Posted 03.01.2010

18th Annual Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance Awards

Celebrating role models for leadership and service

By Mike Taylor

The reward for practicing good ethics is being able to sleep at night knowing you did the right thing. But it also leads to the long-term success of a business, organization or individual. This year's winners of the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance Awards offer strong examples.

Mountain Crest Mortgage, which earned an Ethics in Business Award this year, steered clear of the subprime loans and adjustable rate mortgages that had such a huge role in the near collapse of the financial system. That decision has helped the Denver company earn the loyalty of its customers.

Robinson Dairy, also an Ethics in Business Award winner, has supported many civic and business groups and charitable causes during its 124-year history in Denver and has continued to be considered a local brand - even though it's been owned by a national company for more than a decade.

Lee Palmer Everding, winner of the Daniel R. Ritchie Award this year, has worked with volunteer and charitable groups throughout her professional career and founded Denver Eclectics as a vehicle to promote discussion and debate among the city's women.

And in a time when nonprofits are having a difficult time securing sponsors, Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain Inc. - the winner of this year's Samaritan Institute Award - boasts 3,200 volunteers and has managed to grow even during the downturn. Longtime CEO and President Robin Wise has led the operation to become the 12th-largest JA in the nation.

The Colorado Ethics in Business Awards program was founded by the University of Denver, ColoradoBiz and the Samaritan Institute. Winners are profiled on the following pages. They'll be honored at the 18th Annual CEBA Awards on March 18 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown. Visit www.ceba.org for details and to register.

ETHICS IN BUSINESS AWARD
Mountain Crest Mortgage
In an industry paying the price for an era of bait-and-switch advertising, subprime loans and option ARMs, it's no wonder Mountain Crest Mortgage is not only winning new clients but winning accolades for its ethics.

For example, the Denver-based mortgage banker and brokerage has always guaranteed its closing costs in writing. Derek Bamonte, who founded the company with Michele Dine, notes that this is now the law, effective Jan. 1.

"Which is good," he says. "But we've been doing it since we opened our doors in January 1996."

Mountain Crest Mortgage also eschewed subprime loans and option ARMS (adjustable rate mortgages), a stance that might have once seemed limiting from a business standpoint but now appears wise.

That policy helps explain why 96 percent of Mountain Crest's new clients have been referred by someone who has done business with the company - primarily past clients or real estate agents.
"Some companies, 100 percent of their loans were subprime or option ARMs," Bamonte says. "We didn't believe in them for ethical reasons. I think that's helped us. One, a lot people did not need those programs, and they ended up getting talked into them with somebody else. There's a lot of bad will, and I think our clients are grateful and loyal that we never steered them wrong."

As a result, Mountain Crest has grown and prospered amid some of the roughest years the mortgage industry has faced. In 2008 the company closed just more than $137 million in residential loans. By mid-year 2009, the firm had already closed more than $173 million in loans.

The Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau has noted Mountain Crest's ethical standards, too. Since 2004 when the BBB introduced its Gold Star Award for companies with zero complaints for the previous three years, Mountain Crest has been a Gold Star winner every year. The company also received a 2009 Denver/Boulder BBB Torch Award in the small business category for ethical standards and practices, long-standing reputation, marketing, advertising, management practices and training programs.

Bamonte, who started out in the mortgage business after earning a degree in finance from Indiana University, says he was somewhat surprised by his firm's increased business in 2009. But he has no difficulty explaining it.

"One, we just have a very loyal following," he says. "Two, mortgage rates were low, which helped. And three - and I feel bad about this - a lot of mortgage companies shut their doors. Even though the pie was shrinking in terms of consumers, so was our competition."

- Mike Taylor

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