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No Longer taking Broker/Discounting Business
plus Leasing Companies Out of Business

Companies with an * are no longer in business. The others are companies that were taking broker business, but announced that they no longer are accepting broker business. Many have also down-sized or are managing an existing portfolio.

More details are available in this list by company name:

http://www.leasingnews.org/list_alpha_new.htm

*ABCO Leasing Inc., Bothell, WA
*ACC Capital, Midvale, Utah (lenders running off portfolio residuals, Leasing News receiving Evergreen non-notification complaints, demanding 12 more monthly payments)
Advantage Business Capital, Lake Oswego, Oregon
AEL Financial, Buffalo Grove, Illinois
(No longer taking new broker business)
Agility Solutions Corp., Prescott, Arizona
Allegiant Partners, Walnut Creek, California
Alliance Financial, Syracuse, New York
*Alternative Capital, Apollo Beach, Florida
*AMC Funding, Charlotte, North Carolina
American Bank Leasing, Alpharetta, Georgia
*American Equipment Finance, Warren, New Jersey
Balboa Capital, Costa Mesa, California
Bank of Ozark Leasing/Finance, Little Rock, Arkansas
*Bank of West Indirect Leasing, Dublin, California
Bank of the West Leasing Indirect, San Ramon, California
(Require high volume, successful brokers only)
*Bank Midwest Leasing, Overland Park, KS
Bankers Healthcare Group, Weston, FL
*BBVA Compass Equipment Leasing, Houston, Texas
*Blackstone Equipment Financing, Orange, California
*Business Leasing NorthWest, Seattle, WA
*Capital One Equipment Finance, Towson, Maryland
*CapitalSource Healthcare Finance, Chevy Chase, Maryland
*CapNet, Los Angeles, California
*C and J Leasing Corp, Des Moines, Iowa
*Carlton Financial Corporation, Wayzata, Minnesota
*Chase Industries, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan
*Chesterfield Financial, Chesterfield, Missouri
CHG-MERIDIAN U.S. Finance, Ltd, Woodland Hills, CA
(Sales Management focuses very selectively on certain brokers.)
*Churchill Group/Churchill Leasing, Jericho, NY
CIT Group (limited)
Citizens Business Bank, Ontario, CA
Columbia Bank Leasing, Tacoma, WA
*Columbia Equipment Finance, Danville, California
Commercial Equipment Lease, Eugene, Oregon
Concord Financial Services, Long Beach, California
*Court Square, Malvern, Pennsylvania
*Creative Capital Leasing Group, LLC, San Diego, CA
Crossroads Equipment Lease & Finance, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca
Direct Capital, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Diversified Financial Service, Omaha, NE
* Dolsen Leasing, Bellevue/Yakima, Washington
Equipment Finance Partners, a division of Altec, Birmingham, Alabama
Evans National Leasing, Inc., Hamburg, NY
*Enterprise Capital Partners dba Enterprise Leasing, Spokane, WA
Enterprise Funding, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Enverto Investment Group, LLC, West Los Angeles, California
*Evergreen Leasing, South Elgin, Illinois
*Excel Financial Leasing, Lubbock Texas
*First Corp.(IFC subsidiary), Morton Grove, Illinois
First Federal Financial Services, Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
First Republic Bank, San Francisco, CA
Frontier Capital, Teaneck New Jersey
*GCR Capital, Safety Harbor, Florida
GE Capital, Conn (limited)
Global Funding LLC., Clearwater, FL
*Greystone, Burlington, MA
*Heritage Pacific Leasing, Fresno, CA
*Hillcrest Bank Leasing, Overland Park, KS (Parent bank sold)
Huntington Equipment Finance, Vendor Finance Group, Bellevue, Washington
*IFC Credit Corp., Morton Grove, Illinois
Irwin Financial (Irwin Union Bank), Columbus, Indiana
Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B. (Louisville, Kentucky)
Lakeland Bank, Montville, NJ
LaSalle Systems Leasing
*Latitude Equipment Leasing, Marlton, New Jersey
*Leaf Specialty Finance, Columbia, South Carolina
*LEAF Third Party Funding, Santa Barbara, Ca.
Lombard, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, worldwide
M&T Credit (Bank)
Manufacturer's Lease Plans, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona
*MarVista Financial, Villa Park, California
*MericapCredit, Lisle, Illinois
*Meridian Healthcare Finance, San Diego, California
Merrill Lynch Financial
Midwest Leasing Group, Livonia, Minnesota
*Mount Pleasant Capital, Wexford, PA
National City, Cleveland, Ohio
*Navigator (Pentech subsidiary) San Diego, California
OFC Capital, Roswell, Georgia
Old National Bank, Evansville, Illinois
*Pentech Financial, Campbell, CA
*PFF Bancorp, Inc, Pomona, CA
Pinnacle Business Finance, Fife, Washington
*Pioneer Capital Corporation, Addison, Texas
PredictiFund, a subsidiary of Capital Access Network, Inc
*Podium Financial Group, Inc.,Costa Mesa, CA
Popular Finance, St. Louis, Missouri
Puget Sound Leasing, Seattle, Washington
Radiance-Capital, Tacoma, WA
Rational Technology Solutions, Rolling Meadows, IL
*Reliant National Finance, Jacksonville, Florida
Sandy Springs, Olney, MD
*Securities Equipment Lsg. (SEL, Inc.), Glendora, CA
*Select Equipment Leasing Co., Concord, CA
* Sharpe Financial Network, Phoenix, Arizona
Sovereign Bank, Melville, New York
Specialty Funding, Albuquerque, NM
*Studebaker-Worthington Leasing, Corp., Jerico, NY
(part of sale from Main Street Bank to Ascentium Capital)
Sun Trust Equipment Finance & Leasing, Baltimore, Maryland
*SunBridge Capital, Mission, Kansas
Suncoast Equipment Funding Corp., Tampa, Florida
TCF Equipment Finance, Minnetonka, Minnesota
TechLease, Morgan Hill, California
*Tennessee Commerce Bank, Franklin, Tennessee
Textron Financial
*Triad Leasing & Financial, Inc., Boise, Idaho
*TriStar Capital, Santa Ana, California
*Union Capital Partners, Midvale, Utah
US Bank, Manifest Funding, Marshall, Minnesota
(new requirement: large yearly funding)
US Bank, Middle-Market, Portland, Oregon
Velocity Financial Group, Rosemont, Illinois
VenCore, Portland, Oregon (former company Len Ludwig)
*Vision Capital, San Diego, California
Vision Financial Group, Inc. (VFG Leasing & Finance), Pittsburg, PA
Wachovia Bank Leasing
*Warren Capital, Novato, California
*Washington Mutual Financial
Western Bank, Devils Lake, ND
*Westover Financial, Inc., Santa Ana, California

(Note: Should a company policy have changed, please contact kitmenkin@leasingnews.org)

Funders looking for new Brokers:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Funders_Only/New_Broker.htm

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Funders Looking for Broker Business
Updated

To qualify for this list, the company must be a funder (as qualified by Leasing News) and on the “Funder List,” an acceptable Better Business Bureau Rating and no history of complaints at Leasing News. Also, it is their practice to notify lessees in advance when the lease will end and what the residual will be, specifically not automating extra lease payments, or insisting their discounter follow the same policy. We reserve the right to not list a company who does not meet these qualifications.

There is no advertising fee or charge for a listing. They are “free.” Leasing News makes no endorsement of any of the companies listed, except they have qualified to be on this specific list.

We encourage companies who are listed to contact us for any change or addition they would like to make. We encourage adding further information as an "attachment" or clarification of what they have to offer would be helpful to readers.

Please send company name, contact/email or telephone number as well as a URL to attach or description to kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

Alphabetical list - click on company name to view more details

1st Enterprise Bank Leasing
Advantage Funding
Allegheny Valley Bank Leasing
Allstate Leasing
American Leasefund, Inc.
Bankers Capital
Barrett Capital Corporation
Black Rock Capital
Boston Financial & Equity Corp.
BSB Leasing, Inc.
Calfund, LLC
Chesapeake Industrial Leasing Co., Inc.

Cobra Capital LLC
Dakota Financial
Exchange Bank Leasing (formerly Dumac Leasing)
FirstLease, Inc.
First Federal Leasing
First Foundation Bank
First Midwest Equipment Finance
Financial Pacific Leasing
Forum Financial Services, Inc.
Gonor Funding
Lease Corporation of America
Madison Capital

Maxim Commercial Capital, LLC
Mesa Leasing
National Equipment Finance
NexTier Leasing
NFS Leasing, Inc
Northwest Leasing Company, Inc
P&L Capital Corporation
Padco Financial Services
Pawnee Leasing Corporation
RLC Funding
Standard Professional Services, LLC
Summit Leasing, Inc.
TEAM Funding Solutions
TimePayment

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Wells Fargo Bank Loses Disparate Impact Motion

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

Bank Remains in Case. But What is Disparate Impact?

Philadelphia v Wells Fargo Bank. 17 cv 2203 (E.D. Penn. 2017)

Wells Fargo Bank is race neutral and, indeed, has many policies and procedures to advance its products to those less fortunate than us. I am confident that its mortgage loan underwriting is race neutral and it has never intentionally discriminated against any American. Even assuming those facts to be true, a race neutral policy can negatively affect one race more than another. These unintentional policies may have an adverse impact on certain races. Enter the judicially created doctrine of “disparate impact.” And yes, you can be sued for it. The facts follow.

Wells Fargo Bank has in place a lending program for inner city residents which has been blessed by the City under the Bank’s Fair Lending program. The goal was to provide more loans to inner city residents. And that’s exactly what Wells Fargo Bank did between 2004-2008. The Bank made twice as many subprime loans in Philadelphia to African American borrowers than to similarly situated white borrowers. When I was reading the opinion, I was struck that this sounded like a good thing. But read on.

Based on Wells Fargo loan data, the subprime loan made to an African-American borrower was 4.147 times more likely to result in foreclosure than a regular loan made to a similarly situated white borrower. Thus, the City alleged and argued, that there were increased numbers of foreclosures in the inner city, which resulted in lower property values, loss of tax revenue, and blight.

Based on these facts, the City claimed that

1. The Bank provided loan officers discretion to place borrowers in more expensive and riskier loans than the borrowers qualified for;

2. The Bank provided loan officers discretion to sell lender credits without disclosing the true effect of the pricing of those credits (a lender credit are points charged to the borrower or commissions received from the mortgage lender);

3. The Bank marketed riskier loan products to residents in predominantly minority neighborhoods;

4. The Bank incentivized loan officers to sell more expensive and riskier loans than borrowers qualified for;

5. The Bank required borrowers to agree to pay substantial prepayment penalties that prevent borrowers whose credit has improved from refinancing their loan;

6. The Bank charged excessive points and fees that are not associated with any increased benefits for the borrower; and

7. The Bank provided loan officers with information about loan pricing that is higher than the lowest price Wells Fargo could offer the borrower.

The Bank filed a motion to dismiss essentially claiming three things, a two year statute of limitation, no causation, and the fact that the seven items above were not policies of the Bank, but decisions made credit officers that had the discretion to make judgment calls. Thus, the Bank argued, the Bank did not have a race neutral policy, which adversely effected minorities. Yes, it reached out to minority borrowers to make loans available to those disadvantaged borrowers, but it was praised by the City for doing so, then chastised when those loans defaulted.

The City responded by saying three things. First, the borrowers that received the subprime loans could have qualified for a cheaper product, which made it more likely that those would go into foreclosure. Second, although there is a two year statute of limitations, the violations continued. Finally, the City argued that because they’ve alleged bad things, the court is required to assume they are true for purposes of a preliminary motion to dismiss.

The District Court denied the Bank’s motion to dismiss, basically holding that because it was alleged, it was true for this preliminary proceeding. The parties were free to engage in discovery and the Bank could renew its arguments in a summary judgment or at trial. City won, Bank lost.

What are the takeaways here?

• First, Be Aware of Disparate Impact. While most of the disparate impact cases are housing related, the concept has been applied to insurance and age discrimination. Seemingly race neutral policies may end up biting the company in the hind quarters.

• Second, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. I was struck that the Bank did exactly what the City wanted the Bank to do in 2004, e.g., make more loans to minorities, and when circumstances beyond the Bank’s control make that decision not as attractive, the Bank was second guessed.

• Third, The Statute of Limitations May Save the Bank. Since the City sued in 2016, the policies and maybe the foreclosures had to occur after 2014. Of course, by 2014, most of the loans had already been made and the foreclosures had already occurred. If the court really imposes the two year statute, which seems to be the case, this may be a very minor claim. I think this case will settle, once the City realizes there is not a lot loans during the two year period.

The bottom line to this case is that banks are easy targets. If the bank is too conservative in its lending policies, it is criticized. If it makes too many loans it is criticized. I don’t entirely understand the disparate impact line of cases and question the concept’s justification.

City of Philadelphia v Wells Fargo (13 pages)
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/PhiladelphiavWellsFargo.pdf

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting in Los Angeles, California.

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org

Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

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Sales Makes It Happen
by Steve Chriest

Salespeople Aren't Marketers!

When sales leaders and senior managers push their sales teams to "market" on behalf of the organization, something is wrong. Salespeople aren't marketers and successful marketing doesn't require salespeople to step into the role of marketing.

Professor Peter Drucker, widely regarded as the founding father of the study of management, thinks marketing and sales are antithetical. In fact, he believes they aren't synonymous or even complimentary, as most people think.

According to Drucker, the aim of marketing is to know and understand the company's customers so deeply that when they see the company's product or service offering, it so clearly fits what they want that they are ready to buy. There is no selling in this scenario - there is only a customer ready to buy and a company that either stands in the way or facilitates the purchase. In an ideal world, selling becomes superfluous.

In the business-to-business environment, the job of the marketing group is to fill the top of a company's sales funnel with high quality, bona fide prospects who are ready to become customers! Assuming your products and services meet the actual needs of your customers, failure to fill the top of the sales funnel points directly at a problem in the marketing department. The marketing folks may not truly understand what their customers want and need or the marketing messages may not directly impact what the customers want to accomplish, fix or avoid.

When the marketing department does its job successfully, selling, in the traditional sense, becomes superfluous, as Professor Drucker states. So, are we one day to look forward to the demise of the professional salesperson? Hardly. The good news is that successful marketing changes the role of the salesperson in the organization.

Steve Chriest is the CEO of Open Advance and author of “Selling to the E-Suite, The Proven System for Reaching and Selling Senior Executives and Business Acumen 101.” He recently re-named his company from Selling-Up. He produces video and radio blogs, as well as continuing as a columnist for Leasing News since 2005.
www.openadvance.com/contact/
800-742-6310
www.openadvance.com/

Sales Makes it Happen
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

Working Capital from $10,0000 to $250,000 ChannelPartnersCapital.com

How to Answer:
Where Do You See the Market Going This Year?
Recruiter Hal T. Horowitz Speaks Out

Your interview is winding down and you’re confident about your responses to the questions you anticipated. You covered your technical knowledge, how rates are calculated and the importance of understanding the impact of basic financial ratios on a company’s ability to repay its debts. You spoke to your soft skills, your management style, work ethic, creativity and you’re feeling good about how you demonstrated your ability to communicate and interface with others. You covered your background, your goals and your vision, and you stressed your accomplishments; you spoke to your knowledge of your market and you brought it all together explaining how the aggregate of your skills and experience will add value to the firm if they hire you.

And then your interviewer asks how you see the next quarter shaping up. Or what you foresee trending in your market this year. Caution: This is not a casual question aimed at creating small talk to wind down the interview. This is a question, the answer to which may be subjective, but also in which your interviewer already has a preconceived opinion. And since his opinion, whether it agrees with yours or not, wasn’t formed in a vacuum, neither should yours.

Whether your primary discipline is commercial banking, equipment financing, asset-based lending, consumer finance or investment banking, there is a myriad of resources providing year end wrap-ups, quarterly forecasts, indices, confidence levels and just about any other trending activity in your field and market. “I think we’re going to have a good year,” is just not going to cut it in an interview. If you’re not up to date on what is happing in your industry, you are not the strongest candidate for the position and not likely to make the short list. With the information and discussions put out on social media sites and by trade associations, house organs, blogs, newsletters, search engines and the seemingly endless list of Websites they tag that are focused on your specific industry and market demographic, you have no excuse for not having an informed response to what’s going on. Or what is likely to occur.

This is not a test for which you should need to cram before an interview. It’s just common sense, or so it seems to me, that you need to anticipate any potential volatility, even in the most stable of times, to adapt quickly to change, said to be the only constant. And, if change doesn’t occur rapidly, or you don’t have an interview this week, the fact that you can speak, not just to what you do, but the macroenvironment in which you do it, adds value to you, as a candidate and as a professional. Having an informed and plausible vision, knowing which of your competitors are merging or being acquired, whether housing will remain stable, machine tool sales are likely to increase or when to anticipate a rate modification by the Fed, should all be a part of your kitbag of talent. It will command as much respect by your interviewer as your ability to parse financial statements or assess the value of collateral.

Keeping abreast in today’s ultra-connected business world is not difficult. White papers, webinars and podcasts abound. News articles are shared, forwarded and retweeted constantly. Many, if not most, of these resources are free and all of it can easily be accessed. You’re either reading or downloaded this from one such free source right now.

To say the market is due for an adjustment just because you heard someone else say it and not be able to debate your opinion is meaningless and will be counterproductive to your goal. You don’t want to do well if you’re interviewing or pitching a new customer. The market is too competitive to do well. You want to nail it. Your next employer needs to know how you’ll represent the company. Your next client needs to know that for him to rely on your direction, you need to know what’s happening in the other directions. You need to know what you’re talking about. You need to stay topical.

Hal T. Horowitz
Financial Pro Solutions
Executive recruitment serving financial professionals
Career coaching & professional résumé writing services & interview preparation
Phone: 818-347-FINA (347-3462)
Cell: 818-730-0645
Email: halh@finapros.com
Website: www.finapros.com
Twitter: @finapros

Recruiter Hal T. Horwitz Speaks Out
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/recuiter_hh.htm

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U.S. Interstate Highways, as a Transit Map
By Jeff Desjardins, Visual Capitalist.com

(click to view larger)

You may know the network of roads simply as “the Interstate,” but it actually has a much longer and official sounding title: The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. That’s because it was championed by President Eisenhower in the 1950s during his first term in office, after he saw the logistical effectiveness of the new Reichsautobahn in Germany.
Here are some facts about the Interstate Highway System that you may not know:

Part of the justification of building the system was to have the means to evacuate citizens from major cities during nuclear attacks.
The system was designed so that in an evacuation situation, traffic could be directed to move in all lanes in one direction.
In today’s dollars, the cost of construction was approximately $526 billion.
Activists got frustrated with the construction, and stopped highways in New York, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and New Orleans. As a result, some urban routes ended up as “roads to nowhere.”
In a mile of highway, there are about 3 million tons of concrete. In comparison there are 6.6 million tons of concrete in the Hoover Dam.
Roughly 374,000 vehicles travel on the I-405 in Los Angeles every day – no wonder it’s the city with the most traffic in the world.

Today, there are now approximately 47,856 miles (77,017 km) of highway in the system – about 6,000 miles (9,700 km) more than originally planned. Meanwhile, the Interstate Highway System accounts for one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country.

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From Associate Editor Ralph Mango:

You hit a fave subject with the Eisenhower Interstate System.

The genesis of his thinking was his role in World War I when he was charged with moving military materiele around the country into strategic defense positions, girding for a possible attack. In the second decade of the 20th century, some few years after the introduction of the motor vehicle, those vehicles were still far from being widely consumed by the general population. Accordingly, the roads were still wagon paths, Indian trails or worse, they were largely unpaved. The experience of Eisenhower's motor platoons moving large pieces of materiele - cannon, tanks, half-tracks, etc., - was exacerbated by these conditions that were made worse by rains that produced quagmires into which much of the equipment sunk and stuck.

His vision expanded beyond the immediate need for defense purposes as he thought of the impact of the ability to move people, migrating across the country as they were, and goods as the industrial, post-Civil War boom was in full swing. The expansion into the west and south was to be enhanced by good roads and he saw the federal government as a catalyst to the nascent private road-building that was in its infancy.

When we moved to Pleasanton, California, my wife befriended a women's clothing store proprietor from Brooklyn who had moved there in the 50s. When she ordered fashion from east of the Rockies, she had to wait weeks because they shipped by boat through the Panama Canal. Somewhere in that period one of her suppliers starting shipping by truck and her waiting period became days instead...and this was life in the west before the interstate system.

I have found it fascinating. The book is "Ike: An American Hero" by Korda.

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Leasing News Advisor
Bob Kieve

Robert S. Kieve
Empire Broadcasting
San Jose, California

Born Jersey City, NJ
BS Harvard College: 1943
Information Officer American Embassy, Madrid: 1943-47
Author: El Arte Radiofonico, Spain's first book on radio broadcasting
Program Manager: WGVA, Geneva, NY
Promotion Writer: CBS, New York
Special Assistant in White House Office under Eisenhower: 1953-56
General Manager WBBF-AM_FM, Rochester: NY 1967-67
President, Empire Broadcasting Corporation, San Jose, CA:1968-present

Bob Kieve joined the Leasing News Advisory Board on February 4, 2005. He is most likely our oldest member, 96; perhaps, one of the most experienced radio broadcasters, commentators, with the most public experience. Not only is his “Mr. San Jose,” an award given to him for all his community service, but has served in the good will category through out the world and was one of President Dwight Eisenhower’s speech writers for three years. He has many stories about "Ike," a person he greatly admired.

Robert S. Kieve is president of Empire Broadcasting Corporation, a position he has held since 1967. The company owns and operates radio stations KLIV, KARA and KRTY in San José, California, where Mr. Kieve also serves as a radio commentator.KLIV has been on the air since September 1946. It was originally KSJO, a 1000-watt daytime-only station. KLIV changed hands on July 1, 1967. It was acquired by two former Rochester, N.Y., radio executives, Robert S. Kieve and James M. Trayhern, Jr., who had incorporated as Empire Broadcasting. Four decades later, Bob Kieve has remained as the owner of KLIV, one of the few independent radio station owners left in the region.

A 1943 graduate of Harvard College, Bob began his career as an information officer at the American Embassy in Madrid, Spain, during and after World War II. Following several program director and writer positions in radio and television, he was appointed to a position as special assistant and staff writer for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was later promoted to Special Assistant to Deputy Director of U.S. Information Agency before becoming general manager of Radio Stations WBBF and WBBF-FM in Rochester, NY. He is the author of El Arte Radiofonico, published in Madrid. An active member of the community, Mr. Kieve is past president of the Rotary Club of San José, director of the San Jose Symphony Foundation, past board member of the San Jose Symphony, member of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee, board member of the Northern California Broadcasters Association and the California Broadcasters Association. He joined the Board of Trustees at Regional Medical Center of San Jose in 2000. He was awarded the "Mr. San Jose" by the community.

Bob has served on many non-profits in active positions from president to chairman of committees, too numerous to mention here.

It is his writing skills, and as important, his ability as a commentator on San Francisco Bay area radio that he is most known to the local public. His commentary is always full of wit, common sense, sophistication, and Bob is definitely known to speak his mind. Whether you agreed or did not agree with him, the audience seem to always find it a pleasure to hear his commentary.

Bob today serves more as a mentor, someone you want to be when you grow up. When asked, he participates with his opinion on subjects and positions on Leasing News, although he is not in the equipment leasing business. He is a broadcaster. The internet is the newest median. He was one of the first to be “on line” and appreciate the direction the World Wide Web is heading. He still is very active, someone you look forward to in receiving an e-mail.

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Direct Capital Chairman Wants Back
in Leasing/Finance Business - Unconfirmed Rumor

Chris Broom

Several readers have asked Leasing News if there is any information that former Direct Capital Chairman Chris Broom wants to get back in the leasing/finance business. He has now passed the one year covenant from the sale of his company to CIT Bank. The rumor is he is reaching out to former DCC staff in an attempt to assemble a team of leasing professionals.

Another reader wrote, "I was told he's reaching out to team leaders from the Mike Murray days -- Jeremy Tsarkis, Ryan Driscoll, Don Seeley...the best guys migrated to Ascentium Dover."

This name was brought up, "Charles (Chuck) Malcolm is another one on Brooms hit list -- more recent hire."

Chris Broom was Chairman of Direct Capital, Portsmouth, New Hampshire since 1993. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-broom-6010597/

CIT Purchased Direct Capital in May, 2014. He stayed on until December, 2016.

He has not spoken to Leasing News since writing he and his wife purchased a 12,533 square foot "home" in Casey Key, Florida.

http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2014/11_19.htm#broom

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This Day in History

     1734 - Birthday of Robert Morris (d. 1806) at Liverpool, England. Signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, one of two men who signed all three documents. He was the country’s first “Superintendent of Finance”. The Robert Morris Association, formed by the Bankers Association, honors him.
http://www.robert-morris.com/
    1752 - The procession ceremony for her profession of faith by Sister St. Martha Turpin was held at Ursuline Convent in New Orleans, LA. She was the first American-born woman to become a nun in the Catholic Church. She was born in Illinois, and entered the Ursuline Convent in 1748. She began her novitiate on July 2, 1749. She died on November 20, 1761, at the age of 30.
http://www.ursulineneworleans.org/history.htm
http://www.accesscom.net/ursuline/
http://new-orleans.travelape.com/attractions/old-ursuline-convent/index.html
    1795 - Wounded by the sharp criticism of his colleagues, Alexander Hamilton resigned his post as the Secretary of the Treasury. During his run as the first U.S. Treasury Secretary, Hamilton put his conservative stamp on the young nation’s finances, establishing a national bank and a tax-based system to fuel the repayment of national and foreign debts. Hamilton also pushed for the Federal government to assume full responsibility for debts incurred by the states during the Revolutionary War. However, Hamilton’s Federalist ardor was a frequent target for controversy. He also saw the brewing of the wars in Europe and European powers’ growing interest in the Americas, which was not a popular view with a country that wanted to remain isolationist.
    1801 – John Marshall was appointed to be the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
    1848 -John C. Fremont is court-martialed. An outstanding military leader and abolitionist, known for being ahead of his time, he sided with the wrong political group. He was later pardoned by President Polk, but he resigned his commission. The Gold Rush made him a multimillionaire, whereupon he moved to New York, became actively involved in politics and ran for president. He was defeated by Democrat James Buchanan because of his anti-slavery views. He was appointed a general by President Lincoln, but got into political trouble again by proclaiming freedom for all slaves in military campaigns he was winning (this was before the emancipation doctrine). In 1864, he was again considered for the Republican presidential nomination. Popular but controversial, Frémont decided that his bid for the office would cause division within the party. He retired from public life and returned to the West. From 1878 to 1883, Frémont held public office again as appointed governor of the territory of Arizona. Just months before his death on July 13, 1890, Congress granted him a pension, acknowledging the importance of Frémont's early explorations of the West.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan31.html
    1851 - San Francisco Orphan's Asylum, first in California, founded.
    1863 - The first Union regiment in the Civil War made up of African-American soldiers was the 1st Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, organized in the summer of 1862 by Major General David Hunter. Since there was no authority at that time for its muster into federal service, it was disbanded then reorganized in October, 1862 and mustered into federal service at Buford, SC, on January 31, 1863. Its designation was changed on February 8, 1864, to the 33rd U.S. Colored Infantry.
    1865 - The controversy of free slaves continued until the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States. It read, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude...shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” When the Civil War began, President Lincoln's professed goal was the restoration of the Union. But early in the war, the Union began keeping escaped slaves rather than returning them to their owners, so slavery essentially ended wherever the Union army was victorious. In September, 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. This measure opened the issue of what to do about slavery in border states that had not seceded or in areas that had been captured by the Union before the proclamation. In 1864, an amendment abolishing slavery passed the Senate but died in the House as Democrats rallied in the name of states' rights. The election of 1864 brought Lincoln back to the White House and significant Republican majorities in both houses, so it appeared the amendment was headed for passage when the new Congress convened in March, 1865. Lincoln preferred that the amendment receive bipartisan support--some Democrats indicated support for the measure, but many still resisted. The amendment passed 119 to 56, seven votes above the necessary two-thirds majority. Several Democrats abstained, but the 13th Amendment was sent to the states for ratification, which came in December, 1865. With the passage of the amendment, the institution that had indelibly shaped American history and had started the Civil War was eradicated.
    1865 – Gen. Robert E. Lee was appointed General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army.
    1871 - Birds fly over the western part of San Francisco in such large numbers that they actually darken the sky.
    1874 - Jesse James gang robs train at Gads Hill, MO.
http://www.rosecity.net/trains/picture4.html
    1892 – Birthday of Eddie Cantor, born Edward Israel Iskowitz (d. 1964), NYC. Actor, singer: “If You Knew Susie like I Know Susie,” “Alabamy Bound,” “Dinah,” “Ida,” “Makin’ Whoopee,” “Ma He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me.” His eye-rolling song-and-dance routines eventually led to his nickname, "Banjo Eyes". In 1933, artist Frederick J. Garner caricatured Cantor with large round eyes resembling the drum-like pot of a banjo. Cantor's eyes became his trademark, often exaggerated in illustrations, and leading to his appearance on Broadway in the musical “Banjo Eyes” (1941). His charity and humanitarian work was extensive, and he is credited with coining the phrase, and helping to develop the March of Dimes. He was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 1956 for distinguished service to the film industry.
http://www.eddiecantor.com/
    1872 - Zane Grey was born Pearl Grey (d. 1939) at Zanesville, OH. American dentist and prolific author of tales of the Old West, Grey eventually wrote more than 80 books that were translated into many languages and sold more than 10 million copies. The novel “Riders of the Purple Sage” (1912) was the most popular. In 1886, he graduated with a degree in dentistry and moved to New York to begin his practice. Grey's interest in dentistry was half-hearted at best, and he did not relish the idea of replicating his father's safe but unexciting career path. Searching for an alternative, Grey decided to try his hand at writing. His first attempt was an uninspiring historical novel about a family ancestries. At that point, Grey might well have been doomed to a life of dentistry, had he not met Colonel C. J. "Buffalo" Jones in 1908, who convinced Grey to write Jones' biography. More importantly, Jones took him out West to gather material for the book and Grey became deeply fascinated with the people and landscape of the region. Grey's biography of Jones debuted in 1908 as “The Last of the Plainsmen” to little attention but he was inspired to concentrate his efforts on writing historical romances of the West. In 1912, he published the novel that earned him lasting fame, “Riders of the Purple Sage.” Like the equally popular Owen Wister novel, “The Virginian” (1902), the basic theme of Riders revolves around the transformation of a weak and effeminate easterner into a man of character and strength through his exposure to the culture and land of the American West. Grey's protagonist, the Ohio-born Bern Venters, spends several weeks being tested by the rugged canyon country of southern Utah before finding his way back to civilization. Venters, Grey writes, "had gone away a boy-he had returned a man." Though “Riders of the Purple Sage” was Grey's most popular novel, he wrote 78 other books during his prolific career, most of them Westerns. Grey's work continued to be extraordinarily popular for decades after his death, and, by 1955, his books had sold more than 31 million copies around the world. With the possible exception of “Riders”, today Grey's books are little read, and most modern readers find them insufferably pompous, moralizing, and sentimental. In 1895 and 1898, he was a minor baseball player.
    1907 - Birthday of trombonist Benny Morton (d. 1985), born New York City, New York.
http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/m1/benny_morton_b.htm
http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Benny%20Morton_1.htm
    1905 - American novelist/short story writer John O'Hara (d. 1970) born, Pottsville, Pennsylvania. A keen observer of social status and manners in early to mid-20th century America and pre-eminent among his contemporaries at depicting social realism. He first earned a reputation for short stories and later became a best-selling novelist before the age of 30 with “Appointment in Samarra” and “Butterfield 8.”
http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/litmap/ohara_john_pa.htm
http://oharas.com/directory/johnohara.html
    1911 - Congress passes resolution naming San Francisco as the site of the celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal.
    1911 - Tamarack, CA, was without snow the first eight days of the month, but by the end of January had been buried under 390 inches of snow, a record monthly total for the U.S.
    1913 – Before Jerry Rice, there was Don Hutson (d. 1997), born Pine Bluff, AR. He played split end and spent his entire eleven-year professional career with the Green Bay Packers. Under head coach Curly Lambeau, Hutson led the Packers to four NFL Championship games, winning three. Hutson is considered to have been the first modern receiver and is credited with creating many of the modern pass routes used in the NFL today. He was the dominant receiver of his day, during which he was widely considered one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. He held almost all major receiving records at the time of his retirement, including career receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was inducted as a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hutson's number 14 was the first jersey retired by the Packers, and he is a member of their Hall of Fame. In 1994, Hutson was selected for the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years.
    1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, boxer, born Arnold Raymond Cream (d. 1994) at Merchantville, NJ. Walcott lost a heavyweight title fight to Joe Louis in 1947 but then defeated Ezzard Charles to win the title in 1951 after losing to him twice before. At 37 years of age, he was the oldest man to win the heavyweight crown.
    1915 - Trumpet player Bobby Hackett (d. 1976) birthday, Providence, RI. Perhaps best known for his solo in “String of Pearls” with Glenn Miller. He later became much more known as a Dixieland coronet player in the Dixieland revival of the 1950’s.
http://www.libertyhall.com/bobby.html
http://spaceagepop.com/hackett.htm
    1915 - American television host Garry Moore was born Thomas Garrison Morfit, III (d. 1993) at Baltimore, MD. His best-known shows were "I've Got a Secret" (1952-67) and "To Tell the Truth" (1969-76). He gave Carol Burnett her break on TV when he made her a regular on "The Garry Moore Show."
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/mooregarry/mooregarry.htm
    1919 - Jack Roosevelt Robinson (d. 1972), born at Cairo, GA. Baseball Hall of Famer, Class of 1962. Robinson was a star athlete at UCLA and an officer in the US Army during World War II. In Oct, 1945, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Robinson to a contract to play professional baseball, thereby breaking the sport’s unofficial, but firm, color line. Robinson proved to be an outstanding player who endured unimaginable racial taunts and still excelled. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 1947 and was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1949. He led the Dodgers to six pennants between 1947-56, and a World Series championship in 1955. Robinson's character, his use of non-violence, and his unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation which then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB, and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock Full o’ Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in 1972, in recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of freedom. In 1997, MLB universally retired his uniform number, 42, across all Major League teams; he was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day," for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.
    1921 - Birthday of tenor Mario Lanza, billed as the successor to Enrico Caruso, born Alfred Arnold Cocozza (d. 1959) in Philadelphia, PA. There were predictions that he would become the greatest tenor of his time, perhaps even of the century. But his unreliability, destructive temper tantrums and a penchant for overeating, then going on frantic diets destroyed his career. Mario Lanza's 1951 film "The Great Caruso" is reported to have grossed more than five-million dollars. And two of his '50s recordings, "Be My Love" and "The Loveliest Night of the Year," sold more than a million copies each.
http://www.rense.com/excursions/lanza/
    1923 – Birthday of Norman Mailer (d. 2007), Long Branch, NJ. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist: “The Armies of the Night,” “Miami and the Siege of Chicago,” “The Executioner’s Song,” “The Naked and the Dead,” “An American Dream.” Mailer is considered an innovator of creative non-fiction, a genre sometimes called New Journalism, which uses the style and devices of literary fiction in fact-based journalism. Mailer was also known for his essays, the most famous and reprinted of which is "The White Negro." He was a cultural commentator and critic, expressing his views through his novels, journalism, essays, and frequent media appearances. In 1955, Mailer and three others founded “The Village Voice,” an arts-and politics-oriented weekly newspaper distributed in Greenwich Village.
http://www.iol.ie/~kic/
http://www.americanlegends.com/authors/norman_mailer.html
http://www.wiredforbooks.org/normanmailer/
  1923 - Birthday of Carol Channing, Seattle, WA. Tony award winner. Best known for her portrayal of Lorelei Lee in “Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend,” and Dolly Gallaher Levi in “Hello Dolly.” She is the darling of San Francisco.
    1928 - Scotch tape was developed by Richard Drew of the 3M Company.
    1931 – Birthday of Ernie Banks (d. 2015), Dallas, TX. Baseball Hall of Famer (1977) Banks is regarded by some as one of the greatest players of all time. Spent his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. All-star: 1955-1962, 1965, 1967, 1969. National League MVP: 1958, 1959; 512 home runs; over 40 in a single season five times; record five grand slams [1955]. His 47 home runs in 1958 was the most ever hit by a shortstop and his 277 home runs as a shortstop were career records at the time of his retirement. Named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/
hofer_bios/banks_ernie.htm
    1936 - The radio show, "The Green Hornet" was introduced by its theme song, "The Flight of the Bumble Bee." The show was first heard on Detroit, Michigan's WXYZ radio, lasting for 16 years. "The Green Hornet" originated from the same station as the "The Lone Ranger." The title character in "The Green Hornet" was really named Britt Reid, who was supposed to be the great nephew of John Reid, the Lone Ranger. Both series were created by George Trendle and Fran Striker.
http://members.aol.com/meow103476/greenhornet.html
    1936 - Birthday of singer Marvin Junior (d. 2013) of The Dells, Harold, AR. Junior wrote the Dells’ first hit, “Oh What a Nite,” with the group’s Johnny Funches. Originally released in 1956, it was rerecorded with a new arrangement in 1969 and released as “Oh What a Nite.” Many more hits would follow, including “Stay in My Corner” which was originally released in 1965 and also rerecorded and released again in 1969. The reworked versions of both songs went to No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and reached the Top 10 on the pop chart.
http://www.themightydells.com/
http://www.fantasyjazz.com/html/dells_bio.html
http://www.epinions.com/content_59435355780
    1936 - Birthday of trombonist Garnett Brown, Memphis, TN.
Composer, arranger, and trombonist, Garnett earned his B.S. in music at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and went on to study film scoring and electronic music at UCLA. His numerous performances and recordings include those with Herbie Hancock, Lionel Hampton, Manhattan Transfer, Quincy Jones, Billy Taylor, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, and Dizzy Gillespie. He has coordinated, conducted, arranged, composed, and performed music for numerous feature films and television programs, including “Roots: Second Generation,” “A Soldier's Story,” and “Fat Man and Little Boy.” He has received numerous awards, including the first place trombone prize in the Downbeat Reader's Poll in 1967 and 1974. BMI has honored him twice, with the Jazz Pioneers Award in 1984 and the Contribution to American Music Recognition Award in 1990. In 1988 he played with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra in an East Coast and European tour. Recently Brown was the orchestrator, arranger, and conductor of the score for the film “Harlem Nights.” He also worked as music coordinator on a feature film with Michel Legrand, and participated in a lecture, demonstration, and concert with Billy Taylor for the Washington, D.C. National Association of Jazz Educators. He presently teaches at UCLA in the Music Department, plus is a well-known studio musician.
    1937 - Birthday of American composer Philip Glass, Baltimore, MD. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the late 20th century.
http://www.philipglass.com/
    1940 - The first Social Security check was issued. Ida May Fuller, of Ludlow, VT, received the first monthly retirement check in the amount of $22.54. Ms. Fuller had worked for three years under the Social Security program (which had been established by legislation in 1935). The accumulated taxes on her salary over those three years were $24.75. She lived to be 100 years and collected $22,888 in Social Security benefits.
    1942 – Daniela Bianchi was born in Rome, Italy. Best known for her role of Russian spy Tatiana Romanova in the 1963 Bond movie “From Russia with Love.”
    1944 - Birthday of blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, born Kosciusko, Mississippi. Musselwhite was reportedly the inspiration for the character played by Dan Akroyd in the “Blues Brothers.”
http://www.charlie-musselwhite.com/memphis.htm
http://www.rosebudus.com/musselwhite/
    1944 - OLSON, TRUMAN O., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, 30-31 January 1944. Entered service at: Cambridge, Wis. Birth: Christiana, Wis. G.O. No.: 6, 24 January 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Olson, a light machine gunner, elected to sacrifice his life to save his company from annihilation. On the night of 30 January 1944, after a 16-hour assault on entrenched enemy positions in the course of which over one-third of Company B became casualties, the survivors dug in behind a horseshoe elevation, placing Sgt. Olson and his crew, with the 1 available machinegun, forward of their lines and in an exposed position to bear the brunt of the expected German counterattack. Although he had been fighting without respite, Sgt. Olson stuck grimly to his post all night while his gun crew was cut down, 1 by 1, by accurate and overwhelming enemy fire. Weary from over 24 hours of continuous battle and suffering from an arm wound, received during the night engagement, Sgt. Olson manned his gun alone, meeting the full force of an all-out enemy assault by approximately 200 men supported by mortar and machinegun fire which the Germans launched at daybreak on the morning of 31 January. After 30 minutes of fighting, Sgt. Olson was mortally wounded, yet, knowing that only his weapons stood between his company and complete destruction, he refused evacuation. For an hour and a half after receiving his second and fatal wound he continued to fire his machinegun, killing at least 20 of the enemy, wounding many more, and forcing the assaulting German elements to withdraw.
    1945 - US Army Private Eddie Slovik was shot for desertion, the first such execution since the Civil War. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, personally ordered the execution during the closing days of World War II to deter other potential deserters. The story of his execution was made into a motion picture with actor Martin Sheen in the role of Private Slovik.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Slovik.html
    1947 – Birthday of Lynn Nolan Ryan, Refugio, TX. Hall of Fame pitcher with the NY Mets [World Series: 1969], California Angels [all-star: 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979], Houston Astros [all-star: 1981, 1985], Texas Rangers [all-star: 1989]. His 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history by a significant margin, as do his 7 no-hitters. He is tied with Bob Feller for the most 1-hitters. These with his 324–292 record and 3.19 ERA are among the reasons he is in the Baseball Hall of Fame (1999).
    1948 - J. D. Salinger's short story "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" appears in The New Yorker. It was the earliest mention of the “Glass” family,” which was to appear in many of the short stories to follow.
http://www.biblion.com/litweb/biogs/salinger_j_d.html
http://members.aol.com/jdsletters/index.html
    1949 - The first soap opera on daytime television was “These Are My Children,” by Irna Phillips, which was aired between 5 and 5:15pm every weekday from January 21 to February 25, 1949, by NBC from Chicago, IL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irna_Phillips
    1949 - The temperature at San Antonio, TX plunged to a record low of one degree below zero. Helena, MT reached 42 degrees below zero.
    1950 - George Mikan, center for the Minneapolis Lakers, was chosen the greatest basketball player of the half-century by a national poll of sportswriters.
    1950 – President Harry Truman announced plans for the US to develop the hydrogen bomb. The idea of a thermonuclear fusion bomb ignited by a smaller fission bomb was first proposed by Enrico Fermi to his colleague, Edward Teller in 1941 at the start of what would become the Manhattan Project. Teller spent most of the Manhattan Project attempting to figure out how to make the design work, to some degree neglecting his assigned work on the fission bomb program. His difficult and devil’s advocate attitude in discussions led Robert Oppenheimer to sidetrack him and other "problem" physicists into the super program to smooth his way. On January 7, 1953, Truman announced the detonation of the first U.S. hydrogen bomb.
    1951 - DODD, CARL H., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant (then 2d Lt.), U.S. Army, Company E, 5th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Subuk, Korea, 30 and 31 January 1951. Entered service at: Kenvir, Ky. Born: 21 April 1925, Evarts, Ky. G.O. No.: 37, 4 June 1951. Citation: 1st Lt. Dodd, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. First Lt. Dodd, given the responsibility of spearheading an attack to capture Hill 256, a key terrain feature defended by a well-armed, crafty foe who had withstood several previous assaults, led his platoon forward over hazardous terrain under hostile small-arms, mortar, and artillery fire from well-camouflaged enemy emplacements which reached such intensity that his men faltered. With utter disregard for his safety, 1st Lt. Dodd moved among his men, reorganized and encouraged them, and then single-handedly charged the first hostile machine gun nest, killing or wounding all its occupants. Inspired by his incredible courage, his platoon responded magnificently and, fixing bayonets and throwing grenades, closed on the enemy and wiped out every hostile position as it moved relentlessly onward to its initial objective. Securing the first series of enemy positions, 1st Lt. Dodd again reorganized his platoon and led them across a narrow ridge and onto Hill 256. Firing his rifle and throwing grenades, he advanced at the head of his platoon despite the intense concentrated hostile fire which was brought to bear on their narrow avenue of approach. When his platoon was still 200 yards from the objective he moved ahead and with his last grenade destroyed an enemy mortar killing the crew. Darkness then halted the advance but at daybreak 1st Lt. Dodd, again boldly advancing ahead of his unit, led the platoon through a dense fog against the remaining hostile positions. With bayonet and grenades he continued to set pace without regard for the danger to his life, until he and his troops had eliminated the last of the defenders and had secured the final objective. First Lt. Dodd's superb leadership and extraordinary heroism inspired his men to overcome this strong enemy defense reflecting the highest credit upon himself and upholding the esteemed traditions of the military service.
    1951 - Top Hits
“My Heart Cries for You” - Guy Mitchell
“Tennessee Waltz” - Patti Page
“A Bushell and a Peck” - Perry Como & Betty Hutton
“The Shot Gun Boogie” - Tennessee Ernie Ford
    1951 - Rock vocalist Phil Collins was born in London. He joined the art-rock group Genesis in 1970 as drummer, replacing John Mayhew. Collins became the lead vocalist for Genesis after the group's front man, Peter Gabriel, left in 1974. With Collins fronting the band, Genesis began to score hit singles, starting with "Follow You, Follow Me" in 1978. Collins, while remaining with Genesis, started a solo career in 1982. His first album, "Face Value," sold two-million copies. He's had numerous single hits as well, including such chart- toppers as "Against All Odds," "One More Night," "Sussudio" and "Separate Lives," a 1986 duet with Marilyn Martin.
    1951 – Birthday of Harry Wayne Casey, Opalocka, Florida. Musician: keyboard, singer with KC and the Sunshine Band. http://discomuseum.com/KCSunshineBand.html
http://www.harrywaynecasey.com/
    1952 - Birthday of harmonica player Paul deLay (d. 2007), Portland, Oregon
http://www.cascadeblues.org/NWBlues/PauldeLay/PauldeLay.htm
http://www.pauldelay.com/about.ihtml
http://www.mnblues.com/review/delaylive.html
http://home.europa.com/~damray/welcome.html
    1956 - Elvis Presley signs with the William Morris Agency in order to make himself available to film studios.
    1958 - "Jackpot Bowling" premieres on NBC with Leo Durocher as host
    1958 - The first successful US satellite. Although launched four months later than the Soviet Union's Sputnik, Explorer reached a higher altitude and detected a zone of intense radiation inside Earth's magnetic field. This was later named the Van Allen radiation belts. More than 65 subsequent Explorer satellites were launched through 1984.
    1959 - Just three days before their death in a plane crash, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper play the Armory in Duluth, MN. In attendance: a seventeen-year-old Robert Zimmerman, who would be inspired to become a musician by this performance. We now know him as Bob Dylan.
    1959 - Top Hits
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” - The Platters
“Donna” - Ritchie Valens
“The All-American Boy” - Bill Parsons
“Billy Bayou” - Jim Reeves
    1960 - Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man" enters the R&B chart, soon to be #3. The song is written and produced by Otis Blackwell. James Taylor will make it a #4 pop hit in 1977.
    1961 - A test of Project Mercury spacecraft accomplished the first US recovery of a large animal from space. Ham, the chimpanzee, successfully performed simple tasks in space.
    1961 - The first African-American Commander of a combat ship was Lieutenant Commander Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr., of Richmond, VA. On January 31, 1961, he assumed command of the destroyer escort U.S.S. Falgout, one of the vessels of Escort Squadron 5 on duty with the barrier Pacific force. The ship had a crew of 150 and 13 officers.
    1961 - NBC airs the “Bobby Darin and Friends” television special, originally meant as a pilot for a weekly variety series.
    1961 – Houston voters approved a bond to finance the construction of a luxury domed stadium, clearing the final hurdle standing between the city and Major League Baseball. The stadium would become the 8th Wonder of the World, The Astrodome, and the team, originally known as the Colt 45s, became the Astros.
    1962 - U.S. Admiral Samuel L. Gravely becomes the first Black person to achieve flag rank, rear admiral. In September, 1976, Vice Admiral Gravely assumed command of the Third Fleet. During 1978-80, he was Director of the Defense Communications Agency. Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, Jr., retired from the Navy on 1 August 1980.
http://www.raaheroes.com/military/navy/gravely.htm
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-g/s-gravly.htm
http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php3?id=1250
    1963 - Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara declares:
"The war in Vietnam is going well and will succeed."
    1963 - A seventeen-year-old Neil Young makes his stage debut at a country club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
    1965 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin” by The Righteous Brothers. The song is the first No. 1 song for the duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield.
    1966 - A blizzard struck the northeastern U.S. When the storm came to an end, twenty inches of snow covered the ground at Washington D.C.
    1967 - While in Sevenoaks, Kent, England, John Lennon visits an antique shop and purchases a circus poster from 1843. It is this poster which inspires most of the lyrics to the Beatles' "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite."
  1967 - Top Hits
“I’m a Believer” - The Monkees
“Tell It Like It Is” - Aaron Neville
“Georgy Girl” - The Seekers
“There Goes My Everything” - Jack Greene
    1968 - As part of the Tet Offensive, Viet Cong soldiers attack the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. A 19-man suicide squad seized the U.S. Embassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S. paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building's roof and routed them. The offensive was launched on January 30, when communist forces attacked Saigon, Hue, five of six autonomous cities, 36 of 44 provincial capitals, and 64 of 245 district capitals. The timing and magnitude of the attacks caught the South Vietnamese and American forces off guard, but eventually the Allied forces turned the tide. Militarily, the Tet Offensive was a disaster for the communists. By the end of March 1968, they had not achieved any of their objectives and had lost 32,000 soldiers and had 5,800 captured. U.S. forces suffered 3,895 dead; South Vietnamese losses were 4,954; non-U.S. allies lost 214. More than 14,300 South Vietnamese civilians died. While the offensive was a crushing military defeat for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese, the early reporting of a smashing communist victory went largely uncorrected in the media and this led to a great psychological victory for the communists. The heavy U.S. casualties incurred during the offensive coupled with the disillusionment over the earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war accelerated the growing disenchantment with President Johnson's conduct of the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam announced on March 31, 1968, that he “would neither seek nor accept” the nomination of his party for re-election. As reported earlier, after leaving office he retired to his ranch in Texas and shortly died a broken man as his political influence and popularity was nil.
    1968 - John Fred and his Playboy Band's "Judy in Disguise" and the American Breed's "Bend Me, Shape Me" are certified gold. Neither group came even close to selling that many records with any other release
    1968 - A Seattle City Council hearing concludes that there are no legal means to curb hippies in the U-District.
    1970 - CLAUSEN, RAYMOND M., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, Marine Aircraft Croup 16, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 31 January 1970. Entered service at: New Orleans, La. Born: 14 October 1947, New Orleans, La. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 during operations against enemy forces. Participating in a helicopter rescue mission to extract elements of a platoon which had inadvertently entered a minefield while attacking enemy positions, Pfc. Clausen skillfully guided the helicopter pilot to a landing in an area cleared by 1 of several mine explosions. With 11 marines wounded, 1 dead, and the remaining 8 marines holding their positions for fear of detonating other mines, Pfc. Clausen quickly leaped from the helicopter and, in the face of enemy fire, moved across the extremely hazardous mine laden area to assist in carrying casualties to the waiting helicopter and in placing them aboard. Despite the ever-present threat of further mine explosions, he continued his valiant efforts, leaving the comparatively safe area of the helicopter on 6 separate occasions to carry out his rescue efforts. On 1 occasion while he was carrying 1 of the wounded, another mine detonated, killing a corpsman and wounding 3 other men. Only when he was certain that all marines were safely aboard did he signal the pilot to lift the helicopter. By the courageous, determined and inspiring efforts in the face of the utmost danger, Pfc. Clausen upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service.
    1970 - PENRY, RICHARD A., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Infantry Brigade. Place and date: Binh Tuy Province, Republic of Vietnam, 31 January 1970. Entered service at: Oakland, Calif. Born: 18 November 1948, Petaluma. Calif. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Penry, Company C, distinguished himself while serving as a rifleman during a night ambush mission. As the platoon was preparing the ambush position, it suddenly came under an intense enemy attack from mortar, rocket, and automatic weapons fire which seriously wounded the company commander and most of the platoon members, leaving small isolated groups of wounded men throughout the area. Sgt. Penry, seeing the extreme seriousness of the situation, worked his way through the deadly enemy fire to the company command post where he administered first aid to the wounded company commander and other personnel. He then moved the command post to a position which provided greater protection and visual communication and control of other platoon elements. Realizing the company radio was damaged and recognizing the urgent necessity to reestablish communications with the battalion headquarters, he ran outside the defensive perimeter through a fusillade of hostile fire to retrieve a radio. Finding it inoperable, Sgt. Penry returned through heavy fire to retrieve 2 more radios. Turning his attention to the defense of the area, he crawled to the edge of the perimeter, retrieved needed ammunition and weapons and resupplied the wounded men. During a determined assault by over 30 enemy soldiers, Sgt. Penry occupied the most vulnerable forward position placing heavy, accurate fire on the attacking enemy and exposing himself several times to throw hand grenades into the advancing enemy troops. He succeeded virtually single-handedly in stopping the attack. Learning that none of the radios were operable, Sgt. Penry again crawled outside the defensive perimeter, retrieved a fourth radio and established communications with higher headquarters. Sgt. Penry then continued to administer first aid to the wounded and repositioned them to better repel further enemy attacks. Despite continuous and deadly sniper fire, he again left the defensive perimeter, moved to within a few feet of enemy positions, located 5 isolated wounded soldiers, and led them to safety. When evacuation helicopters approached, Sgt. Penry voluntarily left the perimeter, set up a guiding beacon, established the priorities for evacuation and successively carried 18 wounded men to the extraction site. After all wounded personnel had been evacuated, Sgt. Penry joined another platoon and assisted in the pursuit of the enemy. Sgt. Penry's extraordinary heroism at the risk of his own life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1970 - In New Orleans, the Grateful Dead are arrested for possession of LSD and barbiturates, an incident which would inspire one of their most famous songs, "Truckin'." Apparently, the band had fun afoul of mob interests in Texas, and the mob alerted the NOPD. This explains lines like "Houston, too close to New Orleans" and "Set up, like a bowling pin."
http://www.seattletimes.com/centennial/october/outrage.html
    1971 - The Winter Soldier Hearings begin in a Howard Johnson's motel in Detroit. Sponsored by the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the hearings are an attempt by soldiers who have served in Vietnam to publicize U.S. conduct in the war. The veterans testify that the My Lai massacre was not an isolated incident and that American troops have committed atrocities. More than 100 veterans, in fact, testify to brutal US acts. Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield will enter the Winter Soldier hearings into the Congressional Record but, otherwise, the proceedings capture little attention.
http://www.prairienet.org/vvaw/
    1971 - The first sport played on the moon was golf. Astronaut Alan Bartlett Sheppard, Jr. commander of Apollo 14, used a six-iron to hit a golf ball on the moon. In the lunar gravity, the ball kept going until it was far out of sight.
    1972 - Joan Baez claims a gold record for her album "Any Day Now," which was made up solely of songs by Bob Dylan. The LP went gold three years after its release.
    1974 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “The Way We Were,'' Barbra Streisand. The title song to the Streisand-Robert Redford film wins a Grammy for songwriters Marvin Hamlisch and Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and an Academy Award for Best Song.
    1975 - Barry Manilow's "Mandy" goes gold. Originally titled “Brandy,”
Manilow changed it at the recording studio to avoid confusion with another song of the same name by Looking Glass.
http://www.ionicom.com/songs/mandy.htm
http://www.barrynet.com/
http://www.barrynet.com/discography.html
    1975 - Top Hits
“Mandy” - Barry Manilow
“Please Mr. Postman” - Carpenters
“Laughter in the Rain” - Neil Sedaka
“Fire” - Ohio Players
(“I’d Be) A Legend in My Time” - Ronnie Milsap
    1981 - Female disco duo, A Taste of Honey, enter the soul chart with a disco remake of Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 hits Number One hit, "Sukiyaki." The former peaked at Number One on the soul chart. It makes it to the pop chart in March and climbs to #3
    1981 - Birthday of Justin Timberlake, singer, actor, born Memphis, Tennessee.
    1982 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/page/cbs/talent/hamilton.htm
    1982 - A snowstorm struck Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Twenty- five inches of snow at Greenville IL, located east of Saint Louis, paralyzed the community. The storm left 4000 motorists stranded for two days
    1983 - Top Hits
“Down Under” - Men at Work
“Africa” - Toto
“Sexual Healing” - Marvin Gaye
“Talk to Me” - Mickey Gilley
  1984 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Karma Chameleon,'' Culture Club. The song is the group's biggest hit in England and only No. 1 single in the U.S.
    1985 - John Fogerty, formerly of Creedence Clearwater Revival, returned to A&M recording studios in Hollywood, California to perform his first ‘live’ performance in 14 years when he performed in a video called "Rock and Roll Girls."
http://www.johnfogerty.com/main.php
http://www.delafont.com/music_acts/John-Fogerty.htm
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=1648&cf=1648
    1985 - The last Jeep, the workhorse vehicle that enjoyed a successful home coming from World War II, rolled off the AMC assembly line at the plant in Toledo, Ohio. Army chief, George Marshall, said the Jeep was "America’s greatest contribution to warfare.” Jeep is now a trademark of Chrysler Corporation.
http://www.armyjeepparts.com/
    1986 - Rock star John Cougar Mellencamp, was honored by the Indiana Senate in a resolution praising his music and loyalty to the state. Mellencamp is a native of Seymour, Indiana.
http://www.mellencamp.com/
    1987 - Madonna’s record, "Open Your Heart," took over the #2 spot on the pop charts, right behind "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and The Beaters. A week later, "Open Your Heart" would become Madonna’s fifth #1 hit since 1983. She had record 11 consecutive singles in the Top 10, the most for any female artist.
    1988 - Thirty-one cities in the central and northeastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date, with many occurring during the early morning hours. Temperatures in western New York State reached the 60s early in the day. Strong northerly winds in the north central U.S. produced wind chill readings as cold as 60 degrees below zero in North Dakota.
    1988 - Herb Alpert performs the national anthem at Super Bowl XXII in San Diego, CA. (Chubby Checker performs at the halftime show). The Washington Redskins 42, Denver Broncos 10. After trailing 10–0 at the end of the first quarter of Super Bowl XXII, the Redskins scored 42 unanswered points, including a record-breaking 35 points in the second quarter, and setting several other Super Bowl records. In that 2nd quarter, Redskins’ QB Doug Williams, who was asked “how long have you been a black QB?,” tossed a 70-yard TD pass to WR Ricky Sanders and a 50-yard pass setting up another TD. He threw a 27-yard TD pass to WR Gary Clark, an 8-yard TD pass to TE Clint Didier and handed off to RB Timmy Smith, who ran 58 yards for another TD. Williams easily won the game’s MVP, the first black QB to win a Super Bowl. That one quarter so inspired the Redskins, the Broncos never had another chance. Tickets: $100.00.
    1988 - Ritchie Valens' brother and sister visited for the first time the place where Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash on February 3rd, 1959. They also visited the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, where Valens made his last appearance hours before the tragedy.
    1989 - The barometric pressure at Norway, AK, reached 31.85 inches (1078.4 mb.) establishing an all-time record for the North American Continent. The temperature at the time of the record was about 46 degrees below zero (The Weather Channel). Severe arctic cold began to invade the north central U.S. The temperature at Great Falls, MT plunged 85 degrees in 36 hours. Valentine, NE plummeted from a record high of 70 degrees to zero in just nine hours. Northwest winds gusted to 86 mph at Lander, WY, and wind chill readings of 80 degrees below zero were reported in Montana. Sixty-four cities in the central U.S. reported record highs for the date as readings reached the 60s in Michigan and the 80s in Kansas.
    1990 - McDonald's Corporation opened its first fast-food restaurant in the Soviet Union.
    1991 - Saudi Arabia claimed the border town of Khafji had been captured from invading Iraqi forces.
    1991 - Top Hits
“The First Time” - Surface
“Gonna Make You Sweat” (“Everybody Dance Now”) - C & C Music
Factory featuring Freedom Williams
“Sensitivity” - Ralph Tresvant
“Forever’s as Far as I’ll Go” - Alabama
    1992 - Trans World Airlines Inc., or TWA, filed for bankruptcy protection.
    1993 - Michael Jackson provided the half-time entertainment at the Super Bowl in Pasadena, California. He sang three of his hits - "Jam," "Billie Jean" and "Black or White" - paused to deliver a peace message, then performed "Heal the World." Garth Brooks sang the US national anthem to open the game. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills, 52-17. The Cowboys victory came three seasons after they won just one game and marked their return to elite status in the NFL under Coach Jimmy Johnson. The Bills become the first team to drop three in succession (they would lose again to Dallas, 30-13, the following year and remain the only team in NFL history to go to four successive Super Bowls).
    1994 - German luxury car-maker BMW announced the purchase of Rover from British Aerospace, ending nearly a century of independent mass car production in Britain.
    1996 - Corel purchased WordPerfect Corporation from Novell. Once the best-selling word processor, WordPerfect had steadily declined in popularity throughout the '90s, until the WordPerfect suite of office applications held less than twenty percent of the market. It relied more on the keyboard and typist considered it very fast. Novell had purchased WordPerfect in 1994, in an unsuccessful attempt to combat Microsoft's growing dominance in the consumer software field. Word was much easier to use, quick to learn, and as its product developed, it become more stable and incorporated many features of Word Perfect. As Netscape had 80% of the browser market, and Word Perfect at one time, Microsoft by 1998 turned the percentages around.
    1996 - Center Dale Hawerchuk of the St. Louis Blues became the 23rd player in NHL history to score 500 regular-season goals. Hawerchuk tallied as the Blues beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0. He retired in 1977 with 518 goals and 891 assists, good for 1409 points, 10th on the all-time list.
    1997 - David Bowie became the first musician to raise funds through a bond offering. Prudential Insurance bought $55-million of Bowie bonds, which were to be paid out of future earnings from his songs. The singer got his 55-million up front and Prudential received a 7.9 per cent annual return on its investment.
    1997 - Four "Critical Mass" protesters were arrested and five police officers "injured" when police attack a peaceful bicycle protest in downtown Seattle, Washington. Critical Mass, started in San Francisco in 1992, then spread to other cities since, and claims they have no leaders.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.
http://members.aol.com/MitsuAvaco/critmas2.htm
http://www.critical-mass.org/
    1998 - The "Come Together" benefit concert is held at a small New Jersey shore theatre. The show was a benefit for the family of Sgt. Patrick King, a Long Branch, NJ, police officer killed in the line of duty in the fall of 1997. The show was a 3 1/2-hour jam which featured Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny, Little Steven and a host of New Jersey musicians. It was a practical E Street Band reunion, with Max Weinberg, Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons joining in. The show featured tunes such as "Tenth Avenue Freezeout," "Backstreets," "Livin' On A Prayer," "Thunder Road," "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Born To Run."
    1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII (at Miami): Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19. Broncos’ QB John Elway (MVP) completed 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards and one TD -- and ran three yards for another score. Play of the game: Elway to Rod Smith for a 90-yard touchdown. Tickets: $325.00. Cher performs the national anthem while Stevie Wonder performs at the halftime show.
    2006 - Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank since 11 August 1987, resigns. He is succeeded by Ben Bernanke who resigns 2014. Janet Yellen becomes first female Chair on February 3, 2014.
    2013 - Aaron Neville notched his first Top Ten album on the Billboard R&B chart when "My True Story" landed at #7. His first appearance on the list was in 1960 with "Over You."
    2014 - Attorney General Eric Holder authorizes federal prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Super Bowl Champions:

    1988 - Washington Redskins (Washington 42, Denver 10)
    1993 - Dallas Cowboys (Dallas 52, Buffalo 17)
    1999 - Denver Broncos (Denver 34, Atlanta 19)

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