Norman Edwards, a fixture for nearly 20 years on the Mortgage Bankers Association staff, has died, according to a family member's Facebook posting and several industry sources who knew him.
The date and circumstances of Edwards' passing were not immediately available Tuesday.
"He was one of the first people I met at MBA and I was always impressed with how helpful he was and what a good friend he was and I always enjoyed smoking cigars and drinking whisky with him. He will be sorely missed," said Ann Fulmer, an expert on fraud and compliance in the mortgage industry.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Edwards joined ITT Financial Services as an analyst in 1989 and became a senior underwriter at North American Mortgage in 1993.
In June 1994, he joined MBA as the associate director of wholesale lending. In 2000, he became associate vice president of program development.
In November 2013, he left the trade group. Earlier this year, Edwards joined the real estate sales team at Long and Foster, working in the company's Annandale, Va., office.
Before joining the MBA, Edwards was a track star at the University of Georgia between 1983 and 1986. He also represented Jamaica in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was a member of 400 meter relay team which won the silver medal. He also ran in the 100 meter sprint, where he won his first round heat; Edwards eventually advanced to the semi-finals but failed to qualify for the finals.
