Volunteers of the Month

Our volunteers come from all over and take the time to volunteer their services for many different reasons. NEFA recognizes the hard work and dedication of our volunteers and would like to thank them for their contributions. 
 

2010

July/August 2010 - Scott Wheeler, CLP
May/June 2010 - Bryan Inman
March/April 2010 - Tamara McCourt, CCE, CLP
January/February 2010 - Reid Raykovich, CLP

2009

November/December 2009 - Charlie Ehlers
September/October 2009 - Amy Spragg, CLP
July/August 2009 - Dwight Galloway, CLP
May/June 2009 - Denise Castagna
March/April 2009 - George A. Parker
January/February 2009 - Brent M. Hall, CLP 

Scott Wheeler, CLP
Wheeler Business Consulting

Newsline, July/August 2010, Vol. 2, No. 4

Scott Wheeler has been active in the commercial equipment financing/leasing business since 1982. He started his career as a credit analyst for GECC and quickly moved into a marketing capacity for various bank-owned lessors in the mid- to late-80s, funding middle-market hard collateral transactions.

In 1989, after considering leaving the industry, Scott entered the small-ticket arena and joined The Equipment Leasing Company in Baltimore, Maryland. Over the next 20 years, Scott served in various positions within the company, including sales manager, vice president of sales and president.  In 2008, after completing a two-year executive MBA program from Loyola University Maryland, Scott started Wheeler Business Consulting and consults with individuals and companies that are engaged in the commercial equipment leasing industry.  He also facilitates a comprehensive leasing school for individuals entering the industry and an enrichment program for less-seasoned originators.

In 1989, Scott first became involved in EAEL and has transitioned his continued involvement into the NEFA.  Scott has worked on various committees, served on the board and chaired many association events for both EAEL and NEFA. Presently, Scott is a NEFA board member and is the chairperson of the Membership Committee, which is currently working on an extensive membership-growth initiative.  He is also active in planning several annual NEFA educational and networking events in the Northeast. 

Bryan Inman
Great American Insurance

Newsline, May/June 2010, Vol. 2, No. 3

Bryan Inman manages business development and expansion of the Equipment Finance Solutions business group within Great American Insurance. He joined Great American in 1997 and has held a variety of strategic positions in customer management, product development and business development.

Dedicated to the equipment leasing and finance industry, Bryan has a customer-centric focus and applies his expertise and creativity to deliver equipment insurance solutions that provide value to his customers’ business.
   
Bryan is licensed as a property and casualty insurance agent in multiple states and is an active member of the NEFA, formerly serving on its Board of Directors and currently serving on its Regional and Conference Committees.

In the spring of 2010, Bryan served as the conference chair for the National Equipment Finance Summit in Dallas, Texas.  Working closely with the conference committee and management company, Bryan was able to present a high-quality event with great networking opportunities. 

Bryan resides in Hidden Valley Lake, Indiana (part of greater Cincinnati, Ohio) with his dog, Buddy, and cat, Bennie.  He enjoys being an uncle, along with fishing, biking, softball and volleyball, and has a knack for cleverly applying song lyrics and movie quotes to highlight moments in everyday life.

Tamara McCourt, CCE, CLP
Five Point Capital

Newsline, March/April 2010, Vol. 2, No. 2

Tamara McCourt was first introduced to the leasing industry in 1992 as the “family babysitter” who also helped at the Cascade Leasing Company office.  She covered a variety of duties, including filing, office coordination, credit processing and sales support.  At the time, Tamara had to promise her new manager’s wife that even if her husband made her cry and quit her job, she would never quit babysitting.  Little did she know, Tamara had started her career in the equipment leasing industry.   Tamara then moved to the Seattle area where she worked for a broker as a sales representative.  While working for this broker, she also trained new staff on documentation and credit processing.

In 1998, Tamara made a bold move to leave the leasing world and go back to school.  During this time, she worked as a credit manager for an electrical supply company. In 2001, Tamara earned her Certified Credit Executive (CCE) designation through the National Association of Credit Managers.  In 2004, while attending a financial statement analysis course, Tamara was pursued by Pinnacle Business Finance and ended up serving as Pinnacle’s Credit Manager for four years.
 
During that time, she achieved her Certified Lease Professional (CLP) and also received her graduate degree from the School of Credit and Financial Management at Dartmouth.   In 2008, Tamara moved to San Diego and began working for Pentech as their Western Region Credit Manager.  Currently, Tamara works for Five Point Capital as the Director of Operations.

After attending the Fall 2009 NEFA Funding Symposium in Monterey, California, Tamara joined the NEFA Conference Committee.  Right away, she became heavily involved in planning the Spring 2010 National Equipment Finance Summit in Dallas, Texas.  Working closely with the committee and the NEFA staff, Tamara has been a tremendous asset to the committee and even took on the responsibility of organizing her first session.  A committee chair in the making, perhaps?  Thank you, Tamara, for all of your hard work!          

Reid Raykovich, CLP
Financial Pacific Leasing

Newsline, January/February 2010, Vol. 2, No. 1

Reid Raykovich started her career in the equipment financing industry in 2003 as a Client Relations Manager at Premier Lease & Loan Services and later moved into the Strategic Marketing and Partnerships Manager position.  During this time, she severed as a Regional Director for the Northwest region of the UAEL.  In 2005, she passed the CLP exam which she credits as being the best thing she ever did in her career.  This led to an Operations Manager position with her mentor’s company – McCommon Leasing Company. Then in 2007, she accepted the positions she’s currently at with Financial Pacific Leasing where she manages the Northeast Territory Broker Division. 

Not only has Reid worked on both the National Equipment Finance Summit in Orlando, Florida and the NEFA Funding Symposium in Monterey, California, she also served as the conference chair for the 2009 Fall Super Regional Expo in Teaneck, New Jersey.  Working closely with the Super Regional Committee, Reid was able to present a high-quality event filled with educational sessions and great networking opportunities all packed in one day.

Reid continues to remain active with the NEFA conference Committee, but will be unable to attend the National Equipment Finance Summit in Dallas since it coincides with the most exciting date in her life right now…the due date for her first child!

Charlie Ehlers
U.S. Bank Manifest Funding Services

Newsline, November/December 2009, Vol. 1, No. 6

Charlie Ehlers entered the equipment leasing industry in 1995 with U.S. Bank Manifest Funding Services.  Throughout his career at U.S. Bank, Charlie has held various sales roles in different divisions including Broker, Vendor and Portfolio Services.  Charlie took an opportunity in 2006 to develop the vendor division for a broker, Nationwide Funding, LLC.  In May 2007, Charlie returned to U.S. Bank in his current role as Director of Sales.

Charlie served as the conference chair in the fall of 2009 for the NEFA Funding Symposium in Monterey, California.  Working closely with the conference committee and management company, Charlie was able to present a high-quality, high-impact event with great networking opportunities.  With Charlie's hard work and dedication the conference theme of Connect>Innovate>Achieve was accomplished.

Charlie will continue to hold an active role in the association as he joins the 2010 Board of Directors; his high-level of expertise will be a great asset to the organization.
 

Amy Spragg, CLP
Pacifica Capital

Newsline, September/October 2009, Vol. 1, No. 5

Growing up in the leasing industry, Amy Spragg worked part time throughout high school and college at Pacifica Capital, founded by her mother and past UAEL President, Bette Kerhoulas, CLP.  Pacifica, a full-service equipment finance and leasing firm, has been funding America's business since 1984.  Amy has been a full time member of the Pacifica team since 1994 and has been involved in most aspects of operations including credit, documentation, funding and accounting.  Currently, she focuses on all general company operations as well as cultivates and manages key client accounts and vendor relationships.  Amy earned her degree in Economics from the University of California, Irvine, and became a Certified Lease Professional (CLP) in 1999.  Amy has been actively involved in the Southern California Region of the UAEL since 2006 and served on the Board of Directors for UAEL in 2008.

Amy continues to remain involved in the NEFA and serves on the Regional Committee.  Most recently, she hosted the NEFA's first Angels Game Night.  Amy took an active role in promoting this event and her efforts resulted in a sold-out event!  The Angels Game Night provided excellent opportunities for attendees to mingle before and during the baseball game.  Amy worked diligently with the management company from start to finish, ensuring the Angels Game Night was a hit.  Thank you, Amy, for making this event a great success!
 

Dwight Galloway, CLP
LEAF Specialty Finance

Newsline, July/August 2009, Vol. 1, No. 4

Let's tip our hats to Dwight Galloway, our honored Volunteer.  He truly takes his volunteer duties seriously, like any former military man or true athlete would.  When asked to assist in this year's spring summit Dwight took time from his busy schedule as the General Manager of LEAF Specialty Finance in Columbia, South Carolina to drive to a board meeting in Atlanta to present his ideas for feedback.  Dwight worked on all aspects of the Summit.  Not only did he work on the programming of the Summit, putting together a phenomenal funding panel, he went on to facilitate the panel of his peers as well.

Dwight entered the equipment leasing industry in 1979 as the regional manager of a medical equipment manufacturer.  In 1984, he founded U.S. Equipment, Inc. to provide leasing investments for commercial entities and large single investors.  Selling out to a South Carolina bank holding company in 1988, he led the resulting entity, Republic Leasing, as a national broker/lessor funding source until changing its name post merger to NetBank Leasing in 2002.  His team in Columbia, South Carolina has been providing funding for brokers and lessors under the name of NetBank, formerly Republic Leasing, since 1988 and they recently joined LEAF in 2007.

He graduated from Arkansas State University with a BS in Accounting, is a Certified Leas Professional, has served as a member of the UAEL Board, and has assisted in the planning and execution of numerous industry conferences.  After funding and servicing more than two billion dollars in leases over twenty years, Dwight is occasionally optimistic.

Denise Castagna
Nassau Asset Management

Newsline, May/June 2009, Vol. 1, No. 3

"A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles." - Washington Irving

After college, Denise joined her family business, Nassau Asset Management which was founded by her father in 1986.  The company provides full service asset management to the equipment leasing and finance industry, including collections, asset recovery, remarketing, plant liquidations and appraisals.

Denise had been active in all associations including the UAEL and the EAEL and served on the Board of the EAEL.  In the spring of 2009 Denise served as the Chairperson of the first NEFA Summit in Orlando.  We applaud Denise for her efforts in working closely with the new association, the management company and selecting a knowledgeable committee.  She managed to present a first rate program and include networking opportunities.

The NEFA would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Denise for the outstanding job she did on the first NEFA Summit.  Her always pleasant "outlook" will hopefully encourage us through 2009.  Thank you Denise for all your hard work, it was so greatly appreciated and your ever present smile makes us smile too.
 

George A. Parker
Leasing Technologies International, Inc.

Newsline, March/April 2009, Vol. 1, No. 2

George is one of three co-founders of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. (LTI), along with Jerry Sprole, CEO and Arnie Hoegler, EVP.  He is presently Executive Vice President where he serves as the Chief Financial Officer and oversees the company's marketing functions.  He has been active in the equipment financing industry for over 25 years.  Parker currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Equipment Finance Association (NEFA) serving as Treasurer and as a member of the Executive Committee.

Prior to his role with NEFA, Parker was active in the EAEL for over 10 years, serving on numerous panels and committees.  During that time, he served on EAEL's Sponsorship, Membership, and Conference committees (as a co-chair and chair).

In 2004, Parker joined the EAEL board, serving as Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee from 2006-2008.  In 2007, he served on the Merger Task Force to explore a possible merger with UAEL.  His role on the committee was to analyze membership, programming and financial data to determine synergies between the two associations, to conduct a market analysis of the leading leasing associations to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of both associations, and to help formulate a strong value proposition for a merged association.  His other major role on this committee was to draft and complete the Final Merger Recommendation and Plan to be submitted to both association boards for approval.

After the decision to merge, Parker continued to serve on the Merger Task Force to help form the new merged association and make it operational.  He worked on many organizational tasks including: evaluating and selecting an association management company (leading to the selection of Meeting Expectations, Inc.), reviewing and negotiating the management contracts, drafting and establishing the 2009 operating budget, setting up a new accounting system for NEFA, putting financial controls in place, establishing new bank operating and investment account, establishing merchant credit card accounts, assisting in selecting NEFA's first board of directors, assisting in the wind-down of EAEL, and developing a working budget for NEFA's first Spring Summit.

Brent M. Hall, CLP
Pinnacle Business Finance, Inc.

Newsline, January/February 2009, Vol. 1, No. 1

Brent Hall has been in the equipment leasing business for over 18 years, the last 9 years with Pinnacle Business Finance, Inc. headquartered in Tacoma, WA with additional offices in Wenatchee, WA and Stuart, FL.  Pinnacle currently has a staff of 60 employees with annual originations of $85MM.

Before founding Pinnacle in January of 2000, Brent was the Vice President of Heritage Credit Services in Sacramento, CA, Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions of First Sierra Financial, Inc. and then Vice President of Sales and Marketing for T&W Financial Services.

Brent is currently serving as the 2009 National Equipment Finance Association (NEFA) President.  Previously he was a member of the UAEL Board of Directors and Executive Committee, as well as a past member of the Board of Directors of the CLP Foundation.

Brent earned his B.A. from the University of California and is a Certified Lease Professional.