Combat Fighters and Fun Facts from DBA Conference 2013

Dave Rudd

I’ve come away from this year’s DBA International conference deeply impressed. I discovered that in 2012 the Association experienced about 18 percent membership growth and that approximately 33 percent of their expenses were spent on lobbying efforts. Frankly, DBA’s growth and financial commitment to your success is tremendous!

Michael Bendickson, DBA International President, reviewed DBA’s 2012 focus points, which included a great deal of federal lobbying, the creation of DBA the Magazine, and a focus on getting members involved. After reviewing my notes from the 2012 conference, I noticed that in both 2011 and 2012 DBA concentrated on visiting each state’s Attorneys General to educate them about the ARM industry and debt buying. Another example of how educating our political leaders can be a very long process!

Association members voted to approve the idea of requiring “certification” of association members. The reasons behind this proposed certification are many, but in my opinion this signals to regulatory agencies that Association members are willing to adhere to high-level established rules and approved association rules and standards. Good move!

I found the keynote address from Rob “Waldo” Waldman—The Wingman—captivating. The Wingman is a decorated F-16 combat fighter pilot who flew over 60 combat missions. He related lessons learned in combat to our businesses and industry. Below are a few of his golden nuggets of wisdom.

Commitment to Excellence

• Is your passion greater than your fear?

• What do you love more than you fear?

• Fly, fight and win!

• Resist the temptation to ease up when it is going good.

Mission Ready

• Rules for executing your plan.

• Prepare for plan execution.

• “Fight like you train and train like you fight.”

• Leaders lift each other up.

• Leaders acknowledge you as a person first and a customer or co-worker second.

• “Lose sight lose fight.” If you lose sight of the mission, you will lose the fight.

Spending time at DBA International’s conference was fun, but it also reminded me how important it is to support this great association. Clearly, their emphasis is on assisting the Debt Buying and ARM industry, through education and lobbying.

Thanks DBA for the high quality sessions and educational meetings. I will definitely be “Going For Gold” on February 5-7, 2014 at your next general conference. In the meantime, I will do what I can to help promote the industry and support your initiatives. Reader, I hope you will do the same!