Quicken Loans Difference

Quicken Loans President and COO, Receives Community Hero Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Flint

2008-11-06T12:36:58-05:00

By: W Kemp

A couple of weeks ago I attended an event that I had been working on with the Boys and Girls Club of Flint since early spring. An event that would honor our President and COO, Patrick McInnis, with the Boys and Girls Club of Flint’s Community Hero Award. All of us that work with Patrick know that he is a hero, but how great it was to see him recognized in the community where he grew up for making a difference in the lives of others.

Patrick has been instrumental in allowing me to work with many organizations since I have been with Quicken Loans. Patrick will always be my go-to guy when it comes to working on projects in the Flint Community and other areas. We have done everything from supporting the Eastern Michigan Food Bank’s food for seniors program, to working with Flint Athletes for Better Education and the Flint School District to re-build a track for the students, to supporting the Mott Foundation in their efforts to award graduating Flint-area high school students with laptops for college. But the biggest project to date was the Rock and Shock Teen Learning Center at the Boys and Girls Club of Flint - a collaboration between Rock Financial/Quicken Loans and our friends at the Pistons Palace Foundation in Auburn Hills.

When Mark Serra, Development Director of the B & G Club of Flint (in photo above with Patrick and B & G member Jerry) asked me my thoughts about honoring Patrick with the community hero award, I thought it was an excellent idea. In my mind, they could not have chosen a more deserving individual – but when Mark continued, and wanted my thoughts about naming the community hero award after Patrick I was absolutely elated by the idea. Not many people can say they have an award named after them.

After months of planning and help from team members like Chris Kaufaman, from our graphics team who designed and created the invitation and the banner, our AV team who got things setup to show a special congratulatory video at the dinner, and last, but not least… Ginny Widner, who was instrumental in managing the guest list and securing additional donations for the Boys and Girls Club of Flint. Huge thanks to all of you in helping to make this event a success.

On Thursday, October 16 our President Patrick McInnis accepted the award that will be forever known as the “Patrick McInnis Community Hero Award” in front of a very proud mother, his wife and children, family members, Quicken Loans team members and team leaders, friends, peers and even some of his teachers and coaches.

Congratulations to Patrick McInnis on receiving the “2008 Community Hero Award” and Congratulations to the Boys and Girls Club of Flint on having a sold out and very successful “Steak and Burger Dinner”.

Quicken Loans Helps The Motor City Blight Busters

2008-10-10T16:33:34-04:00

by Victoria Araj

It was a beautiful, crisp morning as Quicken Loans’ team members partnered with employees at Compuware to lend a hand with Blight Busters in Detroit on October 4. The staff was very enthusiastic about the work that was taking place in the area and was glad to have us join them for a day.

We were separated into two groups, one was responsible for the demolition of an abandoned home and the group that I joined was responsible for cleaning out a shoe store basement and painting a mural on one of the walls of the area called Artist’s Village.

The demolition team was embarking on a task that was in its seventh week—the second floor of a two-story house had literally crashed onto the main floor, so they had to move and dispose of surrounding debris in order for the foundation to be dismantled. Our team members got so involved that they decided to not even take a lunch break!

The clean and paint crew tackled a shoe store basement that had thick layers of dust and plenty of soles and heels of shoes. We cleaned the entire basement, organized the storage and moved tables to create a more spacious room. While our next task was to paint the walls of the basement,

Chaz, the Master Artist at the Village thought we should have a chance to be more creative so he escorted us to his studio where we learned brush stroke techniques and the use of color. We then took all of our supplies outside where we began the first phase of a new mural. He encouraged us to use our creativity and even let us throw the hardened skins of the paint onto the wall!

All of the volunteers commented on the great experience of coming together and sharing a meal in fellowship while helping this great organization. We are all looking forward to our next opportunity to make a difference in the community with Blight Busters.

Quicken Loans makes the grade mentoring students at Cornerstone School

2008-10-10T15:35:27-04:00

by W. Kemp

Fall is definitely here, the days have gotten shorter and –the children are back in school. Quicken Loans and Rock Financial has been a part of Cornerstone School’s Partner Mornings (student mentoring program) for about 2 years. We usually have about 6 team members that participate in the mentoring program on a quarterly basis. The children are great and always seem to teach us something new.

To kick off fall I had two Quicken Loans members that were new to program join me for Partner Morning. Maggie was with the first grade class and worked with three wonderful students and Victoria was making difference with the 7th graders, while I was lucky enough to be with a young man that I mentored in first grade and he and his friends allowed me to follow them to second grade. What a blast!!!

The day started off with the first graders singing to us…you can’t help but smile when you see their smiling faces looking back at you. Then the fourth graders recited parts of our constitution, which they are learning to help them understand our election process.

Here is a picture of Maggie with first graders. Maggie found out very quickly that the children she had would be reading to her and not her reading to them. All three of her students were eager to impress her by reading their favorite story to her. Needless to say Maggie will be joining us for the next Partner Morning, she is hooked.

Here is my group; we concentrated on making 12 inch rulers before joining up with others to work on a word search of everything that is needed for school.

Victoria had her hands full with the 7th graders that were full of questions and thought out opinions of school, politics and the future.

What a great way to start the day and an important reminder of the importance of education and the fantastic job our teachers and principals do in educating our children…our future.

Quicken Loans commitment to investing in the future is just one of the reasons why we are one Fortune’s Best Places to Work.

Quicken Loans takes a swing to make a difference with Ilitch Charities

2008-09-11T11:51:33-04:00

by Wendy Kemp

Supporting non-profits come in many different forms and fashions. In the spring I become inundated with request to support hundreds of golf outings – some good, some ok, and some are outstanding!!!

This year we decided to support the Ilitch Charities golf outing which support numerous non-profits in the Detroit and Southeastern Michigan area. Ilitch Charities have been making positive and measurable improvements that create change in the metro area for many years.

Since I do not golf, it I always fun to find a great group of Quicken Loans team members to golf on behalf of the company. My first choice person came through for me with flying colors. Chris Klau from our Mortgage Insiders team (he also helped me with my mortgage) and he invited Bruce Schwartz from our In-House Realty team.

Well, the two of them put together an awesome foursome that included Jeff Wissman, Ryan McCabe, Bruce Schwartz and Ryan McCabe.

The group had no idea what to expect from the day, but I have to tell you it was one of those wonderful end of summer days in Michigan that was just picture perfect for a golf outing, but I am going to let Chris Klau explain it to you how great the day was…

I have been fortunate enough to attend a several golf outings over the past few years but none have matched the one I most recently attended. The Ilitch Charities Celebrity Golf Classic was held at historic Oakland Hills on August 25, 2008. For several reasons it stands out from the crowd of outings I have attended in the past. Working at Quicken Loans for almost 8 years now I have become a big time fan of the extraordinary…that difference that sets something apart from the rest and makes it memorable in a very positive way. This outing was definitely that type of event!

After some practice shots our foursome was greeted by Thorsten Kaye and Susan Haskell, both star of the Soap Opera scene and were the celebrity guest picked to play with our group. They couldn’t have been more down to earth and extremely welcoming.

The day kept getting better…the outing started on time, lunch was quick and tasted great (which also can be rarity on the golf outing scene.)

About half way through the 18 hole golf experience we were joined by the Detroit Lions great Herman Moore…wow! He joined the group just as we were lining up for the 20 foot putt for birdie. Just like a true professional, Herman Lined up the opportunity …put forth his best effort… and sank the putt! What a way to make an entrance. Herman, like Thorsten and Susan, was extremely easy to talk to and very welcoming and we enjoyed talking with him about his current career, his family and of course a little football talk.

As the day came to an end, we got the opportunity to meet and see other celebrities such as Steve Yzerman, Al Kaline, Darren McCarty and Kris Draper. We were reminded why were there…to support Ilitch Charities and to help those who may be less fortunate then ourselves. We were there to make a difference in someone’s life…

It was obvious to me that there were some lessons here. By combining great people, a great cause or reason behind the event or project, anticipating the needs of your clients or guests, surprising them with your creativity along with superb planning and execution you create a very memorable experience.

We are given the opportunity to create memorable experiences each day through our actions…the only question is what kind of memories? On this day…without any doubt…the Ilitch Charities team made sure it was a positive one! As we say here at Quicken Loans…SUPER HIGH LEVEL!

Chris Klau

Rock Financial Celebrates the Opening of the New Flint Boys and Girls Club Gym

2008-07-01T12:02:13-04:00

By C Niemiec

PROUD is the only word used to describe how I felt during the Flint Boys and Girls Club gym dedication. Rock Financial/Quicken Loans was one of the sponsors that helped make this renovation possible.

On the day of the dedication, the Community DIFF team and Patrick McInnis, president of Rock Financial/Quicken Loans, arrived early to get a good look at the new gym, and it looked gorgeous!

The first thing I noticed was the beautiful center court logo highlighting our investment along with the Detroit Shock, the Pistons Palace Foundation and the IMA Recreation Association. The renovations also included new lighting, bleachers, a new electronic scoreboard, paint and the addition of a brand new gym floor!

About 20 minutes later, 100 students arrived to see the new gym. As the kids took a seat on the floor for the dedication, I thought to myself, we donated much more than a new gym floor….we donated a safe place where kids can go to play and learn and essentially have a brighter future. WOW, what a PROUD feeling!