This year's
Part of what makes the annual ceremony so much fun is that we go to great lengths to ensure that the winners are kept secret until the big reveal. The
The ceremony has coincided with the first night of the Mortgage Bankers Association's Annual Conference since 2004. Before that, they were presented at our own Mortgage Technology Conference.
The MT Awards began in 2000, as the successor to the magazine's annual Dream Team list of technology leaders. Former editor Matt Strickberger was the brainchild behind the Dream Team feature and his successor, Scott Kersnar, was instrumental in further developing the framework for the MT Awards as we know them today.
It was Matt who proposed naming the lifetime achievement award after
Previous recipients of the Steve Fraser Award include such well-known tech evangelists as Nancy Alley, Tim Anderson, Scott Cooley, Harry Gardner, Jeff Lebowitz and Kim Weaver, among many others.
This year's finalists, in alphabetical order, are Brian Fitzpatrick of LoanLogics, Jeff Knott of Equifax, and Leonard Ryan of QuestSoft.
There were six categories in the inaugural MT Awards. Some have stood the test of time, including the 10X Award, honoring those that have had an exponential impact on mortgage finance; the Fix-It Award, which recognizes unique remedies to industry pain points; and the Synergy Award, which commends efforts to integrate software and processes and promote automation and efficiency.
Other categories have evolved over time to stay on the cutting edge of the industry's critical technology needs and recognizing the developers and users of vital advances. This year, Awards will be presented in 12 categories.
How are the finalists and winners selected? For one category, the Lenders' Choice Award, a survey of industry professionals from mortgage lending and servicing companies vote on the vendors that provide the best customer service, value proposition and user experience.
The 11 other categories are selected by members of the National Mortgage News and Mortgage Technology editorial staff.
The MT Awards Ceremony is always a great party. Among the most spectacular was the 2010 edition, held at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The reception venue was surrounded by large underwater viewing stations — 8 million gallons of water — and the aquarium's denizens, no doubt curious who the winners were, dazzled guests as they cruised in front of the windows. Jokes about underwater loans were very apropos that evening!
The most exciting ceremony would have to be 2005 in Orlando, just as Hurricane Wilma barreled ashore in southern Florida. Though we were 200 miles north of the eye of the storm, we were treated to torrential rains and gale force winds. The walk between the MBA Annual hotel, the Disney Dolphin and the Disney Swan, where the MT Awards Ceremony was held, was just 100 yards via a covered path. But the roof did nothing to protect against the horizontal rain belting in from both sides.
This year, the awards will be given out in Las Vegas, but I'm confident the stays-in-Vegas slogan won't play out here, as the news of the winners will get sent out around the country. Las Vegas is the epitome of bright lights-big city, and on Oct. 19, some of that trademark Vegas glitter will be supplied by mortgage technology's brightest luminaries.
Mark Fogarty, Editor at Large at National Mortgage News, brings more than 30 years of sector experience to his analyses of the mortgage market.
