Safeguard Contributes to Curriculum at AACE
American Association of Code Enforcement
24th Annual Business and Education Conference
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
October 28-31, 2013
Code enforcement professionals from 31 states converged on the capital city of Oklahoma for four days of continuing education and networking at the American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE) annual conference.
Safeguard’s community initiatives department contributed to the conference’s curriculum with a class titled, Foreclosure & Abandonment: Understanding the Mortgage Servicing World, Impacts on Cities and Viable Solutions. Speakers included Michael Halpern, Safeguard Properties director of community initiatives; Andrew Hohensee, Wells Fargo; Howard Wedren, SecureView™; as well as a collaboration by the mortgage servicing industry with representatives from Lender Processing Services (LPS) and Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS). Heather Lazar, Safeguard Properties community relations Liaison, moderated the course.
The panel shared valuable information about foreclosures, a message of partnership to reach shared objectives of the industry, and innovative resources for cities to better address vacancy and abandonment. One of those resources that received an overwhelming response was SecureView, an alternative board-up system that uses a clear, unbreakable material. In addition to the many benefits for communities and neighbors with the use of this option, Howard Wedren, president and founder of SecureView™, showed before and after photos of properties using the product. An additional resource for cities is available through Compliance Connections®. Code enforcement professionals shared stories of utilizing this tool to effectively identify the servicer, communicate with them, and expedite resolution.
For the third year, Safeguard offered eight scholarships to code enforcement officers to attend the annual AACE conference. Each scholarship included the conference registration and hotel stay. The community initiatives department is proud to announce that this year’s winners included:
Azure Botts, City of Maryville, TN
Shawn Brown, Town of North Hempstead, NY
Robert Carman, City of Aztec, NM
Deborah Dalton, City of Burlington, VT
Victor Martinez, Town of Gilbert, AZ
Dale Nicolas, City of St. Charles, MO
Barbara Novoryta, City of Centennial, CO
Rio Orticio, City of Garland, TX
We once again congratulate the recipients and express our appreciation to the association for partnering with Safeguard in this initiative.
Next year will be a significant one for AACE as it celebrates its 25th anniversary in Rosemont, IL. Safeguard will continue its support of the organization through sponsorship, exhibiting, and offering coursework that develops and sharpens the skill sets of its members and attendees.
A special thanks to the Oklahoma Association of Code Enforcement, led by president Marsha Sirmon with the city of Edmond, for welcoming all attendees to her host state. Congratulations to AACE’s board, led by John Benisch with the city of St. Charles, MO, for delivering another successful conference.
About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest mortgage field services company in the U.S. Founded in 1990 by Robert Klein and based in Valley View, Ohio, the company inspects and maintains defaulted and foreclosed properties for mortgage servicers, lenders, and other financial institutions. Safeguard employs approximately 1,700 people, in addition to a network of thousands of contractors nationally. Website: www.safeguardproperties.com.
