Nov 5, 2018 •
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Comments Off on Merger with Time Finance Adjusters
The American Recovery Association and Time Finance Adjusters Create One Association
Learn More About Our Recent Unity Initiative
Merging to Create a Better Future for the Recovery Industry and the Professionals Involved
For more than 50 years, recovery associations have served as the main point of contact between agents and lenders. With the advent of the Internet and the drastic contraction of the lending community, this business model has experienced dramatic changes in recent years.
In the face of these changes, many of our industry’s leaders failed to adapt, doing a disservice to the businesses they represent. To make matters worse, political fragmentation by special interest groups have further weakened our ability to serve our members.
The American Recovery Association (ARA) and Time Finance Adjusters (TFA) decided to put politics behind us, once and for all. We have come together as one cohesive organization to better serve and represent the interests of our membership. Both associations realized that now, more than ever, we need one voice, strong and united.
With this unified voice, we can communicate more effectively with legislators and regulatory agencies to protect both consumers and agents. Together, we will build the best compliance and business training systems, foster relationships with lending associations, and steer the direction of our industry towards a better future for everyone.
The Process Behind the Unity Initiative
On July 17, 2018, 50 recovery professionals from every region of the country came together to reimagine an association that could represent an entire industry. This Unity Initiative represented companies of all sizes, various recovery associations, and even several owners not affiliated with any association. These dedicated men and women committed their time and money to have two in-person meetings, and after weeks of contributing to specialized committee calls and e-mails, they agreed on a path forward for the future of ARA.
What are Our Plans?
We will hire a new employee to focus on legislative and regulatory issues. This person will lead our relationship with the state and federal agencies that oversee our industry. They will develop strategies for communicating with these institutions, especially in terms of educating them on our value and commitment to protect the consumer.
We will also hire a qualified education professional to help us continue building the finest operations and compliance training program in the industry. They will lead our regional “university” initiative, which we hope becomes the most recognized hands-on and in-person program available anywhere.
We will strengthen our relationships with other leading trade associations across the country. This includes National Automotive Finance Association, American Financial Services Association, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, and the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, as well as associations at the state and regional levels. As always, our goal will be to educate them on the importance of utilizing our well-trained and compliant recovery network.
We encourage you to not sit on the sidelines during this process. If you have feedback or would like to find out how you can be more involved, please send us a message at americanrecoveryassn@gmail.com.
Questions? Send us a message at the e-mail address above or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Fourth Annual NARS Brought Together Recovery, Remarketing and the Lending Industry for Insightful Discussions (more…)
Summit Takes Participants to NARS 2012 Boot Camp to Adapt to Survive in a Changing Industry (more…)
This month we’d like to highlight Patrick J. Altes, the newest addition to the ARA Board of Directors, after our recent merger with Time Finance Adjusters. Patrick started in the repossession business in 1974, shortly after high school, as a part-time employee at his father’s repossession business. Initially, he had planned to get a “real job” after graduation, however, as many of us know, his dad, Harvey C. Altes, was quite a legend in the industry and Patrick was quickly drawn into the family business.
Patrick was able to pick up some of his father’s skills along the way and the father-son duo worked together working for some interesting non-repo-related clients on investigation and research, including nationally-known attorneys and celebrities. For many years they worked as researchers for CBS TV’s “48 Hours” TV show.
Over the years, Patrick developed the “international” aspect of his repossession agency, Falcon International while also working with Time Finance Adjusters, helping his sister, Nicki Merthe, with the management of that great organization. Patrick’s main role there was that of an industry advocate. He has been a writer, blogger, and point-of-contact for the mainstream media, to advocate for the professional repossessor and the worth and value of their services. Patrick has fought hard against practices, like contingent repossession work, which he believes to yield dangerous, unprofessional results that don’t best serve the lender, their proxies, or the consumer. After having done this for so many years with TFA, it is especially exciting for him to now partner with the “new” ARA in being a united, single voice for the industry.
In his free time, Patrick is a musician and worship leader at his church and has been involved with the music for over 27 years. Patrick still does photography and a little video production work and has been married to his favorite person, Sharon, for 37 years. They have 5 tremendous grandchildren. They work hard to be a big part of their lives, hopefully in a positive way. Patrick believes that will be his legacy, undoubtedly more enduring, and important than whatever else he has done or will do in the world.
This month’s member highlight is a special one. We want to recognize Jim Hall and his wife Carolyn who have just sold their company, Hall Recovery, after 31 successful years. We could not be happier for them and we wish them well in their retirement.
Jim and Carolyn have always been an integral part of the repossession industry as members of the American Recovery Association, National Finance Adjusters, and Time Finance Adjusters.
Jim spent most of his time away from his business working non-stop for the American Recovery Association as a member, board member, president and past president several times, and immediate past president, and is still helping whenever called upon for any task.
Jim has received numerous awards from ARA, including the Dedicated Service Award in 2013, the Key Award in 2016 & 2009, and the Special Recognition Award in 2016, to name a few. All well deserved.
“In the past 35 plus years I have known Jim, he has been the epitome of what repossession companies should be like. He has remained steadfast in his moral concepts, with an incredible work ethic. Most importantly, he has a deep love for his family and friends; I am happy to be among that group. I wish him and Carolyn truly the best in their retirement.” – Immediate Past President Jerry Wilson.
“I can’t believe Jim Hall retired without me. The best of luck, I love you brother. I still remember your old Chevrolet Lumina in Dallas years ago. Those were the days!” – Kevin McGivern, Equitable Services Inc.
“Jim, it was my honor to work with you all these years. You are a person of integrity and loyalty to the American Recovery Association, and Carolyn putting up with you all these years!” – Mary Jane Hogan, National Locating and Recovery.
“I am happy and sad for Jim and Carolyn. Sad, that he will not be in the boardroom, saying ‘now wait a minute, let’s talk this out’. I am happy that Carolyn and Jim will have more time to spend with their only child, Austin, who is in the music industry and who will most certainly one day make it big. This is not a goodbye, but a new beginning for Jim and Carolyn.” – Joan Hudson, ARB of Lousiana.
Jim & Carolyn, we appreciate you and everything you’ve done for ARA and the repossession industry. Thank you for being outstanding ARA members and wonderful friends. On to the next adventure!
This month’s Member Highlight is on Todd Abelhouzen, President and General Manager at Intermountain Research & Recovery, Inc. and dedicated member of our association.
Todd started his company in 1989, marking 25 years in the repossession business. Over time, Todd has purchased several other Auto Recovery Businesses from retiring owners including A-1 Recovery Service in Salt Lake City, Utah, Pathfinder Recovery in Reno, Nevada, and GLS Recovery in Orem, Utah. Additionally, Todd has served as a Board Member with Time Finance Adjusters, National Finance Adjusters, and American Recovery Association.
Outside of the recovery industry, Todd has started other businesses that develop real estate and emergency food storage, allowing him to work with international and local agencies to provide food to areas affected by earthquakes and storms.
Todd also volunteers with sportsmen and wildlife conservation groups. In fact, last month, Todd and his 10-year old stepson assisted with the capture and translocation of Pronghorn Antelope in southern Utah. Rather than shooting the animals, the sportsmen worked hard to help create and grow successful healthy populations for hunting, wildlife viewing and ecosystem diversity.
Todd has four amazing daughters: McKenzie (age 20), Marley (age 17), Avery (age 14) and Ashton (age 11), all of whom he is extremely proud. Todd recently married and is expecting a baby boy in the next few weeks with his wife, Jennifer.
At age 45, Todd finds himself much less worried about the little things and has realized that people are far more important than money or possessions. We wholeheartedly agree.
Do you have an exciting hobby or are involved in raising money or awareness for a worthy cause? Please help us by submitting pictures and stories of those who deserve some recognition or those who are involved in projects of interest. We’d love to hear from you – submit your interesting stories and photos to rachel@wellingtongrouppr.com.
The 6th Annual North American Repossessors Summit showed much success this year with empowering speakers and dynamic discussions revolving around the importance of standing together to revive industry standards. With more than 400 attendees, American Recovery Association and Time Finance Adjusters joined forces to host the greatest NARS the industry has seen thus far. (more…)
We are excited to announce our recent partnership with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. This new partnership will enable all ARA members to go directly to the association’s website and purchase tires at a substantially discounted cost. By utilizing the members-only resource page, members will be able to choose and pay for tires and services, and then go to any local Goodyear store that handles national accounts to have their tires installed. The program will start with tires and related services, such as mounting and balancing, and will then expand to include roadside service, batteries and other automotive products.
“This is one of the most dynamic offerings any association has consummated, and we think this is a game-changing relationship for our members,” said Les McCook, Executive Director of ARA. “We appreciate the efforts of the Goodyear team that helped us overcome the hurdles to make this a reality.”
In addition to the recently announced WEX integration to get ARA members a bottom-line savings on their fuel purchases, the association has successfully addressed two of the largest hard costs in our members’ businesses. To take advantage of this new member benefit, visit ARA’s Member Resource page: members.repo.org.
In addition to the strategic partnership, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company also committed to be the lunch sponsor at NARS 2014, hosted by ARA and TFA (Time Finance Adjusters).
The North American Repossessors Summit (NARS), an industry event hosted by the American Recovery Association, Inc. (ARA) and Time Finance Adjusters (TFA), is proud to announce that Brad Berry, a Senior Field Advisor for Advanced Diagnostics USA, and Tony Presido, Director of USA distribution for Advanced Diagnostics USA, will give a brief presentation on the importance of locksmithing next Thursday, March 20th at 10:00 a.m. before the summit. (more…)
The North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) is an industry event hosted by the American Recovery Association (ARA) and Time Finance Adjusters (TFA) that focuses on education, key issues impacting the industry and networking. We are proud to announce that that a member from the southwest region of the CFPB is scheduled to speak our sixth annual event.
This is the first time a CFPB representative will serve as a key speaker at a recovery and remarketing industry event. In his own words, the representative will explain any misconceptions regarding the CFPB’s involvement within the recovery industry. It will be a very informative and empowering session. (more…)
