NAMB PERSPECTIVE
getting toknow John G. Stevens, CRMS Vice President of NAMB B Y
JANUARY 2016 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
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On Dec. 7, 2015, John G. Stevens began a new chapter in his career as vice president of business development for Mountain West Financial Inc., headquartered in Redlands, Calif. “I am very excited about this opportunity to grow with them,” said Stevens, who will be based in his native Utah. Prior to joining Mountain West Financial, Stevens was Utah area manager for Bank of England Mortgage, formerly ENG Lending. Within the mortgage profession, many people are aware of Stevens’ leadership roles within NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. At last fall’s NAMB National meeting, Stevens was honored by his peers with the NAMB Mortgage Professional of the Year Award. “John G. Stevens is a tireless advocate on behalf of mortgage professionals,” said Rocke Andrews, president of NAMB, when presenting Stevens with the award. “His leadership within his own business and his infectiously positive attitude on behalf of his peers across the country has earned him this well-deserved honor as the Mortgage Professional of the Year. NAMB+ is
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a major success because John made sure that it was a success. We are very fortunate to have such an energetic and hardworking leader on the NAMB Board taking the initiative on such critical tasks.” National Mortgage Professional Magazine recently had the opportunity to chat with Stevens about his career, his new position with Mountain West and his involvement in NAMB. How did you get into the mortgage profession? Was this your original career choice? It wasn’t. I was going to be a lawyer. I attended Utah Valley State College, majoring in international business with a minor in German. But my kayaking buddy Kade Shumway and I talked one day about the mortgage company he was working for and how we could do a better job than they were doing. So I quit college and never looked back. We founded Stevens & Shumway in 2000. I chose this career and I’ve loved every second of it. How did you first become involved with NAMB? I was part of the Utah Association
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of Mortgage Brokers (UAMB), now the Utah Association of Mortgage Professionals (UAMP) and received The Utah Mortgage Press (the forerunner of National Mortgage Professional Magazine) where I read about NAMB and I thought, “Hey, this is a good thing, I need to become more involved.” I fell in love with it. I realized that, thanks to NAMB, we are able to band together and fight for homeowner rights. In 2011, I became a member of NAMB’s board of directors. How active have you been in NAMB and locally on the state level with NAMB’s Utah affiliate? I am now the NAMB vice president. I was president of NAMB+, chairman of NAMB’s Political Action Committee (PAC) and chairman of the Legislative Action Fund (LAF). I’ve also served on NAMB’s Nominating Committee, Membership Committee, Finance Committee, Bylaws Committee, and Policy & Procedures Committee. I am also the past chairman of the NAMB National Convention. With UAMP, I served as president in 2010 and I am on the board of governors and
board of directors. I also served as UAMP’s Events Committee chairman. Why do you believe it is important for mortgage professionals to become involved in NAMB? As with any business, there is power when we work together as one. Anyone can hold a candle on a hill, but if you band together and build a lighthouse, people will see your light from miles and miles away. With NAMB, we are able to be unified in one voice and have a single voice on Capitol Hill and at the state level. By doing this we can make sure Americans can achieve their dream of homeownership. What do you see in 2016 for the mortgage profession? We will see slightly higher rates, which should bring stability to the economy. People will realize the days of lower rate are done with. We should also find that the turbulence with TRID calming down as companies adjust to the changes and are able to get closing back on track