Archive for the ‘ARA Member Spotlight’ Category
John Morgan is ARA’s director of 
compliance. If you haven’t spoken to him and/or seen him speak, you need to. As the director of compliance, he vets and ensures all documents that are put into ARA’s compliance program are validated and put in their proper spot. He also, within ARA’s Green Light program, contacts members with any issues they may have within their compliance documents. He also coordinates site inspections with Home Office. When he’s not keeping ARA members in the green, he spends his spare time making spirit signs for high school sports programs (think football, basketball, etc.) and end of the season senior gifts. Most of the money he’s paid goes back into the sports program. It’s his labor of love. His biggest project this past year was a sign for a catholic school that took him six months to complete. The school wanted to honor those who contributed to making the new floor a reality, so John took pieces from that old floor and created a 4’ X 3’ tribute. If you want to know about our compliance program or simply want to get to know John, email him at john@americanrecoveryassn.org.
American Recovery Association would like to give a shout out to Torie Baker of Baker Recovery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Torie and her husband, Sam, were in attendance at the ARA Convention in Denver this past July. Torie, we love your enthusiasm, support and awesome attitude!
Click HERE to see what Torie thought about this year’s convention.
AJ Bruce, son of Paul Bruce, Jr., has always had a passion for weapon design and application. Even in his childhood, AJ was enthralled with the Military Channel. This fascination manifested not only in AJ’s unfolding career, but in his strong character as well.
AJ received his Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey this past spring. AJ worked his way through college, doing whatever necessary to achieve his goal. This competitive outdoorsman stunned employers when he and four other seniors from his class entered their project in a demonstration against schools from all over the country. AJ’s team won the bid and were deemed the “A team,” resulting in him obtaining three job offers from military contractors before his graduation. (more…)
Marcelle Egley-Sparks, owner of ABA Recovery, is a true inspiration. Aside from managing the daily stress and responsibilities of being a business owner, Marcelle dedicates her free time to her local Awana program. Through the Awana program, Marcelle is able to mold and influence young lives by mentoring the children and instilling strong leadership characteristics in them. Marcelle has always been a wonderful role model within our industry and the children of her Awanas group are lucky to have her as a mentor. Thank you, Marcelle, for all that you do for us and for your community.
Jim Hall is one of those men who go above and beyond in every aspect of life. Jim has given innumerable hours to growing and improving our association and industry as a whole. We are very proud to call Jim an ARA board member and friend. We would like to specifically thank Jim for his contribution to NARS 2016. Jim, in addition to his NARS committee duties, organized and facilitated the NARS 2016 AT&T Stadium Tour. From coordinating with the stadium to making sure the tour and transportation went smoothly, Jim prepared and planned every step of the way. Thank you, Jim, for all the work that you have done for ARA and NARS. We truly appreciate your loyalty and dedication to ARA and our industry. Without Jim, and the rest of the 2016 planning committee, NARS would not be the successful event that it has become.
It takes a village to thrive in today’s market climate. The importance of team effort, strong time management, prioritizing family time and good business sense is evident with Walter and Carla Justice.
Walter and Carla were married January 1989 and have been in the recovery business for almost 27 years. They learned a lot in their business, and in turn, raised their family within our industry family. Their two sons, Trae and Colby, are both members of the Young Professional Repossessor Commission. Over time they too have added family members and introduced them to our industry family as well. Colby’s wife Angie works with the Justice’s.
After working under Jack Justice and Don Thornton, Walter and Carla started Justice Brothers. They went on to purchase Alert Recovery and became proud ARA members, as well as members of Eagle Group XX. Walter and Carla have never forgotten the professionalism that Don Thornton instilled in them from the beginning and consider him one of their greatest mentors.
The recovery industry has been a constant in the Justice household. They consider working in this industry a hobby since they enjoy it so much. Well, that, and golf…
We are so very pleased to have Walter and Carla among our constituents. They are a perfect example of a family who gives back and encourages the younger generation of recovery professionals to contribute as well. Thank you both for all that you have done for our industry through the years.
DeAnn grew up in the repossession business and is a third generation participant in our industry. She works with her brother in managing the day-to-day operations of Preferred Adjusters, Inc. in Austin, TX. Although the business is her main job, her true calling is riding horses. She is an accomplished rider in several equestrian disciplines, including Dressage, Show Jumping and Hunter. One of her most rewarding life experiences is teaching others the skills of horsemanship. Over the years her most special students have been autistic children. DeAnn has been able to share her equestrian skills to help change the lives of these children.
On August 7, 2015, DeAnn was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Since that time, all of life’s little pleasures are a struggle. She has lost her job at the stable and is unable to ride. With all of the other issues she is dealing with, the loss of the joy of working at the stable is one of the hardest to face.
In her community, DeAnn has always been known to be the one to call if you are having personal issues or need a friend. If someone needed a place to stay or help with the daily challenges of everyday life, she was there for them to lean on or to lend a sympathetic ear. Now, it is this very same community that is giving her the lift that she so desperately needs. Her network of support includes all of her Facebook friends as well as a local support group of women who have dealt with, or are currently dealing with, breast cancer. Some of her very close friends have started a Go Fund Me page (https://www.gofundme.com/deannjuliano) to help her cover the cost of treatments and living expenses since the loss of her riding income.
We all have DeAnn in our prayers and hope that the positive prognosis that her doctors have given holds true. As of today, she has undergone four of her six chemotherapy treatments and still faces radiation, surgery and another round of treatments that will last another eleven months. We all know DeAnn is an incredibly strong and determined spirit and we know she will conquer this.
Thanks for all that you do, DeAnn! You are such a blessing to our association, community and industry.
This month we feature a rising star within the American Recovery Association, Brent Hoel from Charleston, West Virginia. As a third-generation ARA member, Brent has grown up in the industry, attending conventions with his father and getting ready to take the reins of the family business. After graduating from Fairmont State University with a business degree, he has continued to build on a strong legacy with his memberships in YPRC, TFA and Eagle Group XX. As one of the first members of YPRC, he recognizes the responsibility and opportunities ahead for his generation: “I’m trying to become more hands on, since we are going to be the ones in the positions to make changes and decisions. I’ve been around these organizations for so long, but never really had a voice.”
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Senior year in high school is a stressful time for young adults. They are trying to determine the right career path for themselves, pass their senior-level classes, get ready for college, find the perfect prom date and enjoy as much of their senior year as possible. For most kids at that age, volunteering doesn’t exactly fit into their social calendars. Savanna Price however, is different than most.
Savanna, the daughter of ARA member Alex Price, has a true passion for volunteering and is a natural-born leader. She is a member of the service club at Mobile Christian High School where she helps host food drives to benefit local shelters and participates in a walk-a-thon to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. Savanna is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Standards group as well as the National Honor Society. A prestigious accolade to add to Savanna’s long list of accomplishments was her selection to be an Oakleigh Belle. In a program run by the city of Mobile’s Historic Society, Oakleigh Belles spend 30+ hours memorizing Mobile’s rich history and present at city events. Savanna was one of 17 girls chosen out of 2,000 applicants to get to don the traditional antebellum dresses.
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The Rust family sure has something to brag about – Tyler Rust, the son of Double Eagle Services’ Tim Rust, has been named an Udall Scholar. The Udall Foundation awards prestigious scholarships to five college sophomores and juniors for their commitment to issues related to American Indian nations and the environment.
“Because tribal public policy is heavily dependent upon maintaining tribal lands, a solid background in earth sciences will help me not only to understand tribal environmental issues but also to help solve them,” said Rust.
Tyler is currently a junior studying geology and geospatial technology at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. He entered this particular field of study to protect and develop tribal public policies with an eye to environment concerns, sustainability and stewardship of the land. Tyler will be spending the summer studying in Turkey.
We are incredibly proud of Tyler and the work he is doing.
