THE GALAXY V7

VOLUME VII

Getting to know Orion’s Stars

Name: Karen Shaftner (Aspinall) Title: Underwriter III 1. What were you like in High School?

Totally introverted. Band geek. I didn't come out of my shell until after I graduated! I had about 3 good friends, who I'm still friends with today.

2. If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?

Probably a cat, although I'm not a fan of cats. They seem to get away with anything, and that appeals to me.

3. What’s your favorite 90’s jam?

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana and Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam

4. Did you participate in any extracarriculars in school? If so, which?

I was a swimmer and a platform diver. I was in the jazz band, we played at basketball games from the stands. We weren't very good.

5. Do you believe in “Bigfoot”?

I would have to say yes to this. Who knows what's out there in places that haven't been explored by humans.

6. Do you dress up for Halloween? If so, what was your favoite costume?

Not typically. My birthday is the day before, so I prefer not to. One year, I was forced to in order to attend a Halloween party... so I went as a retired Playboy Bunny.

7. What’s your favorite thing about Autumn?

I love Color Tour in Northern Michigan. Some of the most beautiful colors nature has to offer. It's a photographers dream!

8. What’s your favorite classic holiday dish?

Pumpkin pie! I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Also, my grandmother makes the best green bean casserole on the planet.

9. Who was your first celebrity crush?

Jordan Knight from NKOTB and Tony Danza - I don't know why lol

10. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever recieved?

"When you work at home, the only thing that changes is your scenery, you still have a job to do." My dad gave me this advice... still the smartest man I've ever known.

Marshel’s Cornbread Stuffing ~ Ingredients ~ (FOR CORNBREAD) 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup Yellow Corn Meal 1 Tbsp. Baking powder 1 1/4 cups milk or milk substitute 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/3 cup canola oil or vegetable oil 3 Tbsp melted butter (salted sweet cream)

(FOR STUFFING) 1 large green bell pepper 1 large red bell pepper 1 medium yellow onion 4-5 stalks of celery ½ tsp minced garlic 1 pack of turkey giblets (or giblets from turkey)

1 tsp dried sage ¼ tsp dried thyme Salt and pepper to taste 1 egg 2 tbsp olive oil (separated) 2 c room temperature chicken stock (Not broth) ½ c sweet cream butter

~ For The Cornbread ~

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease one 8 x 10 square pan (spray oil works great).

2.Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder, and canola oil in medium bowl. Add in eggs and mix until ingredients come together. Mixture will be dry. Add in milk ½ cup a time, mixing well after each addition. You may not need to use all the milk, add milk until mixture flows smoothly from a spoon. Pour into greased 8 x 10 square pan.

3.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick (or butter knife) inserted in center comes out clean.

4 Allow to cool for 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. *You can make the stuffing while the corn bread bakes*

~ For The Stuffing ~

1.Dice onion, and both bell peppers (remove seeds and stem, you do NOT want spicy stuffing), celery and garlic, set aside (keep garlic separate) 2. In a sauce pan, over medium heat, cook the giblets in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Season strongly with salt and pepper. Cook all the way through. Let cool, and dice (same size as the bell peppers.) Set aside 3. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and sauté onions, and both bell peppers, and a pinch of salt.

Cook until onions are translucent (do not let them burn). Add in diced celery. Sautee together for one minute, add garlic and stir for 30 seconds, add in diced giblets and remove from heat (allow to cool) 4. Remove cool cornbread from pan and crumble (or cut) into the pan you are making your stuffing in (I keep mine pretty chunky, so it doesn’t turn to mush). Dump in contents from the sauté pan and in seasoning (oregano, thyme, salt and pepper) and fold gently. You can do this with your hands, just don’t over-mix, creates extra gluten and makes it mushy.

Taste. Once seasoning is to your liking, pour chicken stock over entire pan (start with 1 ½ c of stock first, you can always add more, but can’t remove if you add too much). You want the stuffing to be moist, but not mushy. Pour lightly beaten egg over entire pan, continue to fold ingredients together. Dice butter (whole stick) into cubes and place along the entire pan.

5.

Cover with foil and Bake for 35 minutes, then an additional 10-15 minutes without foil or until golden brown. *Note- you want to check your stuffing at this point to make sure it’s not too dry, if it’s dry, you have two options, add more chicken stock and butter or remove from oven and place foil back on pan and allow to cool with foil.

6.Serve alone of with your favorite gravy recipe 7. Enjoy!

January 2017 Jeremy & Jess raced through scenic O’neil Park in sunny Southern California. The OC Chili Winter Trail Run Series will keep you motivated to stay fit during the chili winter months! With a scenic 5, 7 or 10 mile run through O’Neill Regional Park, great high quality and fashionable t-shirts, and a Post Event Chili and Campfire, it will keep you warm, fit and well fed this winter.

TO REGISTER FOR THE 2018 CHILI RUN SERIES CLICK HERE ANYONE LOCAL TO OC IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO SIGN UP FOR NEXT YEAR’S RACE WITH US. OFF-SITE RUNNERS, CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO A 5K AND JOIN YOUR ORION FAMILY VIRTUALLY!

Our Annual Fitness Competition

When Troy Jones & Dena Durniok were the biggest losers and the biggest winners!

St. Patrick’s Day Potluck Where we were all - hopefully- lucky enough to not get pinched!

May 2017, when Orion found it’s love for BINGO. Are you ready for 2018 BINGO?!

May 9th May 26th

OUR CHILI COOK OFF CHAMPIONS MARSHEL NG JOSEPH PAMIZA CARMEN COOKE

July 2017 CHOC Children’s Hospital Toy Drive

Orion Lending collected over 100 toys for CHOC Children’s Hospital in Summer of 2017. Thanks to our generous contributions, the Orion Toy Drive was a great success! I’m proud to be a part of such a selfless group who’s passionate about creating a strong sense of community, spirit and Orion pride.

The Great

American Eclipse

August 2017

On August 21, 2017, millions of people across the United States saw nature’s most wondrous spectacle — a total eclipse of the Sun. It is a scene of unimaginable beauty; the Moon completely blocks the Sun, daytime becomes a deep twilight, and the Sun’s corona shimmers in the darkened sky.

For More Information, Visit:

greatamericaneclipse.com

S.O.A.R

SALES & OPERATION AWARD RECOGNITION

September 2017

Great time at the NAMB show with friends, peers, and colleagues. More importantly, taking a break from it all to pay our respects at the Healing Gardens for all the lives lost, the first responders, hero’s and to all of those impacted by this senseless tragedy. There is a Tree of Life, surrounded by a concrete planter in the shape of a heart where visitors can sit and view the remembrance wall. Surrounding it all is a brick trail leading you to 58 trees representing each of the lives lost .

Creepy Cubicle Contest October 31st 2017

#VEGASSTRONG

1st Place

Team DEXTER!

November 29th

December 2017 Orion has been named number 9 out of 118 best workplace overall (#1 out of all lenders!!) by the OC Register CLICK HERE TO SEE!

Michelle White Account Manager

“Michelle it has been a pleasure. You have been just the best possible help for me this last week and a half. I never would have thought it could have been that awesome! Truly you are an all star and so personable and professional.

You are a super AM and an amazing individual!!! :) “ - Justin Simpers

Carmelo Poliandro & David Blum

“You guys are fantastic. This loan was the easiest that I’ve ever done. Thanks guys.”- Broker Comment

Chris Ramirez Underwriter

“This is the first loan I’ve had with Chris and I can’t tell you how awesome he’s been to work with. Very easy to talk to, communicated effectively and quickly, just thought you should know how appreciated he is by our team and broker. ” - Amy Rios

Amy Rios

Account Manager

“Amy Rios is an amazing partner. Her conditions are ALWAYS labeled, easy to read and right!! If there is something in a file that doesn’t make sense, I call her and she can walk me through it. She knows every single one of her files like the back of her hand and off the top of her head. I literally have NO IDEA how she Funder does it. I wanted you guys to know how much I appreciate her.

Thank you for always having a positive attitude and a willingness to help out Aspinall whenever I give you a call on our files. You’re such a pleasure ”to- Karen work with!! :)

Stephanie Thomas

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECOGNIZE SOMEONE WHO MADE IT HAPPEN ?

EMAIL JCUCCIA@ORIONLENDING.COM WITH YOUR POSITIVE COMMENTS & KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THEM IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE GALAXY!

Michelle White, Lowren Beza & Rose Tran

“Guys,I wanted to thank each of you for an awesome job on this file. It is proof positive of a system and process that has been improved to the point that nobody can compete with us. These docs were requested on Monday at 10:00 out at 12:00, got signed first thing on Tuesday back at 12:noon via upload and funded today. The broker was hoping to fund and record Thursday. Handling purchases at this speed will give Orion a great competitive advantage.”

- Glenn Danford

Raelene Holliday Account Executive

“Fantastic review… In addition to comments listed below, Rae is one of the kindest most incredible human beings on the planet. As an Account Executive she certainly has her “im sooooo stressed” moments, and she’ll let you know (ha)… but she is one of the very best AEs out there.

The entire team here plays an equally important part and you are all instrumental in making loan successes like this possible. I’m so impressed by you all.” - Jeremy Stewart “Raelene Holliday is by far the best Account Executive I have ever worked with. Compassionate & extremely knowledgeable, hands down, Raelene Holliday closes loans. Preferred Account Executive for Viewpoint Mortgage Inc.”

Happy Holidays,

Congratulations on an amazing 2017! Orion has had such a tremendous year and you all should be so proud. The dedication, blood, sweat and tears that each of you contribute daily to our collective success is inspiring and humbling.

The mortgage landscape began a substantial shift in 2017 with rising interest rates.

While interest rates are still very low, historically speaking, higher interest rates impacted the amount of refinance volume in the market. Orion Lending not only weathered the change; we thrived by remaining nimble and adjusting processes quickly to maintain a laser focus on purchase volume. As we head into 2018 it is more critical than ever that our evolution in technology, process and service not only continue, but accelerate. We will all be asked to do things that are different from our past as the needs and wants of broker partners and borrowers change.

Technology allows for the sharing of data and information in real time, but there is NOTHING more important than the human connection and service that we provide each other and our broker partners. As one broker said to an Account Manager this week, “I had not previously received a call from anyone in operations at Orion.

It’s so nice to meet you and get to know and work with you. THANK YOU�! People work with people they like. Thank you in advance for embracing this change, for seizing the day with an CAN attitude and being your best self! I promise that same commitment from your executive team. 2018 will be an incredible year because of each and every one of you! Happy Holidays!!! Enjoy spending time with family and friends as we recharge and prepare to roar into 2018!

I

Richard Plummer

2017 Wrapped

Rather than attempt to list all of our remarkable milestones, awesome achievements, formidable advancements and inspiring performances we contributed this year.

Rather than revel in an outstanding $1.2b loans funded with an average funded survey score of 4.7 out of 5… Rather than cheer on substantial and prolific advancements in processes and tech, and all of the

I

CAN

moments. Rather than high five all of the 1, 2 and 3 year anniversaries and bobblehead recipients. One simply has to read the Galaxy to take in all of the Orion greatness.

Greatness as a result of each of you. Behind the scenes like untiring elves dedicating to perfecting their craft with unwavering dedication, we forge ahead. 2017 was galvanizing in terms of our positioning both internally and externally. As we put bows and ribbons on the last few working days of this year, I encourage everyone to take a moment and thank their co-workers onsite and off. While we are off for the upcoming Xmas and New Year’s breaks I encourage you to spend time with loved ones, friends, family, and for those that support you in life…or simply spend time doing what you love.

Be thankful and proud of our sound organization and all of its accomplishments. I’m thankful for each of you and am humbled to work alongside you all. Looking forward, 2018 will present new challenges and mountains to scale. While it will be a record setting year for us, it will require we all work out new muscles. Isolate our Orion abs and core strengths and do it with even greater passion and positive intensity. Wake up ignited and fired up for every single minute of it, because I will. Be safe out there.

Jeremy Stewart

New Hires

Take a moment to welcome the newest members of the Orion Family!

DANIELLE KING Outside Account Executive MARIO LOPEZ Outside Account Executive STEVE CLARKE Divsional Vice President ROB ANRUD Outside Account Executive HEIDI GESCHKE Outside Account Executive JASON POLLAK Regional Sales Manager RICK FRICKE Regional Sales Manager TOM MACARTHUR Outside Account Executive PHIL COLLINS Area Sales Manager MIA WIGGAN Underwriter DE/VA KAREN THOMPSON National Underwriting Manager JAYNE CONNELL Outside Account Executive LISA ATAMIAN Outside Account Executive

November & December Anniversaries

Congratulate our most established members of the Orion Family!

3 Years PETER KIM PAOLA SANCHEZ DAVID DANIELS ELAINE PORRAS ROSE TRAN

2 Years

SHERI SANDERS ISABEL RAMIREZ ERIC FISHER MELISSA GARCIA MARIA CABRERA DE GUZMAN RICHARD PLUMMER

1 Year JULIA TRAN VALERIE LOZANO HANNAH SANTOS DAWN EVANS CHI DO CAITLIN NOLAN AMY RIOS MICHELLE WILDE-TESSIER DEON SMOYER SHANON LEVANDOWSKI KAREN ASPINALL JESSICA CUCCIA

WINTER BIRTHDAYS DECEMBER 21ST - MARCH 20TH

KERRI KLEIN CHRIS RAMIREZ KAREN THOMPSON DANIELLE KING ALI DEEB ELAINE PORRAS ROSE TRAN MIRNA AGUILERA CHERYL BAUER SONALI PATEL MEAGEN FERRIN ERIC FISHER BRIANDA BEJINES NICOLE BARBER LOWREN BEZA JUSTIN SIMPERS ANGIE MEDINA CLARK KNOBLOCK RYAN MERCIER CECILIA TAPIA SHANNAN SPANN MICHELLE AMEND GABRIELA SAIDIANI NATASHA LETULI BLANCA VASQUEZ JEFFREY CASTILLO TIFFANY PATTON VICTOR CSERER MEGAN HATTER SHARON RUSSELL NATALIE LOPEZ VALERIE LOZANO CHI DO MICHAEL WARNER KIMBERLY ROMINE

12/31 12/28 03/20 01/08 02/12 03/03 02/01 02/21 03/14 01/13 02/23 01/23 03/15 01/11 01/29 01/31 01/09 02/06 02/13 02/19 02/24 02/07 12/26 01/10 01/21 12/29 01/11 01/25 02/24 03/18 03/06 02/19 01/02 02/07 02/09

THE GALAXY NEEDS YOUR INPUT! IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, PICTURES OR SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT ISSUE, PLEASE EMAIL THEM TO JCUCCIA@ORIONLENDING.COM AND KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR YOUR IDEA IN THE FOLLOWING ISSUE.