Ithink.
This year we're going to theBlue Wahoos, which is a minor
league baseball game.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
I'm actually looking forward to it.
I mean, again, it's not a crazyidea, but I think our pivot.
We've always wanted to doexperience-based learning.
We couldn't figure out how toexecute upon it.
You know, really the how andthe what and really the, the
setting to do it, and thesummits just ended up being the
(04:57):
right format to do it, or thiswould end up being the summit.
I think it's gonna be perfect.
You know, know, really, it'sgoing to be, you know, the half
day on Tuesday where everyonecomes in.
They'll, they'll come in,they'll have lunch, we'll have
an afternoon content, we'll goto the baseball game and then
(05:17):
we'll reconvene the next day fora full day of content.
So it's going to be probablyone of the best events that we
put on all year.
We have this amazing I don'twant to call it.
I guess I'm gonna call it aparty deck.
A party deck, yeah Right, yep.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
Is that fair?
Is that fair?
Speaker 3 (05:34):
to call it a party deck.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
I mean anywhere Acuma goes, it's a party.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
So, yeah, we got a party deck at the Blue Wahoo
Stadium that overlooks the waterRight.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
Yeah, and I mean you can't beat.
You can't beat looking at theocean.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I'm just, by the way, I love minor league baseball
games.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
There's so much more I love baseball, but something
about minor league, it's justthat it's a different game Like
we're still trying to make it.
Yeah, it's like going to acollege football game.
They're still trying to make itfor that contract, so they got
something to play for.
Well, we look forward to seeingall you guys out there for that
.
But if you can't make it out,don't worry.
(06:13):
We have educational content foryou to take in all year round
with our Fast Track and InsideTrack webinar series.
And then we'll also have our OnPoint podcast, which runs every
two weeks, so new episodes arealways dropping.
And then we'll also have our OnPoint podcast, which runs every
two weeks, so new episodes arealways dropping.
And then, lastly, the YoungProfessional Network meeting is
going to be having their Q1meeting in February.
More information coming on thatsoon.
(06:35):
And if you're not part of YoungProfessional Network and you've
been looking for that networkfor you to join with Acuma, we
have more networks that arelaunching this year and we can't
wait to unveil those to youguys in the near future.
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Yeah, All right, Margaret, backto you so you know before we
get to.
You know really the heart ofour conversation.
You know I always start withthis, I always start and end
with really the same questions,and so I'm going to start with
my opening question and Ipreface it with the same preface
(07:12):
.
The Atkins On Point podcast isa people piece where we tell the
stories of people who aremaking a positive impact on
industry.
I said that in my intro.
I want people to know who youare because I, like I said, I
met you almost three years agoand I was blown away by your
story.
I think you're doing somethingspecial at Polish and Slavic,
(07:36):
and so, for those who do notknow you, and so for those who
should know who you are, do me afavor, Before we dive into our
conversation, know who you are.
Do me a favor, Before we diveinto our conversation, walk us
through who Margaret is.
So, who is Margaret?
Tell us that.
Let's go with that first.
That's the first question.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Thank you, peter.
Well, first of all, I alwaysconsider myself work in progress
.
There's so much more to improveon.
So I am learning every day as Igo, especially in my
professional career because, aswe know, lending is an ongoing,
ever-changing industry and thereis so much to learn.
(08:14):
My background I've been withPolish Slavic for 28 years.
This was my part-time job, ifyou will, during college and
then it just evolved more andmore and I loved it so much that
I stayed and I started from thevery bottom.
I was member servicerepresentative back in the day,
then assistant loan officer,loan officer, mortgage processor
(08:36):
, underwriter, supervisor,manager.
Now I'm currently senior vicepresident of mortgage lending,
currently Senior Vice Presidentof Mortgage Lending.
I oversee entire residentiallending departments.
So processing, closing,underwriting and all that good
stuff.
So I would consider myself aseasoned mortgage professional.
(08:59):
Polish and Slavic.
A little bit of background ofour credit union we are
ethnic-based credit union.
We're the largest ethnic-basedcredit union.
We serve Polish and Slaviccommunity.
We were established in 1976 forPolish immigrants in Brooklyn
who had the money but couldn'tget a mortgage anywhere because
(09:19):
they did not fit the traditionalcookie cutter mortgage borrower
, if you will.
So our credit union wasestablished just for that sole
purpose, and ever since thenwe've been serving the Polish
and Savvy community, doing justthat and helping them achieve
(09:39):
the ultimate American dream, andputting people in homes.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Okay, that's great.
Thank you for sharing that.
All right, so let's dive intothe conversation, because, again
, it's one of my favorite topicsand again, I said it earlier,
it's something that I feel aidedin my success when I was a
senior vice president oversaw,you know, entire mortgage
(10:04):
division for a credit union andit was actually, even when I
think back to when I was in thecommunity banks, it's something
that aided in my success at acommunity bank.
But and it was one of theactually one of the first things
that I changed when I steppedinto my role as senior vice
president I so one of the firstthings I ensured that we changed
(10:24):
and improved when I took overthat role, but it was the
mortgage department and branchrelationship.
And when you sent me and just soeveryone knows, prior to our
recordings, I always send thisemail to all of our special
guests and it's like, hey, whatdo you want to talk about?
And when you said, hey, let'stalk about creating an open
(10:47):
dialogue between branch andmortgage and how we strengthen
that relationship, I was like,yes, that is the perfect
conversation, let's talk aboutthat.
So let's have this conversation.
So, margaret, in your mind, Idon't want to ask a stupid
question, but I'm going to ask astupid question.
Why is this so important inyour mind?
I don't want to ask a stupidquestion, but I'm going to ask a
(11:07):
stupid question.
Why is this so important inyour mind?
Let's start with that stupidquestion, and then we'll kind of
go from there.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Well, first of all, I don't think it's a stupid
question, I think it's animportant question and I feel
that often lending departmentsor mortgage department whatever
you want to call it is seen asan island at the credit union.
There is no bridges to it and Ireally feel that no one wants
to be on an island and no onewants to be seen as an island.
(11:34):
You want to have bridges andnot only one.
You want to have multiplebridges and you want to have
that open conversation sobranches understand what
mortgage department struggleswith and mortgage department can
understand what branchesstruggle with, because if there
is no understanding between thetwo, it's very hard to work
(11:57):
together.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Agreed, agreed.
And if I could add to that, isthat for me, I also viewed it as
if I could have one moreadvocate in my corner right.
That was one more person thatwould help in my fight for that
one more product or that onemore system, because, let's say,
(12:22):
hypothetically speaking, I wantit.
Construction lending, easyexample.
You know, if I could easily say, well, you know, I want to get
construction lending, let'sinvest in, you know, this
construction software.
Or let's start investing in,you know, really doing our due
diligence and developing aconstruction loan program, I
would at least have, you know,the head of branch ops say you
(12:44):
know what.
He's right, our members areasking for this.
I'm hearing it from my branchmanagers.
They're giving me that directfeedback because I built that
relationship, because they'reactually actively listening for
it, because I've trained them tolisten for it.
We have that open dialogue.
I have those advocates in thatnetwork, right, I was out there
(13:09):
meeting with them once a month,training them, and they loved it
.
They absolutely loved it, Iagree.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Yeah, I, I, um, I attend.
They have a quarterly meetingsin person.
I attend those meetings everyquarter.
I make myself available to goto their branch manager meeting
and I listen to their struggles,I listen to their successes.
Also, it's not always negative.
There's a lot of positive.
There's more positive thannegative.
(13:36):
But by me understanding what isgoing on in the branch level
every day, I can come back to mydepartment and communicate that
with my department, because Ifeel like if the mortgage
processor knows what's going onat the branch, what promotion
they're having, that there mightbe busy at a certain time
(13:56):
because there are certain thingsgoing on.
I think it's also a betterrelationship between the two.
Our structure currently is thatour mortgage applications are
taking at the branches.
We have loan specialists.
We don't have true loanofficers yet.
We have loan specialists andthey all sit at the branches.
(14:17):
So a loan specialist will notonly do a mortgage but they will
also take a consumer loan.
They'll take a visa application.
Consumer loan, they'll take avisa application.
So there needs to be anunderstanding from my department
that they also have a verylarge array of products that
they have to know and justbecause something is missing on
mortgage application.
(14:37):
It doesn't mean that someone issloppy, it means that we're
probably busy taking care of amember with other things.
So I think that is veryimportant to stress to the back
office that you know they'refrontline, they're member facing
people and they will have thephone calls that have a line in
front of their desk and theyhave to take care of all that.
(14:59):
And there must be understandingfrom the back office what the
frontline sees and takes care ofevery day.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
So the loan specialist, just out of
curiosity, who do they report to?
Speaker 4 (15:10):
They report to the branch manager.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
The branch manager.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
And they obviously have their MLS.
Yes, they do so they're part ofbranch ops.
I guess they're completelydifferent than like a assistant
branch manager.
They're just a general.
I guess in the banking world ifyou were looking at, I guess
they'd completely different thanlike a like a assistant branch
manager.
They're just a general.
I guess in the banking world ifyou were looking at, I guess
it'd be like a private bankeralmost something like that.
Yes, okay okay, and all they dois just take loan applications
(15:38):
all day long yeah, well, notonly they open accounts, they
take consumer loans.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
They're just usually they're um, they're more
seasoned, if you will memberservice representatives who have
more knowledge and they'recapable of taking mortgage
applications.
And you know, by takingmortgage applications I feel
like it's a very loose termthey're really taking leads,
they're filling out theapplication form, they take
whatever the member brings in,they forward it to the back
(16:06):
office and then our processorsultimately work as an assistant
loan officer, if you will.
They get all the missing dataor missing paperwork, they're in
contact with our members andwhatnot.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
So that makes the relationship between you, as in
the mortgage department, andbranch even more important,
because they're pulled inmultiple different directions.
They don't report to you, right?
It's completely different ifyou have a mortgage loan officer
going in and trying to train anMSR or a branch manager on hey,
(16:44):
this is mortgage, sell thisproduct, right.
That's a different animal right.
And know that's a differentanimal right.
And that was a structure that Ihad, right, I had a loan
officer assigned to a branch andthey would do their best to
train an MSR, to listen forthese cues, right.
And then, once you hear thiscue, call me and I'll come
running.
Or same thing with a branchmanager or assistant branch
(17:04):
manager.
But for you that relationshipis pivotal.
You need to make sure thatthere's always an open line of
communication between those twoparties, Because if there's not,
the last thing you want ishaving any type of fight between
branch ops and mortgage,Because in my experience, branch
(17:26):
is always going to win.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Oh, 100%.
Yes, I agree, and I mentionedbefore I attend branch managers
meeting.
But I go further.
I visit branches.
I go and visit branches inperson and I talk to our loan
specialists.
I even talk to our MSRs andtellers that they don't work
with me every day, on dailybasis, but I feel like if people
(17:50):
know you face to face, they arenot shy to call you with a
question or they're not shy tocall you if they have a
challenge.
And I really like coming into abranch where they know me and
they can come up to me and theycan talk to me and I know their
stories, you know, because ifyou have that, that just creates
(18:12):
open dialogue and opencommunication.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Now, you have a lot of, you have a good number of
branches and you also have somebranches in like the Chicago
area, right, are you going outthere?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Yes, we have 23 branches.
We have New York, new Jersey,connecticut, pennsylvania and
Illinois, and I do travel toIllinois to visit them.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Yes, that's good, that's good.
I mean that's a lot for you totake on.
Do you have any support withthat?
I mean because I mean, as thehead of mortgage, I mean that's,
that responsibility can't justbe on you.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Well, I do have support.
I have a lending manager thatreports to me.
She comes with me.
So sometimes we'll split She'llgo to one branch and I'll go to
the other, but then we'll flipflop and I don't visit them very
often.
I try to visit them once,maximum twice, a year in person,
but I do call them.
We have branch managers, are onthe call with me constantly.
(19:13):
We have conversations.
They all have my cell phone.
If they need support afterhours, they know they can always
go and I will pick up and Iwill answer their question,
whatever it may be.
Sometimes they have a veryurgent pre-approval that needs
to be, you know, taken care ofright away and the underwriters
already left home.
(19:33):
I will get on our LOS and Iwill issue them a pre-approval
if it's necessary.
So, and I feel like if theyknow they have that support,
like you mentioned at thebeginning, they will also back
me up if I need something and ifI need their support.
So I really think open line ofcommunication is the key in that
(19:54):
relationship.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Justin, you leaned in .
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Oh yeah, I mean, I just think it's amazing because
I mean you talk about the openlines of communication and
you're making these branch trips, these visits.
I think that's the pivotalmoment for you, like the
communication, like you can't,you can't deny that, that that
matters as much, right.
But there there's something tobe said.
When you're walking into thebranches and saying, hey, I'm
(20:19):
here to support you, you cansupport me, let's make this, you
know, let's make these dreamscome true, right.
So I love that you're out theredoing that.
You said you have 23 branchesin Chicago.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
No, no, no, Overall, no Overall.
We have 23 branches.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
I was like, oh my gosh, how do you do that in a
day or two?
I just imagine you running fromone side of Chicago to the
north side and I'm like there's,there's no way.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
No way, no, no.
Chicago we have currently seven, and I usually take about four
days when I go visit them,because I don't want to just pop
in and say hi and then 10minutes later I'm leaving.
I usually try to stay therehalf a day, talk to people you
know, see what's going on, andthat way they get to know me a
(21:04):
little bit as well.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Yeah, I mean you're investing your time in them and
letting them know that you'rethere.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Yep Exactly.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
That's awesome so so has there been any tripping
points when you on this journeyto build this strong
relationship?
You know when I say trippingpoints, you know stumbling
blocks along the way, push backfrom the branches or or has this
just been a natural progressionfor you to get to this point?
Where they're?
(21:31):
They're, they've just acceptedyou.
It would tell us about that,because for me, you know and I'm
sort of telling you about mystory there was some initial
pushback.
There wasn't the, the initialacceptance of, you know, you
know p, here he's, he's going tohelp us out there.
There was, it was always thewhat's he doing in here, you
(21:51):
know why is he here?
Because there's, there's that.
There's always that hesitant,at least from from my experience
.
There was that initialhesitation, but then they saw
there's always.
There was that, that, thatwhiff and what's in it for me,
and I started training them.
I started teaching them and Istarted showing them.
I'm here to support you just asmuch as you're here to support
me.
We're in this together.
I have your back just as muchas you have my back.
(22:14):
We're a team.
Was there any pushback, wasthere any hesitation before they
started accepting you for whoyou are, margaret?
Speaker 4 (22:21):
They really wasn't.
I think they have the way Iapproached it.
I would, when I start doingthis, I would call up certain
branch managers and say, hey, Iwant to come visit you guys just
to see what's going on.
How can we work together closer, you know, so I can meet your,
you know your staff in person,so they're not reluctant to call
(22:43):
me because you know I'm in thelending department, far, far
away, you know, and I may be toobusy to pick up the phone,
because that's the stigma.
If, once you get a certain titleand you're in certain positions
some people who are, if youwill, you know they're an MSR,
they have a manager they will bereluctant to call me because
(23:04):
they might think, you know, oh,I can't call this person because
they're, you know, there mightbe too busy, this or that.
So I just want to remove allthat stigma and I just wanted to
see, I wanted them to see thatthey can call me and they can
talk to me, no matter, you know,how silly they think the
question is or no matter howsilly their problem is.
(23:26):
So when I reached out to them,they were very welcoming, they
were excited and till this day,whenever I call them and say hey
, I'm coming to your area andI'm going to visit your branch.
They're very excited.
They make sure their staff isthere that day, because we work
six days a week so obviouslysomebody has a day off during
the week so they make surewhoever takes mortgages they're
(23:49):
in office that day so I can seethem and talk to them and chat.
So I really did not.
Luckily I did not have anypushback.
It was well received fromeverybody because I think they
saw the value of having thatopen conversation, especially
face to face, that you know theycan get something from it too,
(24:11):
that we can work together.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Now are you performing like regular
trainings with them, whetherit's virtual?
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Yes, we have.
I try to do in-person training,in-person training once a year
and then we train as needed aswe go.
Certain branches might needmore training, others have less
training because they have moreseasoned employees.
So we just, you know, we pickand choose.
(24:39):
Whoever needs more training, wewill put them, pull them aside
and train them.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Now, from a structure standpoint, is it, do branch
managers and assistant branchmanagers and loan specialists
have MLSs, or is it just loanspecialists?
Speaker 4 (24:54):
It depends on the branch.
Some managers have MLS, othersdon't.
I would say it's about 50 50.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
And so pretty much everyone is.
So is the normal MSR gettingtrained to listen for cues?
Is the normal MSR gettingtrained to listen for cues?
Speaker 4 (25:10):
For cues?
Yes, but then they will.
You know, they will refer thatborrower to the actual loan
specialist.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Of course.
Yeah, I think that's important,right?
Because I can't tell you howmany credit unions I talk to
where they say MSRs don't needto go through mortgage training,
and I tend to disagree becausethat is such a vital component,
right, why wouldn't you trainthem on mortgage?
Because the last thing you wantis for them not to understand
(25:41):
or listen for something like aborrower's talking about needing
some additional cash for a homeimprovement.
Well, if a borrower says that,why wouldn't you want them to
hear that and immediately say,well, we have a loan officer in
the next room or a loanspecialist in the next room.
I can refer you over to them,right?
Like that is a cue that theyshould be listening for, to say,
(26:05):
okay, well, there's a HELOC ora cash out refinance, although
cash out refinances, you know,depending on how you look at it,
may or may not be coming back,but still that is something that
they need to be trained tolisten for.
So I come from the school ofthought that everyone within the
organization needs to betrained on mortgage.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
I agree 100%.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
So I think that's that.
That's, that's huge now.
Now I think I'm gonna ask aquestion from a marketing
standpoint.
I know justin's gonna like thiswe're finally talking marketing
from a marketing standpoint,like are you going there and
kind of walking, walking in, andare your branches comfortable
with you?
(26:47):
Openly marketing mortgage inthe branches.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
Oh, yes, absolutely.
They have flyers aboutmortgages, they have window
displays about mortgages.
Yes, our marketing departmentis 100% behind mortgages and
they work with us and wedefinitely advertise our
mortgages at every single branch.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
I'm just saying, I mean it's awesome, but you know
what?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
I'm talking about Justin.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
It's the old school frame of thinking that you know
sales and marketing have thiswall built between them, that it
takes two very special peopleone person from the sales side
and I know that's not that'slike a faux pas word in credit
unions, but being able to offercredit unions or offer mortgages
(27:40):
.
But then it takes a person onthe marketing side to be like
they know they're, they knowtheir members, they know what
their members are asking themfor.
Now I need to be willing tolisten and you guys are coming
together, you're crossing thatyou're, you're breaking down
that wall.
I mean it's it's a it's an ageold conversation that we in the
marketing field have all thetime about breaking down that
(28:00):
wall between us and thesalespeople, because it that's
how you bridge the gap, that'show you move the needle forward.
So the fact that your creditunion is doing that, I mean we
hear all the time the completeopposite is that it's not as big
of a focus.
And it's not as big of a focuseither one, because there's
(28:20):
someone that's not advocating,like you are, for mortgage,
which I don't find that to betrue, because all of our members
are super advocates formortgage.
But then it's the other side ofit, where, you know, maybe
marketing just doesn't see whatthey, what you're seeing,
they're not seeing the visionthat you're putting out, and so
I think it's cool that yourcredit union is, you know, ahead
(28:40):
of the game.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
And it's such a.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
I mean, listen, we lend mortgage around, right, and
it is such.
Again, I always say it's such acornerstone division of any
financial institution.
It is a pillar, it is somethingthat can hold up and strengthen
any credit union.
Why wouldn't you market it yearround, right?
(29:02):
And it needs to be on at leastone wall constantly.
And Justin, you know what I'mtalking about.
You were there how many times.
It's just a constant fight,right?
Speaker 5 (29:17):
Yeah, I mean I remember many emails from you.
No, I mean it was fun when wewere doing it.
We saw the vision.
It's exactly what I'm saying.
Like we saw that vision.
You know, I did.
I did a lot of design sportsback then and it was kind of one
(29:38):
of those things.
It was like well, you know, Iwant to make sure that
everybody's getting some love,and so like, even from a social
perspective, like we had, Ithink I did mortgage Mondays or
something like that.
So like every Monday on social,something went out about the
mortgage department, right, justjust so that way everybody got
some love, and it was just, itwas to make sure that you know
(30:00):
one line of business isn't beingforgotten.
Like everybody needs to knowall the different options that
are out there for yourmembership.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
You know, like, what your credit union offers, and so
yeah, but it's important, right, and I think that's good that
you got that, margaret yourcredit union isn't forgetting
about mortgage and branchbecause, again, like Justin said
, we talked to a lot of creditunions and they're fighting for
space, yeah, and I think it's atestament to your relationship
(30:31):
with your branch ops, your head,your head of branch ops,
because they're, again, it'sabout being your advocate.
It's about them saying, becauseit's not just advocating for
mortgages or actually being youradvocate, it's I hate to say
it's a political game, but it'svery much political.
They're saying Margaret's great, margaret supports us.
(30:54):
I'm going to support Margaret.
Speaker 5 (30:57):
But that goes back to you're in the branches, like
you are making that appearance,right, like as much as we don't
want to be, like you got to playthe game, like you're not going
to get as much love if you justif you're a ghost, or if it's
just me, me, me, me, me, yeah.
So, um, but I also you you madea comment earlier that I really
um, that was pivotal as well aswhich is that you know you were
(31:19):
saying that you know sometimesthe, the, the person at the
member service representative orthe member representative
sometimes doesn't go to youdirectly because they might have
a manager in front of them, andthen, like you're out there
educating them to come to youdirectly, right, and it's like
really just breaking down that,that old school organizational
structure, that old school frameof thought.
(31:40):
So I think that that's alsogreat that you're out there
doing that too, hands downabsolutely, absolutely well,
margaret, when you starttransitioning um to our second
segment.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
but before we do, like I said earlier, I start
with the same question and I'mgoing to end with the same
question that I always end with,and that question is you know
what motivates you?
You know, you take one foot outof bed every single day, and
you take one step out of bedevery single day.
What keeps driving you, day inand day out, to get better,
(32:10):
every single day?
What is that motivation?
Speaker 4 (32:12):
I want others to be successful.
I want them to know where tohave the resources to get the
knowledge that they need inorder to strive at their jobs.
I just want somebody once toldme a great quote a great leader
works themselves out of theirown job because they're able to
(32:35):
teach everybody around them whatthey know, and that's what I
strive for every day.
I come into the office and Iwant to teach somebody something
new.
I want to learn something new,but I also want to, you know,
provide insights of what I knowto others to make their jobs
easier.
So that is my main motivationto make everybody else's lives
(32:58):
around me easier as much as Ican.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
That's awesome.
I love it and that's a goodquote.
That is a great quote.
Thank you very much for sharingthat.
Well, margaret, it's time forus to transition to the second
segment of our show.
Now, the second segment of ourshow is where we sometimes play
Jeopardy, we do trivia, orsometimes we do the most
requested segment of dad jokes,only by Peter.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
There are plenty of people whorequest dad jokes, but today
(33:26):
we're doing Justin's favoriteJeopardy, so bear with me one
second while I share my screen.
Where's my mouse?
There it is.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
I'm going to share my screen.
You said my favorite, though,Like you made that sound serious
, we're doing Justin's favoriteJeopardy Justin's favorite
Jeopardy.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
So, as I always do, I'm going to describe what's on
my screen, because obviously youcan't see this.
This is only an audio podcastbut on my screen we have a
Jeopardy board with scoresranging from one to 505
categories.
Today we're doing New York CityJeopardy, knowing that Polish
(34:03):
and Slavic is located in the NewYork City area, but I also
selected because New York Cityhappens to be Justin's favorite
place in the world right, justinPlace in the world.
Speaker 5 (34:14):
Yeah, it's my favorite, one of my favorite
places in the US, for sure, okay, well, so you always talk about
it like ooh, we should go there.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Ooh, we should go there.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
I mean I do love New York, like don't get me wrong.
But so we're doing that.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Plus, it was really hard to figure out what type of
Jeopardy we should do, so I waslike I kind of got lazy, so I
apologize.
I was like New York CityJeopardy, done All right, so I'm
going to just go ahead anddescribe it again.
We have a standard Jeopardyboard in front of you.
The categories are did you know?
Buildings, parks, what else doyou know?
And important landmarks.
(34:49):
Points range anywhere from 100to 500.
For the sake of this game,margaret, you are team one,
justin, you are team two.
Now, margaret, I am not strictabout you.
Do not have to answer who iswhat is, or anything like that.
You just have to say it.
Now, one thing I am strictabout if you get it wrong, I do
(35:10):
take points away pretty quickly,and if you try stealing and you
get it wrong, I am viciousabout taking points away.
So don't steal unless youactually know the answer.
Okay, okay, so, and don't justblurt out answers, because I
take points away.
Um, I am a vicious scorer, sokeep that in mind.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
Okay, justin knows that yep, oh, and also that 500
is extremely hard usually, justso you know or sometimes they're
actually really stupidly easyfor some strange reason, I know
and also full disclaimer etc.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Full, full disclosure again.
I did not make up this jeopardyboard but, as always, I had to
get that disclaimer.
So, Margaret, you are ourhonored guest.
You get to go first.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Please go ahead, I will take the first one.
Did you know for 100?
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Did you know for 100?
, Margaret?
The question is New York Citywas originally named blank by
the Dutch.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Oh, I don't know this , the York.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
I get my my mouse over the minus real quick.
Justin, you want to steal?
No, all right, I'm going to goand say New Amsterdam.
The correct answer is what isNew Amsterdam?
Sorry, morgan, I'm takingpoints away.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
It's OK.
I have a feeling I'll be in bignegatives.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
All right, justin, you're up.
Speaker 5 (36:32):
I'm go with parks for 300 parks 300.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
This park has over 58 miles of walkways and 632
different types of trees centralpark.
The correct answer is what iscentral park.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
That's good, because if there was another one I was
going to be really confused.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
All right, Margaret.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Let's do buildings for 100.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Buildings 100.
This building is named after afamous car company.
It also has six levels ofstainless steel arches Chrysler
building.
The correct answer is what isChrysler building.
The correct answer is what isthe Chrysler building.
Good job, Margaret.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Yeah, I got one Back to zero yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
All right, Justin.
Speaker 5 (37:21):
We're going to go with.
What else do you know for 400?
Speaker 3 (37:24):
What else do you know for 400?
The storm that hit New YorkCity last year.
Speaker 5 (37:37):
The storm.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
What is rain?
There's no date on this either.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
No, there's not.
So what is rain?
Speaker 3 (37:54):
I can't wait.
Margaret, do you want to steal?
Speaker 4 (37:57):
nope, I don't know which storm they're referring to
the correct answer is HurricaneSandy this is really old that
was not last year wasn't thatrain.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
There's rain involved with that, oh God.
Okay, that was good.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
All right, Margaret, you're up.
Speaker 4 (38:22):
Okay, let's do buildings 400.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Buildings 400?
.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:26):
Buildings.
Yeah, okay, the name of thecastle in Central Park.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
That's a wrong question.
You said 400 or 100?
Yeah, butings.
Yeah, okay, the name of thecastle in Central Park.
That's the wrong question.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
You said 400 or 100?
.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
You said buildings.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Oh, my part, my fault .
Buildings 400.
This museum has art from allover the world, as well as
antique and ancient artifacts.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
It could be between the two Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
Speaker 5 (38:51):
Justin, you want to steal Nope, that one's here in
DC.
Oh wait, there's one in NewYork too.
I'm not stealing.
No, yeah, I am the NaturalHistory Museum.
I think that's here in DC.
That's my answer.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
The correct answer is what is the Met?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Good job, Margaret.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
Sorry, Justin.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
Justin okay.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
We're going to go with not what else do you know?
Let's go.
Let's go with Parks for 500.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Parks 500.
The name of this park, which isbuilt above New York City
Public Library's undergroundarchives.
Speaker 4 (39:34):
I don't know.
I might know this one, but I'llbe up zero.
No, I'll be at negative, butI'll try.
Speaker 5 (39:39):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (39:41):
The Bryant Park.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
I bet it is that one.
I was trying to think whichpark was over there, but I
couldn't remember.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
The correct answer is what is the Bryant Park?
All right, At the end of ourcurrent round, we have Margaret
with 900 and Justin withnegative 1,000.
Okay, we're going to do onemore round and then we're going
to wrap.
How are you?
Speaker 5 (40:05):
feeling, justin?
You know I'm going to start theyear off 0-1.
How are you feeling, justin?
You know I'm going to start theyear off 0-1.
Speaker 4 (40:16):
I didn't have a New Year's resolution to not lose
Jeffery this year.
Important landmarks 200.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Important landmarks 200.
The financial section of thecity.
Speaker 4 (40:26):
What is that question ?
Wall Street?
I assume that's the answer.
Wall Street, Justin, do youwant to steal?
Speaker 5 (40:34):
No, I'm pretty sure she's right.
Speaker 3 (40:39):
What is Wall Street?
There we go.
What kind of question is that.
Speaker 5 (41:00):
Well, okay, I cannot win, so let's go big um with you
know the whole, did you knowshould be like a gimme, but it's
not.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
uh, important landmarks for 500 this area of
new york city is home towashington square, the
mcdonald's sullivan's gardenshistoric district and new york
university.
Um is home to Washington Square, the McDonald Sullivan Gardens
Historic District in New YorkUniversity.
Speaker 5 (41:15):
Manhattan, yep Manhattan.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
Nope, I like my winnings right now.
Speaker 5 (41:23):
We're going with Manhattan.
The correct answer is which isalso in Manhattan?
I was right.
I'm not giving it to you.
I was right.
Yes, it is, you're right.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
You're right, thank you, I'm not giving it to you.
I am not giving it to you thecorrect answer is Greenwich
Village.
Speaker 5 (41:40):
So just for the record, two of my answers were
correct that I got negatives for, okay, rain and Manhattan.
Speaker 4 (41:48):
Yep, you're right, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Okay're right, I'm with you.
Ok, all right.
At the end of New York CityJeopardy, we have Margaret with
a score of eleven hundred andJustin with a score of negative
fifteen hundred.
Margaret, congratulations, youofficially won this episode of
New York City, or Acumazon PointJeopardy.
(42:11):
Well done, well done.
Speaker 5 (42:13):
Thank you.
Thank you Want to knowsomething, though Not my worst.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Not, definitely not his worst, nowhere near his
worst.
Well, margaret, thank you somuch for joining us.
We really do appreciate it,enjoyed our conversation.
You are amazing and thank youfor being such an important part
of the credit movement.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.
Thank you to Acuma for all thesupport and I'm looking forward
to the next event and seeing youin person at Acuma.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, and Hawk,thank you.
Thank you, it was my pleasure,of course, of course, and to
close out, thank you again toPolygon Research for sponsoring
today's episode and to all ofyou.
We know your time is valuable.
Thank you for tuning in to thelatest episode of ACMA's On
Point Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time.
Be well, my friends.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time at theACMA On Point Podcast.
If not already, be sure tosubscribe and give us a
five-star rating For more greatepisodes and information.
Be sure to visit us online atacumaorg and to get the latest
updates, head over to ourLinkedIn page.
The views and opinions expressed in this
podcast do not necessarilyreflect the views or positions
of Acuma, its board of directors, its management staff or its
members.
The podcast discussionpresented is conversational in
nature and for generalinformation only.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hello and welcome to Actors On Point Podcast, a
series focused on sharing thestories of people who are making
a positive impact in the creditunion mortgage industry.
I'm your host, peter Benjamin.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Before we get to our episode, just a quick word from
our sponsor.
This episode is sponsored byPolygon Research.
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(01:01):
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Speaker 3 (01:13):
Today I'm joined by Margaret Gretzczyk, Senior Vice
President of Real Estate Lendingwith Polish and Slavic Federal
Credit Union.
Margaret, how are you doingtoday?
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I am doing well.
Thank you so much for having meon this podcast.
I'm really looking forward toit.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It is absolutely my pleasure, margaret.
I met you, I want to say,shortly after I became president
of Acuma, so almost three yearsago, we'll say two years, 10
months ago Actually, not quitethat, not quite that, but it was
at the Potomac Curin, I think.
You were visiting, because atthat point in time the tri-state
(01:51):
area didn't have its own Curinand you and I sat down at their.
I said, I guess thepost-conference, post-potomac
Curin meeting dinner, and westarted talking and I was
fascinated with your story, yourcredit union story.
I was taken aback by how openyou were and how kind you were,
(02:14):
but I was also blown away withhow your credit union really
operates and how they do thingsand against the overall story.
So I hate the fact that it'staken us so long to have you on
this podcast.
I'm excited for our conversationtoday.
This is a unique conversation,one that's near and dear to my
(02:34):
heart.
I said it to you and I'll sayit again this is a topic that I
feel as though has contributedto my success as a leader within
mortgage.
So I'm excited to get to it.
But before we do, I need to.
I need to pause, like I alwaysdo.
I need to bring Justin in Hawk.
How are you doing?
And, please, what is the latestand greatest happening over at
(02:58):
Acuma?
Speaker 5 (02:58):
I'm good, peter.
How are you Live in the dream?
That is awesome, you know.
For a moment I actually thoughtthat you were not going to say
the hawk.
It kind of stalled and I waslike, oh, it's not coming.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
No, I upset him today .
I can't go a pod and not saythe hawk, because now that
Maddie found the hawk screechand we have that, that sound
clip it's.
And one thing now, and now thatwe also know that it kind of
gets underneath crystal skin weare just going to keep saying it
(03:32):
.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
Do you feel her eyes like staring at you right now?
Oh my god, yes, yes, yes thereyou go.
Well, it's been cold.
It's January, it's cold, buteven it's cold.
But even though it's cold,we've been super busy getting
our next in-person event ready,so registration recently opened
(03:55):
up for our Viewpoint RegionalSummit, which is going to be
held this year in Pensacola,florida, so warmer temperatures
are on the horizon.
That's the only thing I keepthinking is it's cold right now,
but Florida's got sunshine thisyear.
The event's going to be April8th and 9th, so it is a little
bit different.
Not only are we going to offerexceptional educational content
(04:18):
that we have planned for you,which the agenda is coming
together and looks absolutelyamazing, but we also have
included some amazingexperiences also for you to take
in, with the Acuma team, Ithink.
This year we're going to theBlue Wahoos, which is a minor
league baseball game.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
I'm actually looking forward to it.
I mean, again, it's not a crazyidea, but I think our pivot.
We've always wanted to doexperience-based learning.
We couldn't figure out how toexecute upon it.
You know, really the how andthe what and really the, the
setting to do it, and thesummits just ended up being the
(04:57):
right format to do it, or thiswould end up being the summit.
I think it's gonna be perfect.
You know, know, really, it'sgoing to be, you know, the half
day on Tuesday where everyonecomes in.
They'll, they'll come in,they'll have lunch, we'll have
an afternoon content, we'll goto the baseball game and then
(05:17):
we'll reconvene the next day fora full day of content.
So it's going to be probablyone of the best events that we
put on all year.
We have this amazing I don'twant to call it.
I guess I'm gonna call it aparty deck.
A party deck, yeah Right, yep.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
Is that fair?
Is that fair?
Speaker 3 (05:34):
to call it a party deck.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
I mean anywhere Acuma goes, it's a party.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
So, yeah, we got a party deck at the Blue Wahoo
Stadium that overlooks the waterRight.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
Yeah, and I mean you can't beat.
You can't beat looking at theocean.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
I'm just, by the way, I love minor league baseball
games.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
There's so much more I love baseball, but something
about minor league, it's justthat it's a different game Like
we're still trying to make it.
Yeah, it's like going to acollege football game.
They're still trying to make itfor that contract, so they got
something to play for.
Well, we look forward to seeingall you guys out there for that
.
But if you can't make it out,don't worry.
(06:13):
We have educational content foryou to take in all year round
with our Fast Track and InsideTrack webinar series.
And then we'll also have our OnPoint podcast, which runs every
two weeks, so new episodes arealways dropping.
And then we'll also have our OnPoint podcast, which runs every
two weeks, so new episodes arealways dropping.
And then, lastly, the YoungProfessional Network meeting is
going to be having their Q1meeting in February.
More information coming on thatsoon.
(06:35):
And if you're not part of YoungProfessional Network and you've
been looking for that networkfor you to join with Acuma, we
have more networks that arelaunching this year and we can't
wait to unveil those to youguys in the near future.
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Yeah, All right, Margaret, backto you so you know before we
get to.
You know really the heart ofour conversation.
You know I always start withthis, I always start and end
with really the same questions,and so I'm going to start with
my opening question and Ipreface it with the same preface
(07:12):
.
The Atkins On Point podcast isa people piece where we tell the
stories of people who aremaking a positive impact on
industry.
I said that in my intro.
I want people to know who youare because I, like I said, I
met you almost three years agoand I was blown away by your
story.
I think you're doing somethingspecial at Polish and Slavic,
(07:36):
and so, for those who do notknow you, and so for those who
should know who you are, do me afavor, Before we dive into our
conversation, know who you are.
Do me a favor, Before we diveinto our conversation, walk us
through who Margaret is.
So, who is Margaret?
Tell us that.
Let's go with that first.
That's the first question.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Thank you, peter.
Well, first of all, I alwaysconsider myself work in progress
.
There's so much more to improveon.
So I am learning every day as Igo, especially in my
professional career because, aswe know, lending is an ongoing,
ever-changing industry and thereis so much to learn.
(08:14):
My background I've been withPolish Slavic for 28 years.
This was my part-time job, ifyou will, during college and
then it just evolved more andmore and I loved it so much that
I stayed and I started from thevery bottom.
I was member servicerepresentative back in the day,
then assistant loan officer,loan officer, mortgage processor
(08:36):
, underwriter, supervisor,manager.
Now I'm currently senior vicepresident of mortgage lending,
currently Senior Vice Presidentof Mortgage Lending.
I oversee entire residentiallending departments.
So processing, closing,underwriting and all that good
stuff.
So I would consider myself aseasoned mortgage professional.
(08:59):
Polish and Slavic.
A little bit of background ofour credit union we are
ethnic-based credit union.
We're the largest ethnic-basedcredit union.
We serve Polish and Slaviccommunity.
We were established in 1976 forPolish immigrants in Brooklyn
who had the money but couldn'tget a mortgage anywhere because
(09:19):
they did not fit the traditionalcookie cutter mortgage borrower
, if you will.
So our credit union wasestablished just for that sole
purpose, and ever since thenwe've been serving the Polish
and Savvy community, doing justthat and helping them achieve
(09:39):
the ultimate American dream, andputting people in homes.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Okay, that's great.
Thank you for sharing that.
All right, so let's dive intothe conversation, because, again
, it's one of my favorite topicsand again, I said it earlier,
it's something that I feel aidedin my success when I was a
senior vice president oversaw,you know, entire mortgage
(10:04):
division for a credit union andit was actually, even when I
think back to when I was in thecommunity banks, it's something
that aided in my success at acommunity bank.
But and it was one of theactually one of the first things
that I changed when I steppedinto my role as senior vice
president I so one of the firstthings I ensured that we changed
(10:24):
and improved when I took overthat role, but it was the
mortgage department and branchrelationship.
And when you sent me and just soeveryone knows, prior to our
recordings, I always send thisemail to all of our special
guests and it's like, hey, whatdo you want to talk about?
And when you said, hey, let'stalk about creating an open
(10:47):
dialogue between branch andmortgage and how we strengthen
that relationship, I was like,yes, that is the perfect
conversation, let's talk aboutthat.
So let's have this conversation.
So, margaret, in your mind, Idon't want to ask a stupid
question, but I'm going to ask astupid question.
Why is this so important inyour mind?
I don't want to ask a stupidquestion, but I'm going to ask a
(11:07):
stupid question.
Why is this so important inyour mind?
Let's start with that stupidquestion, and then we'll kind of
go from there.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Well, first of all, I don't think it's a stupid
question, I think it's animportant question and I feel
that often lending departmentsor mortgage department whatever
you want to call it is seen asan island at the credit union.
There is no bridges to it and Ireally feel that no one wants
to be on an island and no onewants to be seen as an island.
(11:34):
You want to have bridges andnot only one.
You want to have multiplebridges and you want to have
that open conversation sobranches understand what
mortgage department struggleswith and mortgage department can
understand what branchesstruggle with, because if there
is no understanding between thetwo, it's very hard to work
(11:57):
together.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Agreed, agreed.
And if I could add to that, isthat for me, I also viewed it as
if I could have one moreadvocate in my corner right.
That was one more person thatwould help in my fight for that
one more product or that onemore system, because, let's say,
(12:22):
hypothetically speaking, I wantit.
Construction lending, easyexample.
You know, if I could easily say, well, you know, I want to get
construction lending, let'sinvest in, you know, this
construction software.
Or let's start investing in,you know, really doing our due
diligence and developing aconstruction loan program, I
would at least have, you know,the head of branch ops say you
(12:44):
know what.
He's right, our members areasking for this.
I'm hearing it from my branchmanagers.
They're giving me that directfeedback because I built that
relationship, because they'reactually actively listening for
it, because I've trained them tolisten for it.
We have that open dialogue.
I have those advocates in thatnetwork, right, I was out there
(13:09):
meeting with them once a month,training them, and they loved it
.
They absolutely loved it, Iagree.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Yeah, I, I, um, I attend.
They have a quarterly meetingsin person.
I attend those meetings everyquarter.
I make myself available to goto their branch manager meeting
and I listen to their struggles,I listen to their successes.
Also, it's not always negative.
There's a lot of positive.
There's more positive thannegative.
(13:36):
But by me understanding what isgoing on in the branch level
every day, I can come back to mydepartment and communicate that
with my department, because Ifeel like if the mortgage
processor knows what's going onat the branch, what promotion
they're having, that there mightbe busy at a certain time
(13:56):
because there are certain thingsgoing on.
I think it's also a betterrelationship between the two.
Our structure currently is thatour mortgage applications are
taking at the branches.
We have loan specialists.
We don't have true loanofficers yet.
We have loan specialists andthey all sit at the branches.
(14:17):
So a loan specialist will notonly do a mortgage but they will
also take a consumer loan.
They'll take a visa application.
Consumer loan, they'll take avisa application.
So there needs to be anunderstanding from my department
that they also have a verylarge array of products that
they have to know and justbecause something is missing on
mortgage application.
(14:37):
It doesn't mean that someone issloppy, it means that we're
probably busy taking care of amember with other things.
So I think that is veryimportant to stress to the back
office that you know they'refrontline, they're member facing
people and they will have thephone calls that have a line in
front of their desk and theyhave to take care of all that.
(14:59):
And there must be understandingfrom the back office what the
frontline sees and takes care ofevery day.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
So the loan specialist, just out of
curiosity, who do they report to?
Speaker 4 (15:10):
They report to the branch manager.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
The branch manager.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
And they obviously have their MLS.
Yes, they do so they're part ofbranch ops.
I guess they're completelydifferent than like a assistant
branch manager.
They're just a general.
I guess in the banking world ifyou were looking at, I guess
they'd completely different thanlike a like a assistant branch
manager.
They're just a general.
I guess in the banking world ifyou were looking at, I guess
it'd be like a private bankeralmost something like that.
Yes, okay okay, and all they dois just take loan applications
(15:38):
all day long yeah, well, notonly they open accounts, they
take consumer loans.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
They're just usually they're um, they're more
seasoned, if you will memberservice representatives who have
more knowledge and they'recapable of taking mortgage
applications.
And you know, by takingmortgage applications I feel
like it's a very loose termthey're really taking leads,
they're filling out theapplication form, they take
whatever the member brings in,they forward it to the back
(16:06):
office and then our processorsultimately work as an assistant
loan officer, if you will.
They get all the missing dataor missing paperwork, they're in
contact with our members andwhatnot.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
So that makes the relationship between you, as in
the mortgage department, andbranch even more important,
because they're pulled inmultiple different directions.
They don't report to you, right?
It's completely different ifyou have a mortgage loan officer
going in and trying to train anMSR or a branch manager on hey,
(16:44):
this is mortgage, sell thisproduct, right.
That's a different animal right.
And know that's a differentanimal right.
And that was a structure that Ihad, right, I had a loan
officer assigned to a branch andthey would do their best to
train an MSR, to listen forthese cues, right.
And then, once you hear thiscue, call me and I'll come
running.
Or same thing with a branchmanager or assistant branch
(17:04):
manager.
But for you that relationshipis pivotal.
You need to make sure thatthere's always an open line of
communication between those twoparties, Because if there's not,
the last thing you want ishaving any type of fight between
branch ops and mortgage,Because in my experience, branch
(17:26):
is always going to win.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Oh, 100%.
Yes, I agree, and I mentionedbefore I attend branch managers
meeting.
But I go further.
I visit branches.
I go and visit branches inperson and I talk to our loan
specialists.
I even talk to our MSRs andtellers that they don't work
with me every day, on dailybasis, but I feel like if people
(17:50):
know you face to face, they arenot shy to call you with a
question or they're not shy tocall you if they have a
challenge.
And I really like coming into abranch where they know me and
they can come up to me and theycan talk to me and I know their
stories, you know, because ifyou have that, that just creates
(18:12):
open dialogue and opencommunication.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Now, you have a lot of, you have a good number of
branches and you also have somebranches in like the Chicago
area, right, are you going outthere?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Yes, we have 23 branches.
We have New York, new Jersey,connecticut, pennsylvania and
Illinois, and I do travel toIllinois to visit them.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Yes, that's good, that's good.
I mean that's a lot for you totake on.
Do you have any support withthat?
I mean because I mean, as thehead of mortgage, I mean that's,
that responsibility can't justbe on you.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Well, I do have support.
I have a lending manager thatreports to me.
She comes with me.
So sometimes we'll split She'llgo to one branch and I'll go to
the other, but then we'll flipflop and I don't visit them very
often.
I try to visit them once,maximum twice, a year in person,
but I do call them.
We have branch managers, are onthe call with me constantly.
(19:13):
We have conversations.
They all have my cell phone.
If they need support afterhours, they know they can always
go and I will pick up and Iwill answer their question,
whatever it may be.
Sometimes they have a veryurgent pre-approval that needs
to be, you know, taken care ofright away and the underwriters
already left home.
(19:33):
I will get on our LOS and Iwill issue them a pre-approval
if it's necessary.
So, and I feel like if theyknow they have that support,
like you mentioned at thebeginning, they will also back
me up if I need something and ifI need their support.
So I really think open line ofcommunication is the key in that
(19:54):
relationship.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Justin, you leaned in .
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Oh yeah, I mean, I just think it's amazing because
I mean you talk about the openlines of communication and
you're making these branch trips, these visits.
I think that's the pivotalmoment for you, like the
communication, like you can't,you can't deny that, that that
matters as much, right.
But there there's something tobe said.
When you're walking into thebranches and saying, hey, I'm
(20:19):
here to support you, you cansupport me, let's make this, you
know, let's make these dreamscome true, right.
So I love that you're out theredoing that.
You said you have 23 branchesin Chicago.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
No, no, no, Overall, no Overall.
We have 23 branches.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
I was like, oh my gosh, how do you do that in a
day or two?
I just imagine you running fromone side of Chicago to the
north side and I'm like there's,there's no way.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
No way, no, no.
Chicago we have currently seven, and I usually take about four
days when I go visit them,because I don't want to just pop
in and say hi and then 10minutes later I'm leaving.
I usually try to stay therehalf a day, talk to people you
know, see what's going on, andthat way they get to know me a
(21:04):
little bit as well.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Yeah, I mean you're investing your time in them and
letting them know that you'rethere.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Yep Exactly.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
That's awesome so so has there been any tripping
points when you on this journeyto build this strong
relationship?
You know when I say trippingpoints, you know stumbling
blocks along the way, push backfrom the branches or or has this
just been a natural progressionfor you to get to this point?
Where they're?
(21:31):
They're, they've just acceptedyou.
It would tell us about that,because for me, you know and I'm
sort of telling you about mystory there was some initial
pushback.
There wasn't the, the initialacceptance of, you know, you
know p, here he's, he's going tohelp us out there.
There was, it was always thewhat's he doing in here, you
(21:51):
know why is he here?
Because there's, there's that.
There's always that hesitant,at least from from my experience
.
There was that initialhesitation, but then they saw
there's always.
There was that, that, thatwhiff and what's in it for me,
and I started training them.
I started teaching them and Istarted showing them.
I'm here to support you just asmuch as you're here to support
me.
We're in this together.
I have your back just as muchas you have my back.
(22:14):
We're a team.
Was there any pushback, wasthere any hesitation before they
started accepting you for whoyou are, margaret?
Speaker 4 (22:21):
They really wasn't.
I think they have the way Iapproached it.
I would, when I start doingthis, I would call up certain
branch managers and say, hey, Iwant to come visit you guys just
to see what's going on.
How can we work together closer, you know, so I can meet your,
you know your staff in person,so they're not reluctant to call
(22:43):
me because you know I'm in thelending department, far, far
away, you know, and I may be toobusy to pick up the phone,
because that's the stigma.
If, once you get a certain titleand you're in certain positions
some people who are, if youwill, you know they're an MSR,
they have a manager they will bereluctant to call me because
(23:04):
they might think, you know, oh,I can't call this person because
they're, you know, there mightbe too busy, this or that.
So I just want to remove allthat stigma and I just wanted to
see, I wanted them to see thatthey can call me and they can
talk to me, no matter, you know,how silly they think the
question is or no matter howsilly their problem is.
(23:26):
So when I reached out to them,they were very welcoming, they
were excited and till this day,whenever I call them and say hey
, I'm coming to your area andI'm going to visit your branch.
They're very excited.
They make sure their staff isthere that day, because we work
six days a week so obviouslysomebody has a day off during
the week so they make surewhoever takes mortgages they're
(23:49):
in office that day so I can seethem and talk to them and chat.
So I really did not.
Luckily I did not have anypushback.
It was well received fromeverybody because I think they
saw the value of having thatopen conversation, especially
face to face, that you know theycan get something from it too,
(24:11):
that we can work together.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Now are you performing like regular
trainings with them, whetherit's virtual?
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Yes, we have.
I try to do in-person training,in-person training once a year
and then we train as needed aswe go.
Certain branches might needmore training, others have less
training because they have moreseasoned employees.
So we just, you know, we pickand choose.
(24:39):
Whoever needs more training, wewill put them, pull them aside
and train them.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Now, from a structure standpoint, is it, do branch
managers and assistant branchmanagers and loan specialists
have MLSs, or is it just loanspecialists?
Speaker 4 (24:54):
It depends on the branch.
Some managers have MLS, othersdon't.
I would say it's about 50 50.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
And so pretty much everyone is.
So is the normal MSR gettingtrained to listen for cues?
Is the normal MSR gettingtrained to listen for cues?
Speaker 4 (25:10):
For cues?
Yes, but then they will.
You know, they will refer thatborrower to the actual loan
specialist.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Of course.
Yeah, I think that's important,right?
Because I can't tell you howmany credit unions I talk to
where they say MSRs don't needto go through mortgage training,
and I tend to disagree becausethat is such a vital component,
right, why wouldn't you trainthem on mortgage?
Because the last thing you wantis for them not to understand
(25:41):
or listen for something like aborrower's talking about needing
some additional cash for a homeimprovement.
Well, if a borrower says that,why wouldn't you want them to
hear that and immediately say,well, we have a loan officer in
the next room or a loanspecialist in the next room.
I can refer you over to them,right?
Like that is a cue that theyshould be listening for, to say,
(26:05):
okay, well, there's a HELOC ora cash out refinance, although
cash out refinances, you know,depending on how you look at it,
may or may not be coming back,but still that is something that
they need to be trained tolisten for.
So I come from the school ofthought that everyone within the
organization needs to betrained on mortgage.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
I agree 100%.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
So I think that's that.
That's, that's huge now.
Now I think I'm gonna ask aquestion from a marketing
standpoint.
I know justin's gonna like thiswe're finally talking marketing
from a marketing standpoint,like are you going there and
kind of walking, walking in, andare your branches comfortable
with you?
(26:47):
Openly marketing mortgage inthe branches.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
Oh, yes, absolutely.
They have flyers aboutmortgages, they have window
displays about mortgages.
Yes, our marketing departmentis 100% behind mortgages and
they work with us and wedefinitely advertise our
mortgages at every single branch.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
I'm just saying, I mean it's awesome, but you know
what?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
I'm talking about Justin.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
It's the old school frame of thinking that you know
sales and marketing have thiswall built between them, that it
takes two very special peopleone person from the sales side
and I know that's not that'slike a faux pas word in credit
unions, but being able to offercredit unions or offer mortgages
(27:40):
.
But then it takes a person onthe marketing side to be like
they know they're, they knowtheir members, they know what
their members are asking themfor.
Now I need to be willing tolisten and you guys are coming
together, you're crossing thatyou're, you're breaking down
that wall.
I mean it's it's a it's an ageold conversation that we in the
marketing field have all thetime about breaking down that
(28:00):
wall between us and thesalespeople, because it that's
how you bridge the gap, that'show you move the needle forward.
So the fact that your creditunion is doing that, I mean we
hear all the time the completeopposite is that it's not as big
of a focus.
And it's not as big of a focuseither one, because there's
(28:20):
someone that's not advocating,like you are, for mortgage,
which I don't find that to betrue, because all of our members
are super advocates formortgage.
But then it's the other side ofit, where, you know, maybe
marketing just doesn't see whatthey, what you're seeing,
they're not seeing the visionthat you're putting out, and so
I think it's cool that yourcredit union is, you know, ahead
(28:40):
of the game.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
And it's such a.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
I mean, listen, we lend mortgage around, right, and
it is such.
Again, I always say it's such acornerstone division of any
financial institution.
It is a pillar, it is somethingthat can hold up and strengthen
any credit union.
Why wouldn't you market it yearround, right?
(29:02):
And it needs to be on at leastone wall constantly.
And Justin, you know what I'mtalking about.
You were there how many times.
It's just a constant fight,right?
Speaker 5 (29:17):
Yeah, I mean I remember many emails from you.
No, I mean it was fun when wewere doing it.
We saw the vision.
It's exactly what I'm saying.
Like we saw that vision.
You know, I did.
I did a lot of design sportsback then and it was kind of one
(29:38):
of those things.
It was like well, you know, Iwant to make sure that
everybody's getting some love,and so like, even from a social
perspective, like we had, Ithink I did mortgage Mondays or
something like that.
So like every Monday on social,something went out about the
mortgage department, right, justjust so that way everybody got
some love, and it was just, itwas to make sure that you know
(30:00):
one line of business isn't beingforgotten.
Like everybody needs to knowall the different options that
are out there for yourmembership.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
You know, like, what your credit union offers, and so
yeah, but it's important, right, and I think that's good that
you got that, margaret yourcredit union isn't forgetting
about mortgage and branchbecause, again, like Justin said
, we talked to a lot of creditunions and they're fighting for
space, yeah, and I think it's atestament to your relationship
(30:31):
with your branch ops, your head,your head of branch ops,
because they're, again, it'sabout being your advocate.
It's about them saying, becauseit's not just advocating for
mortgages or actually being youradvocate, it's I hate to say
it's a political game, but it'svery much political.
They're saying Margaret's great, margaret supports us.
(30:54):
I'm going to support Margaret.
Speaker 5 (30:57):
But that goes back to you're in the branches, like
you are making that appearance,right, like as much as we don't
want to be, like you got to playthe game, like you're not going
to get as much love if you justif you're a ghost, or if it's
just me, me, me, me, me, yeah.
So, um, but I also you you madea comment earlier that I really
um, that was pivotal as well aswhich is that you know you were
(31:19):
saying that you know sometimesthe, the, the person at the
member service representative orthe member representative
sometimes doesn't go to youdirectly because they might have
a manager in front of them, andthen, like you're out there
educating them to come to youdirectly, right, and it's like
really just breaking down that,that old school organizational
structure, that old school frameof thought.
(31:40):
So I think that that's alsogreat that you're out there
doing that too, hands downabsolutely, absolutely well,
margaret, when you starttransitioning um to our second
segment.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
but before we do, like I said earlier, I start
with the same question and I'mgoing to end with the same
question that I always end with,and that question is you know
what motivates you?
You know, you take one foot outof bed every single day, and
you take one step out of bedevery single day.
What keeps driving you, day inand day out, to get better,
(32:10):
every single day?
What is that motivation?
Speaker 4 (32:12):
I want others to be successful.
I want them to know where tohave the resources to get the
knowledge that they need inorder to strive at their jobs.
I just want somebody once toldme a great quote a great leader
works themselves out of theirown job because they're able to
(32:35):
teach everybody around them whatthey know, and that's what I
strive for every day.
I come into the office and Iwant to teach somebody something
new.
I want to learn something new,but I also want to, you know,
provide insights of what I knowto others to make their jobs
easier.
So that is my main motivationto make everybody else's lives
(32:58):
around me easier as much as Ican.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
That's awesome.
I love it and that's a goodquote.
That is a great quote.
Thank you very much for sharingthat.
Well, margaret, it's time forus to transition to the second
segment of our show.
Now, the second segment of ourshow is where we sometimes play
Jeopardy, we do trivia, orsometimes we do the most
requested segment of dad jokes,only by Peter.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
There are plenty of people whorequest dad jokes, but today
(33:26):
we're doing Justin's favoriteJeopardy, so bear with me one
second while I share my screen.
Where's my mouse?
There it is.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
I'm going to share my screen.
You said my favorite, though,Like you made that sound serious
, we're doing Justin's favoriteJeopardy Justin's favorite
Jeopardy.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
So, as I always do, I'm going to describe what's on
my screen, because obviously youcan't see this.
This is only an audio podcastbut on my screen we have a
Jeopardy board with scoresranging from one to 505
categories.
Today we're doing New York CityJeopardy, knowing that Polish
(34:03):
and Slavic is located in the NewYork City area, but I also
selected because New York Cityhappens to be Justin's favorite
place in the world right, justinPlace in the world.
Speaker 5 (34:14):
Yeah, it's my favorite, one of my favorite
places in the US, for sure, okay, well, so you always talk about
it like ooh, we should go there.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Ooh, we should go there.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
I mean I do love New York, like don't get me wrong.
But so we're doing that.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Plus, it was really hard to figure out what type of
Jeopardy we should do, so I waslike I kind of got lazy, so I
apologize.
I was like New York CityJeopardy, done All right, so I'm
going to just go ahead anddescribe it again.
We have a standard Jeopardyboard in front of you.
The categories are did you know?
Buildings, parks, what else doyou know?
And important landmarks.
(34:49):
Points range anywhere from 100to 500.
For the sake of this game,margaret, you are team one,
justin, you are team two.
Now, margaret, I am not strictabout you.
Do not have to answer who iswhat is, or anything like that.
You just have to say it.
Now, one thing I am strictabout if you get it wrong, I do
(35:10):
take points away pretty quickly,and if you try stealing and you
get it wrong, I am viciousabout taking points away.
So don't steal unless youactually know the answer.
Okay, okay, so, and don't justblurt out answers, because I
take points away.
Um, I am a vicious scorer, sokeep that in mind.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
Okay, justin knows that yep, oh, and also that 500
is extremely hard usually, justso you know or sometimes they're
actually really stupidly easyfor some strange reason, I know
and also full disclaimer etc.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Full, full disclosure again.
I did not make up this jeopardyboard but, as always, I had to
get that disclaimer.
So, Margaret, you are ourhonored guest.
You get to go first.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Please go ahead, I will take the first one.
Did you know for 100?
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Did you know for 100?
, Margaret?
The question is New York Citywas originally named blank by
the Dutch.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
Oh, I don't know this , the York.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
I get my my mouse over the minus real quick.
Justin, you want to steal?
No, all right, I'm going to goand say New Amsterdam.
The correct answer is what isNew Amsterdam?
Sorry, morgan, I'm takingpoints away.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
It's OK.
I have a feeling I'll be in bignegatives.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
All right, justin, you're up.
Speaker 5 (36:32):
I'm go with parks for 300 parks 300.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
This park has over 58 miles of walkways and 632
different types of trees centralpark.
The correct answer is what iscentral park.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
That's good, because if there was another one I was
going to be really confused.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
All right, Margaret.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Let's do buildings for 100.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Buildings 100.
This building is named after afamous car company.
It also has six levels ofstainless steel arches Chrysler
building.
The correct answer is what isChrysler building.
The correct answer is what isthe Chrysler building.
Good job, Margaret.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Yeah, I got one Back to zero yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
All right, Justin.
Speaker 5 (37:21):
We're going to go with.
What else do you know for 400?
Speaker 3 (37:24):
What else do you know for 400?
The storm that hit New YorkCity last year.
Speaker 5 (37:37):
The storm.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
What is rain?
There's no date on this either.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
No, there's not.
So what is rain?
Speaker 3 (37:54):
I can't wait.
Margaret, do you want to steal?
Speaker 4 (37:57):
nope, I don't know which storm they're referring to
the correct answer is HurricaneSandy this is really old that
was not last year wasn't thatrain.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
There's rain involved with that, oh God.
Okay, that was good.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
All right, Margaret, you're up.
Speaker 4 (38:22):
Okay, let's do buildings 400.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Buildings 400?
.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:26):
Buildings.
Yeah, okay, the name of thecastle in Central Park.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
That's a wrong question.
You said 400 or 100?
Yeah, butings.
Yeah, okay, the name of thecastle in Central Park.
That's the wrong question.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
You said 400 or 100?
.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
You said buildings.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Oh, my part, my fault .
Buildings 400.
This museum has art from allover the world, as well as
antique and ancient artifacts.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
It could be between the two Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
Speaker 5 (38:51):
Justin, you want to steal Nope, that one's here in
DC.
Oh wait, there's one in NewYork too.
I'm not stealing.
No, yeah, I am the NaturalHistory Museum.
I think that's here in DC.
That's my answer.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
The correct answer is what is the Met?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Good job, Margaret.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
Sorry, Justin.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
Justin okay.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
We're going to go with not what else do you know?
Let's go.
Let's go with Parks for 500.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Parks 500.
The name of this park, which isbuilt above New York City
Public Library's undergroundarchives.
Speaker 4 (39:34):
I don't know.
I might know this one, but I'llbe up zero.
No, I'll be at negative, butI'll try.
Speaker 5 (39:39):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (39:41):
The Bryant Park.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
I bet it is that one.
I was trying to think whichpark was over there, but I
couldn't remember.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
The correct answer is what is the Bryant Park?
All right, At the end of ourcurrent round, we have Margaret
with 900 and Justin withnegative 1,000.
Okay, we're going to do onemore round and then we're going
to wrap.
How are you?
Speaker 5 (40:05):
feeling, justin?
You know I'm going to start theyear off 0-1.
How are you feeling, justin?
You know I'm going to start theyear off 0-1.
Speaker 4 (40:16):
I didn't have a New Year's resolution to not lose
Jeffery this year.
Important landmarks 200.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
Important landmarks 200.
The financial section of thecity.
Speaker 4 (40:26):
What is that question ?
Wall Street?
I assume that's the answer.
Wall Street, Justin, do youwant to steal?
Speaker 5 (40:34):
No, I'm pretty sure she's right.
Speaker 3 (40:39):
What is Wall Street?
There we go.
What kind of question is that.
Speaker 5 (41:00):
Well, okay, I cannot win, so let's go big um with you
know the whole, did you knowshould be like a gimme, but it's
not.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
uh, important landmarks for 500 this area of
new york city is home towashington square, the
mcdonald's sullivan's gardenshistoric district and new york
university.
Um is home to Washington Square, the McDonald Sullivan Gardens
Historic District in New YorkUniversity.
Speaker 5 (41:15):
Manhattan, yep Manhattan.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
Nope, I like my winnings right now.
Speaker 5 (41:23):
We're going with Manhattan.
The correct answer is which isalso in Manhattan?
I was right.
I'm not giving it to you.
I was right.
Yes, it is, you're right.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
You're right, thank you, I'm not giving it to you.
I am not giving it to you thecorrect answer is Greenwich
Village.
Speaker 5 (41:40):
So just for the record, two of my answers were
correct that I got negatives for, okay, rain and Manhattan.
Speaker 4 (41:48):
Yep, you're right, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Okay're right, I'm with you.
Ok, all right.
At the end of New York CityJeopardy, we have Margaret with
a score of eleven hundred andJustin with a score of negative
fifteen hundred.
Margaret, congratulations, youofficially won this episode of
New York City, or Acumazon PointJeopardy.
(42:11):
Well done, well done.
Speaker 5 (42:13):
Thank you.
Thank you Want to knowsomething, though Not my worst.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Not, definitely not his worst, nowhere near his
worst.
Well, margaret, thank you somuch for joining us.
We really do appreciate it,enjoyed our conversation.
You are amazing and thank youfor being such an important part
of the credit movement.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.
Thank you to Acuma for all thesupport and I'm looking forward
to the next event and seeing youin person at Acuma.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, and Hawk,thank you.
Thank you, it was my pleasure,of course, of course, and to
close out, thank you again toPolygon Research for sponsoring
today's episode and to all ofyou.
We know your time is valuable.
Thank you for tuning in to thelatest episode of ACMA's On
Point Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time.
Be well, my friends.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time at theACMA On Point Podcast.
If not already, be sure tosubscribe and give us a
five-star rating For more greatepisodes and information.
Be sure to visit us online atacumaorg and to get the latest
updates, head over to ourLinkedIn page.
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