Washington, D.C. – April 1, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has presented its annual Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award to Bill Cosgrove, President and CEO of Union National Mortgage Company, at its 2011 National Policy Conference.
The award is given annually to an MBA member employee in recognition of his or her sustained superior service to the association and the real-estate finance industry as a whole.
Cosgrove is a certified mortgage banker (CMB), a member of MBA’s Board of Directors and recently served as chairman of MORPAC, the industry’s political action committee. During his tenure, Cosgrove raised more than $1 million to bolster MBA’s advocacy efforts during the 2009-2010 election cycle.
Cosgrove, whose mortgage banking career has spanned more than 25 years, also has been a member of MBA’s Legislative Steering Committee, its RESBOG Advisory Committee, and has served as chairman of the Ohio MBA.
“We all owe Bill a debt of gratitude,” said MBA President and CEO John Courson, “not just for what he has done for MORPAC, but for his legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts both here and in his home state of Ohio, and his willingness to represent the industry before the media.”
The award is named after the late MBA Legislative Counsel Burton C. Wood, who devoted more than 30 years of service to MBA’s advocacy efforts, and passed away in 2010. Wood was the first recipient of the award in 1990, and his lobbying skills gained the respect and attention of both Republicans and Democrats alike.
Courson noted the award’s presentation Wednesday was bittersweet because it was the first since Wood’s passing.
“Burton Wood is, was, and will always be an MBA treasure,” Courson said. “We are all truly blessed to have known Burton, to have worked alongside him and to have had him working on our behalf. He is truly missed.”
Union National Mortgage Company, based in Strongsville, Ohio, is a full-service mortgage banker founded in 1970.
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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation’s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,200 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA’s Web site: www.mortgagebankers.org.
