Mortgage Professionals Come Together at Five Star Conference

The Five Star Conference Expo Hall opened Tuesday morning, bringing lenders, servicers, and a number of other mortgage professionals under one roof.

Include, the 2017 conference theme, was a topic widely discussed at the DS News and MReport booth where attendees explained its importance.

“We like the networking opportunities and being able to connect with different companies from a strategic standpoint,” Kiyoshi Hunt, SVP of ZVN Properties said. “We can meet a lot of the needs our clients have, and maybe uncover some things we didn’t know, and learn about different perspectives.”

Tim Rath, Director of Supply Chain and Vendor Management from Safeguard Properties also enjoyed the camaraderie and diversity of the Expo Hall.

“If you just look around at the industry, there are a number of different people from different walks of life that are here and have a number of different roles,” Rath said. “I think the Five Star does a great job of encouraging everyone from different phases of our industry to come under one roof together.”

John I. Pray, Jr., Brig Gen, USAF (Ret). Pray, President and CEO of Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, had a chance to stop by the DS News and MReport booth in the expo hall to discuss many attendees favorite event of the conference: the Military Heroes Keys for Life Dinner and Concert where Operation Homefront and the Five Star Institute present five military veterans with a mortgage-free home followed by a concert from rock band Styx.

“It means the world to be able to do this,” Pray said. "When you think about it from their perspective it is literally life-changing. It will give them the firm foundation upon which to build a very bright future."

U.S. Army Sergeant Matthew R. Gaff and his family; U.S. Airman First Class Ryan Hampe and his family; U.S. Navy Seaman Shynae Murphy and her family; U.S. Army Specialist Kenyetta Cooper and her family; and U.S. Army Specialist Marchalle Couch were the recipients of the homes, which Ten-X Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Jeff Frieden helped facilitate.

"I will not stop until we have no homeless vets,” said Frieden.