First Community Mortgage (FCM) has named Atlanta mortgage veteran and serial entrepreneur Dan Smith as its new President. Nationally recognized as a mortgage industry leader and sales solutions expert, Smith has been consulting with FCM for the past 8 months. Tennessee-based First Community Mortgage does business nationally, including in Georgia.
“We are excited to welcome Dan as an official part of the First Community Mortgage family,” said FCM CEO, Keith Canter. “He has long been a friend – and sometimes a friendly competitor – to FCM and has been helping us strategize toward our next phase of growth, bringing even more value to our team, our referral partners and our customers. I look forward to working alongside Dan and know you will too.”
Prior to joining FCM, Smith was President of Mortgage for National Bank of Commerce, which originates mortgages in 50 states and is now part of CenterState Bank. He co-founded Atlanta-based PrivatePlus Mortgage, a division of Private Bank of Buckhead, recognized as one of the 100 fastest growing companies by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and named to the 2016 Inc. 5000, recognizing it as one of the fastest growing businesses nationally.
“I have long known and admired Keith and FCM and look forward to being part of the team taking First Community Mortgage to its next stages of growth and innovation,” Smith says. “It’s rare to have an opportunity to help lead such a healthy company full of great people; I am excited to contribute and be part of that winning team.”
Smith has grown multiple companies with annual origination volumes ranging from $500mm to $6 Billion. He is Chairman and was principal investor of Insite Managed Solutions, which provides Sigma-based analytics strategies, training, and consulting services to Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies.
He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Miami School of Business, with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. He is Chairman-elect of the University’s President’s Council and served on the Advisory Board for The Launch Pad, a collaboration between the University of Miami, Blackstone Charitable Foundation and The Kauffman Group, which promotes entrepreneurship for students and alumni. He also is an Aspen Institute Leadership Moderator and member of The Aspen Institute’s 2012 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and served on the Advisory board of Junior Achievement of Georgia.
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Sharp Named Dean of Georgia Tech Library
Leslie Sharp, associate vice provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development, has been named dean of the Georgia Tech Library. She will officially assume the role on July 1. Since March 2019, Sharp has served as the interim chief executive officer for the Library.
“Leslie Sharp has been an outstanding administrator during her time at Georgia Tech and I thank her for her service to the Library over the last year,” said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs and K. Harrison Brown Family Chair. “She is a trusted collaborator and leader, and a passionate and compassionate educator. That leadership will be critical as the new dean of the Library and as we realize the full potential of the Library Next initiative.”
Sharp has more than 25 years of administrative experience in both academic and history-related organizations, and has been at Georgia Tech since 2006. Her time here includes service as the assistant dean for Academic Affairs and Outreach for the College of Design and, most recently, as the associate vice provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development, a position she has held since 2013.
As associate vice provost, Sharp has managed operations across the organization, including communications, human resources, finance, and general administration. She also oversaw an expanding organizational mission and operations, including growing personnel and services that offer enhanced graduate student support, professional development for graduate students and postdocs, postdoctoral services, and more intentional faculty development. Additionally, she authored new procedures for the Regents Professor and Researcher processes, resulting in more representative and inclusive practices for nomination, selection, and reappointment, and helped put in place a transparent and consistent promotion path for lecturers and academic professionals, which included adding a principal level to both.
In the role of interim CEO of the Library, Sharp was responsible for overseeing all personnel, financial, and operational decisions. She also began to craft a long-term vision for the human resources, technology, space, and culture of the Library, including strengthening integration of the Library with the academic and research mission of the Institute.
“I am proud to have served alongside the faculty and staff of the Library over the last year and am honored to be named the next dean of an incredible organization,” said Sharp. “The Library is the true scholarly heart of our community and I am excited to steer the vision of Library Next and continue my work.”
Sharp is a Georgia Tech alumna, earning a Ph.D. in the history and sociology of technology and science, with a doctoral minor in architectural history. She holds a master’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a B.A. in history from the University of Georgia.
Sharp was one of four finalists in the search for the next dean of the Library. The search committee was chaired by Jason Freeman, professor and chair in the School of Music. Members of the Office of the Provost who served on the committee included Michael Toney, director of Academic Administration, who served as the search administrative lead, and Mary Thomas, senior program manager. Representatives from outside search firm Isaacson Miller assisted.
“The candidate pool yielded a field of impressive finalists, and I’d like to extend my gratitude to the search committee and the Georgia Tech community for their support and counsel throughout this important search,” said President Ángel Cabrera. “Dr. Sharp’s long and deep history at Georgia Tech make her uniquely suited to lead our Library into a new chapter of partnership with all academic units, service to our learning and research missions, and innovation in how we access and leverage information. I very much look forward to continuing to work with her.”
Sales Xceleration Inc. conducted a Quick Pulse Survey to Sales Leaders to see how their sales organizations are functioning through the uncharted territory of COVID-19. The results confirmed that 93.4% have been overwhelmingly impacted.
77.14% of the survey respondents were small to mid-size businesses under $100M in revenue, and the key findings were:
54.72% do not have a plan-ahead strategy or plan to create one for their post COVID-19 sales efforts
47.17% have either executed sales layoffs/furloughs or plan to in the near term
34.9% adjusted quotas or compensation plans for sales reps
23.58% have not adjusted compensation plans despite sales being significantly impacted
Additionally, the survey revealed the biggest challenges companies are facing during this crisis. Key themes emerged from the data, including:
Loss of revenue
Prolonged sales cycle
Pipeline standstill
Travel restrictions
Inability to gain facetime with prospects
Employee safety
Supply chain roadblocks
Staffing struggles for essential businesses
Time and resources to focus on creating a viable re-entry strategy
Download the infographic for a full picture of the effect COVID-19 has had on sales.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the SMB community hard. Our Advisors have the expertise to help businesses navigate the current situation, while making the necessary changes to be successful as we all emerge into a new business world,” said Mark Thacker, President, Sales Xceleration, Inc.
Governor Brian P. Kemp announced the largest shipment of personal protective equipment to date has been distributed by the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH).
“We know that protecting our frontline workers is critical to our success in the fight against COVID-19,” said Governor Kemp. “GEMA/HS and DPH are leaving no stone unturned to acquire and distribute PPE, and the shipment is reflective of the priority that we are placing on keeping these workers safe.”
More than 600 orders, equaling 150 pallets of PPE and supplies, left the Georgia DPH warehouse bound for hospitals, healthcare facilities, and test sites throughout the state. Additionally, the team delivered four urgent PPE resupplies to the Department of Agriculture, Georgia Tech CVS test site, and the Georgia Department of Corrections. Altogether, GEMA/HS shipped 38,420 face shields, 423,000 gloves, 432,150 surgical masks, and 81,120 coveralls to frontline healthcare workers.
GEMA/HS and DPH continue working together to provide any requested resources needed by Georgia communities to effectively respond to COVID-19.
Investing in real estate can be a lucrative venture if you know what you are doing. The first step when looking for a profitable investment property is finding a good…The Georgia Department of Public Health reports that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stands at 29,839 and 1294 deaths as of 6:25 p.m. this evening.
Free COVID-19 testing from the Fulton County Board of Health will be available May 6 outside Buckhead’s Tuxedo Pharmacy & Gifts. The testing will be available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a Board of Health mobile unit at the pharmacy at 164 West Wiecua Road. The testing is available to anyone, but people are asked to call to check in first by at 404-613-8150. People who go for tests are urged to wear face masks and practice social distancing. For more information about free testing, see the Board of Health website here.
Piedmont Healthcare will participate in two new clinical trials that will investigate therapies for patients who are positive for COVID-19: one that will evaluate the efficacy of the anti-inflammatory drug Gimsilumab and another that will investigate proning, or repositioning patients to improve their oxygen levels. These studies began enrolling patients in early May. Amy Hajari Case, M.D., is Piedmont’s Medical Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Research and principal site investigator for these trials. The trial will consist of 270 participants and is expected to be complete in October. Piedmont is one of 18 sites participating in this study and is the third to be activated. To learn more about the trials, visit https://www.piedmont.org/research/research-home.
The post Coronavirus Update – May 5: Cases near 30K; Buckhead testing site; Piedmont clinical trials appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.
Hospital workers and first responders put themselves at risk and work long shifts in the fight against COVID-19 so we can receive care or stay home and be safe. We thank them with 8 p.m. cheers, hand-made window and chalk signs and now with a delicious lunch or take-home dinner.
“We started to hear that a meal that was nutritious, delicious and healthy would really mean a lot. Also, we were seeing reports of the restaurant industry being so impacted,” said, Alex Brown, Emory University Senior Associated Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement.
Emory’s Advancement team is coordinating two large-scale feeding programs that collect donations to boost the morale of health care workers and support staff in emergency rooms, plus police and fire rescue first responders, while also providing stability to the ravaged restaurant industry.
“We are like air traffic controllers – coordinating logistics with restaurants and hospital administrations, handling payments to the restaurants,” Brown said.
Feed the Frontline, which started with direction and funding from the James M. Cox Foundation, the Douglas J. Hertz Family Foundation and R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Foundation has raised more than $900,000 from 900+ individuals, corporations and foundations.
Launched in early April, 19 Atlanta-area hospitals in the Emory Healthcare, Grady, Piedmont, Atlanta VA, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Northside Hospital, Shepherd Center and WellStar health systems plus Atlanta police officers and firefighters – receive lunches twice a week.
Participating restaurants and catering groups include Avalon Catering, Bazati Atlanta, Chez Montier Catering, DAS BBQ, Fifth Group/Bold Catering, Chef Linton and Gina Hopkins, Local Three, Southern Proper Hospitality, and Tamarind Restaurant Group with local ingredients sourced through Georgia Organics and other local producers.
“We are thankful that this critical effort is helping to keep us working while allowing us the opportunity to provide meals and comfort to caregivers on the front lines of this global pandemic,” said Judith Service Montier, Chez Montier Catering Chief Operating Officer.
Feed the Frontline is now delivering 9,500+ meals per week.
“We have funding to run this program through mid-May. We believe we will need to continue it through the end of May,” Brown said, recognizing that the end of the pandemic remains unknown.
The second program, Healthcare Heroes, supplies a take-home dinner for two. State Farm and the Atlanta Hawks Foundation teamed up with UPS and Structor Group to raise almost $500,000 to serve Grady and Emory health care workers as they finished a twelve-hour shift.
“The chefs are taking special care to make sure these meals are comforting in addition to convenient,” Brown said.
Participating restaurants include Miller Union, Storico Fresco and Antico who now provide 5,200 meals per week.
“What’s impressed us so much is how many people essentially want to hug a health care worker – that’s been uplifting,” Brown said.
To make a donation to either program, visit feedthefrontline.emory.edu.
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