Coalition News
V o l u m e X I I , I s s u e I I
Coalition Awards Presented at 2019 Tennessee Housing Conference
Sharon Bosworth - “Sharon’s unfailing patience and knowledge of complicated pro-
grams have served thousands of households in our area,” said AHR Executive Director Eddie
Latimer. “These particular families are facing very insecure futures. Sharon and her staff give
the best advice and find workable solutions in most cases.
“She is a tremendous and effective leader with a big heart.”
Bosworth, director of Lending and Foreclosure Prevention at the non-profit housing organiza-
tion, was celebrated for her leadership while she and her staff supported 3,000 homeowners
facing foreclosure. Her team closed 20% of the Hardest Hit foreclosure prevention loans pro-
vided by Tennessee Housing Development Agency (in 2011- 2015). Understanding how mort-
gages worked enabled Bosworth and her staff to excel in foreclosure prevention.
She directed the NFMC program, another foreclosure mitigation partnership with THDA.
AHR helped over 1,000 Tennesseans mitigate mortgages with their first mortgage servicer.
Marshall Crawford – Marshall’s nomination came from USDA’s Don Harris: “As
Executive Director of The Housing Fund, his vision and leadership have led to significant suc-
cesses with…the Make a Mark Loan Program. This program helped creative entrepreneurs find
affordable living and working spaces in the Nashville area. A specific area … was the Buchan-
an (St.) area. . . Marshall and THF became an approved Intermediary for USDA’s Direct Loan
Packaging, not only for Tennessee but two additional states. He is always seeking new oppor-
tunities to advance affordable housing.”
Since joining The Housing Fund, Crawford’s leadership has helped drive the success of multi-
ple efforts, including the establishment of Nashville’s first community land trust model and Homebuyer Education programs. Both align eligible borrowers with affordable housing and help enhance neighborhoods through entrepreneurship and working spaces. In the past two
decades, the organization has lent over $55 million, leveraging a total of $400 million to help low-income communities secure their own homes.
Eric Haralson – As the immediate past-chair, Eric was charged with coordinating the
Nominations Committee. The board took pride in surprising him with his own installation. Eric has served the Coalition in leadership positions for 10+ years. More on Eric on next page.
Each year we ask the membership: Who inspires you? We’ve all been privileged to meet great
people. As members we can celebrate those among us who have made our housing work easier by providing an example of excellence. In March we applauded standout members. The Coalition also installed remarkable leaders into its Hall of Fame. The winners are presented in alphabetical order.
2
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
AWARDS CONTINUED
Cont’d from the first page
In his professional career, Eric served as an executive at Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (Fahe). He helped
lead a unique collaborative model connecting a network of local, regional, and national leaders, all working together to up-
lift our nation’s rural places. Working with their network of 50+ nonprofits across the Appalachian portion of Kentucky,
Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, and Maryland, Eric leveraged expertise in finance, collaboration, innovation,
advocacy, and communication to achieve a more prosperous region. With a focus on leadership, housing, education, health
and social services, and economic opportunity, Eric and the Fahe leadership team empowered the people and communities
of Appalachia with the resources, opportunities, and tools needed to build a better life.
Carla Jarrell – Carla has worked with various community partners to help
them achieve their housing goals by presenting Pinnacle Financial Partners as a will-
ing and eager “member bank” through the Affordable Housing Program offered by
the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, securing funding on several applications.
Early in her tenure at Pinnacle, Jarrell was a member of a small team of individuals that developed what became the Community Investment Tax Credit Program. The strategy encourages more financial institutions to invest in affordable housing pro-
grams and community development. A champion was found who made it into state law. Since its inception, CITC has helped create thousands of affordable housing
units across the state. Though her work at Pinnacle Carla has been able to think out-side the box, willing to innovate with her community partners, she is always willing
to think of ways to layer funding to help families get into homes. And to help devel-opers in the affordable arena work through the financing aspects of projects.
Rosalind Robinson – Rosalind’s innovative efforts have inspired Lethia
Mann, her organization’s board chair, to remain 10 years.
“It continues to amaze me … the quality and quantity resulting from their labor with
such a small staff. For years the operation has run like a fine-tuned machine with
just two full-time and one part-time employee...which is even more astonishing when
you consider that they average serving 800 clients annually. Rosalind created an in-
genious workflow to encompass how staff hours are charted to maximize dedicated
quality time to face-to-face counseling, group training, follow-up and administrative
duties. This was the result of her Business Administration and Industrial Engineer-
ing education.
“Because of her concern that clients sustain their choice of housing, 30 years ago she
initiated the first financial literacy program in Nashville, which she titled “Financial
Empowerment.” In addition to her agency, she also provided financial literacy and/or
homebuyer education classes free for many organizations across the community.”
Since the agency’s inception, Residential Resources, Inc. has served over 18,000
clients.
Terry Cunningham - executive director of the Kingsport Housing & Rede-
velopment Authority for over 22 years, has used his gentle nature to transform physi-
cal developments and refresh community spirit. Securing federal funding, reporting usage accurately and timely, staying within budget are all skills our members possess
and exercise. We honored Terry for the diplomatic and sensitive work required to effect radical change necessary for neighborhoods’ growth. For that we presented him with the Cathie Dodd Memorial Award for Outstanding Advocacy .
We thank our Hall of Fame inductees for their service and appreciate that they are willing to teach us the better way.
3
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
Strong Leadership Foundation
I can’t believe we are already in April. The flowers are blooming; the grass is greening out and it’s home buying season for many. Home buy-ing season reminds me of the important work of the Tennessee Affordable Housing Coalition in educating members, government officials, nonprof-its, REALTORS® and others about housing issues across the state. With our mission of connecting, educating and advocating for housing opportu-nities for Tennesseans we are the one source for all things related to af-fordable housing.
We are on a roll this year with an increase in membership, more infor-mation provided through our emails and website, and our regional council meetings are getting into full swing. I encourage you to find out when
your regional council meeting is and be there. We had a series of great meetings in March in conjunction with the Tennessee Housing Conference and elected a new slate of officers. We even surprised a few of our Board members like Eric Haralson, Sharon Bosworth and Carla Jarrell with much-deserved Hall of Fame awards for the great work they have done with the Coalition. They may be rolling off the Board but assured me they will continue to be a resource and advocate for the Coalition. I’d like to take this time to once again thank those Executive Board members rolling off, Sharon, Eric, and Carla, for their valuable knowledge and energy devoted to the Coalition. And, I’d like to welcome our new Executive Board members, Colleen Dudley – Vice Chair, Keith Lampkin – Secretary and Maria Catron – Treasur-er. It’s an exciting time for the Coalition and I encourage all members to reach out to me or our new Ex-ecutive Director, Patricia M. Smith [email protected], with any suggestions or ideas to make the coa-lition even better. We are here to serve you and any of your needs as we all work to make Tennessee a better place for all families.
Submitted by Keith Turbett, Coalition Board Chair and First Tennessee Bank
Tiffany Searcy Wright Knows People
Nobody wants to hear the pre-recorded telephone call about anything – not the top
spot on search engines, not the fresh app to take the place of Skype or even a trip
to Bora Bora, unless you are ready for that product. Success with buying any
product, whether it’s membership in coalition of like-minded professionals, or
floor mats for the car, depends on knowing the person who can get it for you.
Tiffany Searcy Wright knows people. She makes herself available at community
meetings, worship centers, organization meetings, LinkedIn postings, wherever
people are seeking information. Why? She wants to be known and available when they want to ask a
question about mortgage finance. She has faith in the products Synovus Mortgage has to offer. She has
great faith that she will preset all the possibilities for the customer who wants her attention now.
She had not planned to work in mortgage financing, she enjoyed two years in advertising until someone recruited her. Why? Her focus on the customer. That focus has kept her in the housing business for 23 years knowing she was helping people with their first step into generational wealth.
Find Tiffany in the Middle Tennessee Council meetings, or through email at [email protected]!
THOUGHTS FROM NEW CHAIRMAN
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
4
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
Are Bad Loan Products Back in Style?
Have we gone back to wing-tip shoes, metrosexual makeup or knee high gladiator sandals? All hot items in
2006-2008. Is the mortgage industry trending like the fashion industry? Every year we have a new hip or hap-
pening style, only to find out it is a retro look being marketed as fresh and new.
This editorial will not address Collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, derivatives or mortgage
backed securities or the loss of one’s job - all of which exacerbated the housing crisis. Although it is a widely
held belief in some circles that the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was a major cause of the housing
crisis, this is simply not true. The Community Reinvestment Act did push banks to lend more in “poor” neigh-
borhoods, and in 1989, Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) strengthened
the CRA by publicizing banks’ lending records, adding pressure to comply or risk forfeiting expansion. How-
ever, the law never required banks to make subprime loans or ask them to lower their lending standards. Unlike
Stated Income Stated Assets (SISA), No Income No Assets (NINA) or other exotic loans, the CRA loan prod-
uct required basic verifiable documentation from the borrower.
CRA loan products had basic, and some may say strict, underwriting guidelines that had to be followed. This
was to give reasonable assurance to the lender that the borrower could afford this debt obligation. One had to
submit a myriad of documents for a CRA loan product, unlike the SISA and NINA which usually just required
one to fill out an application and have a credit score of 680 or better.
Now we are witnessing the return of the “bad mortgage” products: No income, No reserves, No employment - a
very retro SISA or NINA. Have we forgotten the lives, the neighborhoods, and the families that were de-
stroyed behind not verifying basic information?
The environment is a little different than before; Dodd-Frank, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB)
and other legislative items have seen to that. Many financial institutions have created their own products to
assist home owners and avoid some of these exotic loans. However, there are still enough lenders who are will-
ing to make a few extra dollars on the very consumer that the coalition advocates for every day.
There are agencies within our network that can assist persons of low to moderate income by empowering them
with housing education, financial literacy and counseling. This will ensure that these
Continued on next page
MORTGAGE NEWS
5
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
Become a Healthier TN Neighborhood!
The Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness is currently seeking Nashville neighborhoods
to participate in the Healthier TN Neighborhoods program. The Foundation’s primary initiative,
Healthier Tennessee, strives to increase the number of Tennesseans who are physically active,
promote a healthy diet, and reduce the number of people who use tobacco.
HealthierTN is designed for neighborhoods of all shapes and sizes in Nashville and, through this
grass-roots, community-led program, Nashville neighborhoods develop sustainable health and
wellness initiatives in their respective communities. Neighborhoods ultimately work to become
designated as a “Healthier Tennessee Neighborhood” and receive formal recognition from the
Governor at that time. The Foundation offers grants, professional development, best practice
sharing opportunities and other promotional materials to participating communities.
There are currently 100+ participating HealthierTN Communities across the state including 23
neighborhoods in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Examples of HealthierTN
Neighborhood initiatives include walk/run clubs, community gardens, neighborhood sports
teams, recipe swap/healthy cooking series, cigarette butt pick-ups and smoke-free neighborhood
parks just to name a few!
If you, or someone you know, is interested in learning more or leading
this initiative in your neighborhood, please contact Kate Kennedy, the
Nashville Neighborhoods Director for Healthier Tennessee, at
[email protected] or 615-610-1880 ext. 830.
For more information about Healthier Tennessee visit: https://
healthiertn.com/
R E G I O N A L N E W S
Continued from previous page
consumers will know what real homeownership looks like, how much can they afford, and more importantly, how to stay in their homes.
Spanish philosopher George Santanya’s wisdom is relevant here: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Are we doomed? Are we the gatekeepers? Are we the gatekeeper just standing in front of the door, or are we the advocates for sustainable homeownership?
Submitted by Daryl Hill, TNAHC Education Chair and Woodbine Community Organization
6
West TNAHC Regional Meeting
Southwest Tennessee Fair Housing Conference in conjunction with West
TN Affordable Housing Coalition Regional Council meeting
June 21, 2019
Southwest TN Development District, 102 East College Street, Jackson, TN 38301
Middle TN Regional Council Meeting
May 17, 2019
Begins at 11:30 a.m. CDT
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville
414 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37211
UPCOMING COALITION MEETINGS
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
Kingsport Housing And Redevelopment Authority has Ribbon Cutting
M O R E R E G I O N A L N E W S
Coal i t ion Board Meeting
June 5 , 2019
11:30 a .m. to 2:00 p.m. CDT
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashvi l le
414 Harding Pike , Nashvi l le , TN 37211
East TN Regional Council Meeting
May 8, 2019
Begins at 10:00 a.m. EDT
Crossville Housing Authority
67 Irwin Ave, Crossville, TN 38555
Coalition members attended the March 28 ribbon cutting for the Holly Hills
Playground in Kingsport. In center, in purple blouse, is the Coalition’s
Treasurer, Maria Catron. Second from right is Terry Cunningham and last
on right is Sharon Hayes. All are also staff of KHRA.
7
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
THDA’s Investments and Impacts report available now with interactive maps!
The Investments and Impacts Report
provides a comprehensive account of
THDA’s activities during the calendar
year. THDA’s 2018 impact is broken
out by state summary, congressional
district and then by all 95 Tennessee
counties. THDA’s Investments and
Impacts can also be viewed through
interactive maps. In 2018, THDA-
related activities generated an estimat-
ed $1.4 billion in economic activities.
—- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —-
Looking for your county’s housing facts?
View newly mapped census housing data.
Whether you need housing data for a grant application, a presentation or to satisfy general curiosity,
the answer can likely be found in the County Housing and Housing Affordability Profiles. County pro-
files include the most recent ACS data (5-year sample), a five-year lookback and a state comparison.
For the first time, these profiles are now accompanied by an interactive mapping tool to visualize
county level variation on various housing metrics. Find state and
county data on housing basics like the number of households, me-
dian income, homeowner-
ship rates, median mort-
gage loan payments, me-
dian rent, and other rele-
vant statistics from the
U.S. Census Bureau’s
American Community
Survey (ACS).
Additional data including THDA’s single family pro-
duction and HOME Bene-ficiary report are also posted on the Research
pages of THDA.org.
R E S E A R C H N E W S
8
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
NeighborWorks® Alliance of Tennessee making meaningful visits
N E W S F R O M O U R P A R T N E R S
THDA has posted many of the presentations from the March 2019 Housing Conference
on the site: https://tnhousingconference.com/2019-agenda/
Where available, the presentations are linked below the session description.
The NeighborWorks® Alliance of Tennessee visited our federal elected officials in March, bringing the affordable housing message to Congress. From left are Sherry Trent, Eastern Eight CDC; Jackie Mayo, HomeSource east tennessee; Amy Schaftlein, United Housing; Senator Lamar Alexander; Senator Marsha Blackburn; and Eddie Latimer, Affordable Housing Resources.
Do you know how to access the legislative workings of Tennessee’s General Assembly?
Here is the main site address: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/. From here you can
search bills, listen live to committee hearings and read about each member.
We are members of the National Housing Coalition, NHC.org.
Each one and every one of us can learn from their reporting, attend their events and join
their webinars. Please use our member code: TNcoalition
The Carol M. Peterson Housing Fund (Federal Home Loan Bank) funds will be availa-
ble for reservation on a first-come, first-served homeowner-by-homeowner basis beginning on June 3,
2019, at 10:00 AM ET and will remain available until all funds have been reserved. The FHLB has reserved $2,000,000 for the 2019 offering. Additionally, a project is limited to $75,000 in total dis-bursements under the program.
9
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
The Housing Fund’s Community Land Trust (CLT) is a program of The Housing
Fund, started with support from the office of the Metropolitan Nashville Mayor. The heart of the
CLT’s work is the creation homes for persons of low and moderate income that remain permanent-
ly affordable, providing successful homeownership opportunities for generations. The CLT ensures
affordability via fixed resale models, shared equity, and a ground lease.
To date we have: 1) created a coalition comprised of 15 community leaders to serve as thought
leaders; 2) visited with two other organizations currently operationalizing a community land trust;
3) participated in two trainings at the Grounded Solutions Network annual conference; 4) estab-
lished policies and procedures for operationalizing the community land trust; 5) increased public
awareness with a cover feature in BOOM! Magazine, as well as articles in The Nashville Post, The
Tennessean, and The Tennessee Tribune; 6) successfully hired a Director of Strategic Partnerships
& Engagement and a CLT project manager; 7) secured a $100,000 donation to develop a compre-
hensive community development strategy; 8) received 15 donated scattered site undeveloped lots;
and 9) secured the first official partnership: Moody Nolan, the largest African American architect
firm in the United States, will design a single-family house, build the house on a CLT lot, and ab-
sorb all of the cost. Construction is anticipated to start in June 2019.
Dominique Pryor-Anderson has two related titles at The Housing
Fund: Director of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement, and Com-
munity Land Trust Manager. She creates the opportunities and rela-
tionships that increase funding to help individuals and communities
create affordable housing. Her background includes successes in di-
versity and inclusion, public relations, education, and entrepreneur-
ship. She holds a Masters in Secondary Spanish Education, a BA in
Spanish, and extensive coursework in Public Relations and Communi-
cations.
As we move forward, we will complete the title work on the 15 properties we received, host and be
included in various community outreach efforts, create a developer process and RFP for developers
to build on the CLT properties, and maintain stewardship opportunities across the state of Tennes-
see.
Submitted by Angela Belcher, Middle TN Regional Council Chair and The Housing Fund
R E G I O N A L N E W S
We will be posting the membership list
behind the login portal. Please review
your listing and report corrections to
10
Executive Committee
Chairperson Keith Turbett, First Tennessee Bank
Vice Chairperson
Colleen Dudley, Habitat for Humanity of TN
Secretary
Keith Lampkin, City of Clarksville
Treasurer
Maria Catron, Kingspor t Housing & Redevelopment Authority
Immediate Past Chair John Roberts, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nash-
C o a l i t i o n N e w s
C O A L I T I O N L E A D E R S H I P
West TN Regional Council
Chair - Brody Wamble, Simmons Bank
Vice Chair - Tom Skehan, SW TN DD
Secretary - Kathy Moore Cowan, Regions Bank
East TN Regional Council
Chair - Melanie Cordell
TN Valley Coalition for the Homeless
Vice Chair - Chris Osborn
Secretary - Cindy Ross
Membership Coordinator - Donna Lewis
Middle TN Regional Council
Chair - Angela Belcher, The Housing Fund
Vice Chair - Colleen Dudley
Secretary - Tyane Powell
Operating Committee Chairs
Communication and PR-Advocacy Committee -
Sernorma Mitchell Education Committee - Daryl Hill
Finance Committee - Maria Catron
Legislative Committee - Vacant
Membership Committee - Keith Lampkin
Board Members
Member # Term Affiliation
Daryl Hill 2 HCET Rep.
John Besser 1 PHA
Carr Hagan 1 For-profit
Melanie Cordell 1 Regional Chair
Maria Catron 2 Officer
Richard McClain 1 PHA
Angela Belcher 2 Regional Chair
Amy Schaftlein 1 At-Large
Lorrie Shearon Ex-Officio Fed/Fund Agency
Ralph Perrey Ex-Officio Fed/Fund Agency
Sernorma Mitchell Ex-Officio Fed/Fund Agency
Keith Turbett 2 Officer
Keith Lampkin 2 Officer
Colleen Dudley 1 Officer
Jackie Mayo 1 Non-profit
Brody Wamble 1 Regional Chair
Paul Morris 1 State /Local Gov’t
John Callow 1 At Large
John Roberts 1 Officer
Robert Sampson 1 Real Estate
Gerald Hallenbeck 1 Financial Instit.
Anne Cooper 2 Low Income Rep.
Coalition’s Mission Statement
To connect, educate and advocate for housing opportunities for Tennesseans.