Category: Press Releases

First Community Mortgage Announces New Vice President and Mortgage Originator

February 16, 2022

In a recent announcement, First Community Mortgage (FCM) named Tracy Flesch as the company’s newest Vice President and Mortgage Originator. 

Prior to working with FCM, Flesch graduated from Iowa State University and spent some time working as a sportscaster. Much of what he learned from these past experiences helped shape how he works with clients today. 

“I enjoy making the process as simple, quick, and convenient as possible for clients,” Flesch says, “and the entire process can be completed online or in-person at my office in Huntsville, always striving to provide an experience that will exceed expectations.”

Since moving into the mortgage industry, Flesh has closed over 1,800 loans and can originate mortgages in 32 states, including Tennessee and Alabama. 

Flesch’s appointment represents FCM’s interest in and commitment to growing the communities they operate within, especially in Huntsville, where FCM will open an office in Spring 2022. 

“Tracy is a great fit for our team, having been a top producer throughout his mortgage career,” says Dan Smith, President of First Community Mortgage. “And he makes the mortgage process – which can be daunting to some – as fast, easy and painless as it can be.”

First Community Mortgage, Inc. is a subsidiary of First Community Bank of Tennessee. In 2021 alone, FCM funded nearly $3.5 billion in home loans, and is a FNMA, FHLMC, and GNMA seller and servicer. Winner of several recent “best places to work” awards, FCM is there to help with any mortgage solutions for consumers and financial institutions alike.

Read the original article here.

First Community Mortgage Recognized Among 2022 Top Workplaces USA

February 4, 2022

Middle Tennessee-based national mortgage again garners Top Workplaces notice

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — First Community Mortgage has been named one of the 2022 Top Workplaces USA by Energage, a purpose-driven organization that develops solutions to build and brand Top Workplaces.

“Our employees continue to amaze me, as they are what makes us the organization we are,” says Keith Canter, CEO of First Community Mortgage and one of the company’s founders. “I continue to be proud of their work and teamwork and the continued recognition of this great organization as a workplace of choice, especially during a challenging couple of years with the pandemic.”

In addition to the recent Top Workplaces USA recognition for the Murfreesboro-based mortgage firm that does business nationally, Canter refers to FCM also having been named one of the Best Places to Work 2021 by the Nashville Business Journal and one of the Top Work Places 2021 by the Tennessean.

“During this very challenging time, Top Workplaces – in its inaugural year – is a beacon of light for organizations, as well as a sign of resiliency and strong business performance,” says Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “Top Workplaces draw on real-time insights into what works best for an organization, so they can make informed decisions that have a positive impact on their people and their business.”

He notes that the recognition program is built on a 14-year history surveying more than 20 million employees across 54 markets for the regional Top Workplaces awards. Results are calculated by comparing the survey’s research-based statements, including 15 Culture Drivers that are proven to predict high performance against industry benchmarks.

First Community Mortgage, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Community Bank of Tennessee, and includes Wholesale, Correspondent and Retail divisions. FCM is a FNMA, FHLMC, and GNMA seller/servicer and offers mortgage solutions to consumers and financial institutions. It funded nearly $3.5 billion in home loans in 2021. First Community Mortgage is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS ID 629700.

Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com.

First Community Mortgage wins prestigious business ethics award

January 20, 2022

Award recognizes businesses for their “commitment to building trust through ethical practices”

First Community Mortgage has bagged a prestigious award that honors businesses for integrity and ethical practices.

The lender was announced as the winner of the Better Business Bureau’s (Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky) Torch Awards for Ethics in the extra-large business category.

According to the Better Business Bureau, the Torch Awards for Ethics – presented in conjunction with the BBB Integrity Foundation – recognizes businesses in BBB serving the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky service area that demonstrate an “outstanding commitment to building trust through ethical practices with their staff, the community, their approach to marketing, and within their industry.”

“This award is special because it’s bigger than who is selling the most of their service,” said Robyn Householder, president and chief executive officer of BBB serving Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. “It’s about displaying an ongoing commitment to ethical practices. This should be recognized far more often. BBB is proud to give this award as our highest honor.”

“I feel strongly that actions speak much louder than words and we’ve taken great care in establishing and communicating the core values of the organization, and communicating that they are never compromised by anyone,” said Keith Canter, CEO of First Community Mortgage. “At every level of employee engagement our values are communicated, but, more importantly, executed. Eventually, it became the fabric of our organization, in which all employees understand the values, with a clear baseline for who stays on the FCM team. That ultimately cascades to our business partners and customers, who see that we trust our employees to ‘do right’ and that we can in turn be trusted with the privilege of their partnership and business.”

Read the original article here.

First Community Mortgage again recognized as a DEI leader in mortgage industry

October 19, 2021

Murfreesboro-based national lender is the only two-time winner of Mortgage Bankers Association’s Residential DEI Leadership Award for Market Outreach Strategies, vows to continue expanding commitment

Nashville, Oct. 20, 2021 – At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual Convention & Expo in San Diego this week, Murfreesboro-based First Community Mortgage learned it is the Winner of the 2021 Residential Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Award for Market Outreach Strategies.

“We are of course proud and grateful for this recognition,” says Keith Canter, CEO of FCM and one of the company’s founders. “Plus, this award has special significance for us as FCM is the only company in our industry to have received it for a second time. We take that ‘double honor’ seriously, as it validates our commitment to provide more families from diverse backgrounds with the opportunity to achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”

In 2017, FCM also earned the MBA National Market Outreach Strategies award recognizing its efforts in this area, including a wide array of bilingual information and educational resources for Hispanic potential homebuyers. The annual award recognizes MBA members who have developed innovative ways to foster DEI efforts within their organizations, highlights leaders within the area of DEI in the real estate finance industry, inspires business strategies that reach diverse populations and raises awareness of the importance and value of being a diverse and inclusive industry.

“We are proud of our companywide initiatives to increase outreach, marketing and products to attract customers within the industry’s fastest-growing diverse market segments,” says Miguel Vega, FCM’s EVP of Multicultural Business Development and the company’s Chief Diversity Officer. “And even though the growth of our Multicultural Lending Initiative (MCLI) as well as our American Home Opportunity Fund were some of the main elements of our nomination, the award is really a recognition of the individual and collective commitment and intentionality of our incredible team. Our people each take our DEI efforts very seriously.”

Vega notes that the MCLI of First Community Mortgage has grown tremendously since 2016. As part of the MCLI, he recruits bilingual Loan Originators and team members across the country. For instance, he recruited top talent leading to the opening of new MCLI locations, like the Houston, TX, branch in October 2020. Also in 2020, Vega says FCM created the new position of Vice President, Community Engagement, to launch its Community Development Initiative, expanding the MCLI to generate even more homeownership opportunities for underserved communities, especially within the Black community, while also fostering generational wealth.

Vega says over a thousand families have been served by MCLI since the first loan closed in February of 2017. In 2019, the MCLI division produced $57.9 million, $101 million in 2020, and is on track to produce $125 million by the end of 2021.

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is an ongoing journey,” Canter says, “especially to continue being a leader in DEI, so we will keep listening, evolving best practices and investing the time, energy, and other resources, further expanding homeownership information and access.”

FCM Receives ‘Best Workplaces’ Recognitions

June 23, 2021

Middle Tennessee-based national mortgage firm credits “amazing employees” with its two wins for best places to work.

First Community Mortgage been named one of the Best Places to Work 2021 by the Nashville Business Journal and one of the Top Work Places 2021 by the Tennessean.

“Our employees are amazing and make us the organization we are today,” says Keith Canter, CEO of First Community Mortgage and one of the company’s founders. “I am proud of their work and teamwork every day and am all the more wowed by this double-dose of workplace recognition because the past year-plus was especially challenging due to the pandemic.”

In the Business Journal, FCM was recognized in the large employer’s category. For the Tennesseans‘ “Best” recognition, FCM was recognized in the medium employer’s category. It is the company’s first appearance on the two lists.

“Receiving these accolades in the wake of a year that was challenging for everyone is a credit to all of the individuals who make our company a great place to work day in and day out,” says Tammie Russell, FCM’s SVP of Human Resources. “For an organization that is just 19 years old, we’ve evolved rapidly, and our employees carried their ability to pivot quickly into a tough year and not only ‘maintained,’ but excelled.”

Russell notes that, apart from FCM going to all-virtual meetings for a time during 2020 and 2021, employees created their own virtual events like lunches to stay connected. She also says employee recognition was paramount during the pandemic and included everything from special recognition packages to the CEO sitting down one day and literally calling every employee. Russell says FCM added more recruiting services in response to COVID and took the HR due diligence process completely virtual, and that these changes will continue.

View original press release here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-community-mortgage-receives-best-workplaces-recognitions-301318003.html

First Community Mortgage’s Employee-Directed Foundation: Annual Rambo Scholarship Awarded

April 29, 2021

 Middle Tennessee State University recently awarded the FCM Cares’ annual Andrew C. Rambo Memorial Scholarship to Murfreesboro, TN, native Katelyn (Katie) Gardner.

Gardner, of Englewood, TN, will graduate this month from MTSU with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She plans to use the scholarship toward an MBA degree, also from MTSU.

“This scholarship will allow me to be financially independent as well as pay for the remainder of my MBA program and personal training certification,” Gardner says. “That enables me to not have to take out student loans and to graduate debt-free, which I know is a rare and wonderful circumstance in today’s world.”

Gardner anticipates graduating in August 2022, after which she hopes to pursue a career in B2B sales and eventually start her own business. 

“We are proud of Katie, her hard work thus far and the clear vision she has about earning an advanced degree, working as a personal trainer while doing so and having a career plan in mind,” says Keith Canter, Chairman & President of FCM Cares and CEO of First Community Mortgage. “It’s a bonus that Katie loves being an MTSU Blue Raider so much that she is sticking around to do her graduate work there.”

Now in its fifth year, the Andrew C. Rambo Memorial Scholarship was established by FCM Cares Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. Rambo was board chair of First Community Bank and board member of First Community Mortgage. To learn more about the Rambo Scholarship and FCM Cares, please visit www.FCMCares.org

“Andy Rambo served his community in many ways and cared about giving back to his community,” Canter says. “This is why FCM Cares was proud to create the scholarship in his honor, helping others who also are always wanting to learn and help others. We’re proud to reach this milestone, awarding Andy’s scholarship for the fifth year.”

View original press release here: https://www.murfreesboropost.com/news/state/first-community-mortgages-employee-directed-foundation-annual-rambo-scholarship-awarded/article_f9eda2e4-8114-5ccc-82c6-5daa39c004b7.html