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Long Time Senior Appraiser Robert P. Podwalny, FASA
Passes Away at Age 74

"Bob Podwalny, a former colleague at Bank of America Leasing and Capital and well-known American Appraisal Society member and advocate, passed away of lung cancer on April 14th at the age of 74 in Brentwood, CA. Bob was with BofA for 20 years and was highly thought of in the large ticket equipment finance/project finance world. He ‘retired’ from equipment leasing in 2007 but started his own consulting business and was constantly in demand as a speaker, instructor, content contributor and expert witness nationally and internationally until shortly before his passing. He was known to many, many past and present equipment leasing folk, especially in the Big Ticket arena, and was a widely respected go-to appraisal and valuation expert who contributed a great deal to our industry. His wit and sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him and I wanted to be sure everyone knew of his death.

"There will be a Service on April 24, 2018 at 10 am at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 500 Fairview Ave, Brentwood, California 94513.

"I have attached a memorial that you might want to post, in whole or in part."

Carol E. Baker
Managing Director
Kingsbury Wax Bova, LLC

Memorial

Robert B. Podwalny, FASA, a longtime member of the equipment finance and leasing and appraisal industries, passed away on April 14, 2018 at the age of 74 in Brentwood, California after a courageous three-year battle with lung cancer.

Bob was with Bank of America Leasing and Capital Corp. for over 20 years and was highly thought of in the large ticket equipment finance/project finance world. He ‘retired’ from equipment leasing in 2007 but started his own consulting business and was constantly in demand as a speaker, instructor, content contributor and expert witness nationally and internationally until shortly before his passing.

He was known to many, many past and present equipment leasing folk, especially in the Big Ticket arena, and was a widely respected go-to appraisal and valuation expert who contributed a great deal to the equipment finance industry. His wit and sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife Linda, sons Daniel and Robert, sister Alexandra Podwalny Leclere, grandchildren Kayla, Evan, Emma, Lili and Lincoln, as well as many nieces, and nephews.

There will be a Service on April 24, 2018 at 10 am at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 500 Fairview Ave,

Born in Vienna, Austria January 14, 1944, Bob emigrated to Oberlin, Ohio in 1949 with his parents, brother, sister and grandparents. He became an American citizen in 1955 and attended Ohio State University and Oberlin College. Drafted in 1965 into the US Army, he served two years as a medic and was honorably discharged in 1967. Bob returned to Ohio where he first became active in the appraisal industry and eventually became Senior Appraiser with American Appraisal Associates and Marshall and Stevens. In 1971, Bob married Linda Fox and together they moved to the Bay Area.

In 1985, Bob joined Bank of America Leasing and Capital where he became Senior Vice President and Manager Appraisal and Inspection. For over 20 years until 2005, Bob managed a team of appraisers and all aspects of valuation and inspection of a $45 Billion portfolio of equipment assets under lease. He subsequently became Executive Vice President, Equipment Manager with Union Bank Commercial Leasing from 2005 to 2007 and, at that point, rather than retiring Bob opened his own consulting business as an independent appraiser, valuation consultant, and lease appraisal advisor.

Bob was an Accredited Senior Appraiser and Fellow of the American Society of Appraisers and an ASA member for over 36 years. He was inducted into College of Fellows with the ASA in 2012 in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the valuation profession. Bob’s long and dedicated service to the ASA contributed to the growth and development of the Society and helped elevate the status of the profession among users of appraisal services.

Over the course of his appraisal career, Bob was a popular speaker and instructor at many national and international conferences and meetings. He developed and taught valuation courses throughout the US as well as in Mexico, Romania, Slovenza, Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan and China for the World Bank Economic Development Program as well as for the ASA. He was a frequent author of articles on valuation and designated expert witness in litigation matters.

Bob was a contributing author to valuation textbooks, course developer and senior instructor of courses taught through the ASA. He held many roles with the ASA and was Past International Education Committee Chairman, Emeritus Member and Past Chairman of the Machinery and Technical Specialties Committee, Past Regional Governor for Northern California, Past President of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and Past Vice Chairman of the Board of Examiners for Machinery and Equipment.

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50th Anniversary NVLA Conference
Honors the Past with a Bright Future
By Edward P. Kaye

LA JOLLA, CA — The 50th anniversary of the National Vehicle Leasing Association (NVLA) was celebrated throughout its 2018 Annual Conference held April 18 – 20th at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa in La Jolla, California.

Celebrating the past, embracing the present, and defining the future was the conference theme and an engaging way to mark an important milestone for an association that was on the brink of extinction not too long ago.

Chris Pontarelli
NVLA President
Vice President, GT Leasing

“This year’s conference attracted our largest attendance since the Great Recession, the exhibit hall was sold out, our membership is up, and the NVLA is on its most stable financial footing in a decade,” said NVLA President Chris Pontarelli, Vice President of Jacksonville-based GT Leasing. “I’m pleased to see our industry’s recovery, and it’s comforting to know our members are better able to tackle historical challenges such as securing access to capital.

Charlie Vogelheim
Vogelheim Ventures

The conference was kicked off by industry icon and conference master of ceremonies, Charlie Vogelheim, the former 20 year editor of Kelley Blue Book. Vogelheim introduced a photo montage spanning most of the NVLA’s 50 years as documented by numerous black and white photographs, big hair styles, fashion, and historic conference events that would give current HR managers heart palpitations.

Most of the panel discussions and presentations focused on how independent leasing companies can improve and expand their current operations to become more competitive with larger lenders and lessors in this space. From tips on how to compete with large fleet lessors to expanding business with equipment leasing and Fintech, the sessions were well received and well attended.

There was also much focus on the future of the industry. Stu Lustman, Fintech and peer to peer lending author and expert, and who started his career in equipment leasing, cautioned the attendees to pay close attention to current industry trends that if ignored can easily take market share away from their businesses. “Fintech companies process $100,000 loan requests in seconds and minutes today,” he stated. “Independent leasing companies need to be mindful that if their front end process is not user friendly they will lose opportunities to Fintech firms that are well capitalized without legacy management, systems, and processes that can make the leasing application experience challenging.”

Tom Kontos
Chief Economist
KAR Auction Services

While new car sales were slightly down year over year in 2017, “I’m bullish about the economy as a whole,” said Tom Kontos, the chief economist for KAR Auction Services, one of the industry presenters. He does not see a recession in sight, expects three to four more rate increases by the Fed in 2018, and continued improvement in used vehicle prices, especially trucks and SUVs for the remainder of the year.

The deep subprime leasing business, known as Lease Here Pay Here (LHPH) continues to grow and become a more meaningful part of the NVLA as evidenced by several panel sessions and attendees this year. Consumer regulations, compliance, and funding remain key industry topics that were addressed throughout the conference.

Shane Kimbrogh
NASA Astronaut

Highlighting the future, this year’s keynote speaker was West Point graduate, Colonel U.S. Army Retired, and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough. Kimbrough served nearly six months as commander of the International Space Station during Expedition 49/50. He shared his personal experience along with videos and photos while aboard the space station along with a team of Russian and one Japanese astronaut. The lively Q&A session following his presentation touched on his favorite space movie (Apollo 13) to his current work on establishing a mission to Mars.

NVLA Past Presidents
David Blassingame, Rob Rogers, Tarry Shebesta, Bill Crawford, P.J. McMahon, Jeff Barron, Ben Carfrae, Dale Davis, Chris Pontarelli, Mike Wood, Scott Crawford

The conference ended paying homage to past eleven NVLA presidents with a panel discussion of seven former presidents. Interestingly, all but one past president panelist is retired. They all credit the NVLA with improving their businesses, professional development, and longevity in the industry. As expected, the lively, passionate, discussion and numerous war stories did not disappoint the industry faithful in attendance.

Terry Bowdler, Certified Vehicle Lease Executive, was the recipient of the Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award. It is given to the lessor who best exemplifies the highest standards of professional conduct to the industry and community as voted by his peers. Bowdler received the award after recently selling his company, Credit Union Leasing of America, after a 30 year career.
(Note: Full story about Terry Bowdler and award in Leasing News Press Release Section)

As president elect, yours truly looks forward to building on the strong foundation that those before me have established. The takeaway from this year’s conference is the industry is well positioned for growth in numerous niche segments the large lenders cannot pursue. If the past is any indication of the future, there will always be a future for the independent vehicle leasing company in the U.S. economy.

Edward P. Kaye
Access Commercial Capital, LLC
3000 Marcus Avenue, Suite 3E01
Lake Success, New York 11042
(516)444-3621 Direct Dial
(800)571-3900 Toll Free
(516)213-1182 Fax
ekaye@accesscapital.biz
www.accesscapital.biz

Ed Kaye is a longtime supporter of Leasing News, contributing articles as well as features. He is one of our best writers. He is an attorney, admitted to the bar of the State of New York, 1994, as well as has a MA and BA from the University at Albany. He also is presently serving as the second vice president and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Vehicle Leasing Association. He was the Conference Chair at the 50th Anniversary, is also the President elect, and add to that, an active member of the Leasing News Advisory Board.

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ELFF April Confidence Report Down almost 4 Points
Survey Shows Concern, But Confidence is Still High

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Industry Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry reports, "Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market eased again in April to 68.3, down from the March index of 72.2."

Valerie Hayes Jester, President, Brandywine Capital Associates
“The recent increase in interest rates has had a positive impact on demand for our products, clearly indicating that transactions need to be finalized. Our concerns center more on the manic policies of this Administration as it relates to trade and how those decisions impact our economy. The stock market is reflective of the emotions businesses and investors are feeling.”

David Normandin, CLFP, Managing Director, Commercial Finance Group, Hanmi Bank
“High confidence levels and rising interest rates are fundamentally good for our business. The market is slow to accept the reality of rising rates, thus we will continue to have short term yield compression.”

Michael Romanowski, President, Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation
“We are still working through the transition with customers to the new normal of tax reform. We continue to see a lot of confusion in the marketplace.”

David T. Schaefer, CEO, Mintaka Financial, LLC
“Business conditions are very positive and we expect this to continue. We are watching the escalating trade tensions to better understand the ramifications. Overall we are bullish on 2018.”

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

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Pennsylvania Affirms Bank's Right to Shorten Statute
of Limitations for Forged Endorsements to 30 Days

By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

When Customer Claims That Checks It Wrote Bear Forged Endorsements and Sues the Drawee Bank, Claims Will Be Barred If Not Made Within 30 Days

Levy Baldante Finney & Rubenstein, P.C. v. Wells Fargo 2018 WL 847756 (February 2018).

This is a banking article because I’m first and foremost a banking lawyer and has nothing to do with leasing. This case plows new legal ground in that the statute of limitations for asserting forged endorsements against your own bank is three years. However, deposit agreements can vary the terms of the statute. Now going from three years to 30 days is pretty aggressive, but the Pennsylvania Court of Appeals have no problem bailing out the bank on this one, due to the fact that the plaintiff-customers were lawyers. Everyone hates lawyers—even lawyers. The facts follow.

Levy Baldante Finney & Rubenstein is a Pennsylvania law firm, banking at TD Bank. Sadly, it had a miscreant partner, Jack Cohen. Cohen for reasons known only to him, stole outgoing checks intended for vendors from the firm mail room, including checks drawn on the law firm’s trust account. Mr. Cohen forged the names of the payees and deposited the checks via his ATM to Wells Fargo Bank from 2012 to 2015. The loss exceeded $300,000.

The law firm signed a deposit agreement with TD Bank that limited the claim period for forgery for 30 days after receipt of the bank statement. The law firm never read that provision. Strike One. The law firm did not reconcile its accounts sufficiently to spot the forgeries for three years. Strike Two. One of the law firm’s bookkeepers spotted the forged endorsements in September 2014 but did nothing about it. Strike Three. The law firm finally figured it out in 2015 and filed suit against its own bank, TD Bank.

The Bank filed a summary judgment and attached its deposit agreement. The agreement plainly stated that if the customer wanted to assert a forgery against TD Bank, the customer had 30 days from receiving the account statements to do so, or the law suit would be barred. The statute of limitations for these types of claims on forged endorsements is three years. So this is pretty aggressive.

The law firm opposed the summary judgment stating that the agreement was essentially unconscionable and unreasonable. The Bank countered by saying the customers were sophisticated and should have spotted the theft earlier. The trial court granted the summary judgment, basing the decision on the fact that New York has recently approved a similar provision in a bank deposit agreement.

On appeal, the law firm argued that they were being singled out for being lawyers, but the Court of Appeal said no, the law ignores the fact that the customers were lawyers and no one balanced out the trust account for three years. Yeah, right, if you believe that, then you’ll agree that O.J. Simpson wasn’t handed down a stiff sentence in Nevada because he skated in California.

The holding is unremarkable except that there are at least two states that allow a bank to set its own statute of limitations vis-à-vis suits by the customer against the bank for forgery.

I had one problem with the decision, simply from a practical “best practices” point of view. These are forged endorsements. Typically, the customer only reconciles the account statement, making sure that it foots to the bank balance. While copies of check are usually provided, most bookkeepers would not be trained to spot forged endorsements nor would they know the account number of their vendor to make sure the vendor actually cashed the check.

One of the answers to this dilemma is that for at least some of the checks, they were drawn on an attorney trust account, an account which by law deserves more attention. Moreover, I find it hard to believe that clients and vendors being paid out of trust would not have complained during the three year period Mr. Cohen was stealing this money. With a thirty day fuse, that fact would not have helped the law firm and, perhaps, the answer is that trust checks must be handled differently. At least in our law firm, requisitions are prepared, then approved, then the trust check signed by two lawyers, and then delivered to the law firm manager (who is bonded) to mail out. Reconciliations of the trust account takes hours, not minutes.

But at the end of the day, the Pennsylvania Court of Appeals had no problem sticking to these lawyers.

What is slightly more interesting is the concurring opinion by one of the three judges. A concurring opinion is one where the judge agrees with the final decision, but has something to say about how the decision was reached. In this instance, the concurring opinion had some choice words about Wells Fargo Bank (the bank where the checks were deposited) in general, and ATM deposits in particular. The court made the statement that it was unbelievable to him that in this day in age, there is not optical character recognition to compare the endorsement with the payee’s name. As a banking lawyer, I can say there is no such software and even if there were, the idea that software could interpret a signature or scrawl as being the name of the payee is simply off mark. Then again, perhaps this judge hasn’t seen a doctor’s prescription lately.

What are the takeaways here?
• First, All Bank Should Review Their Deposit Agreement. While it is impossible to wordsmith away claims by strangers, claims by the banks’ own customers can be managed by reducing the statute of limitations to a reasonable period of time. I’ve seen this done anywhere from 30-180 days.

• Second, For Bank Customers, Read The Deposit Agreement. Your bank could be reducing your ability to assert fraud claims based on a deposit agreement which you inked and forgot instantly. Maybe this weekend, you should get it out and read it.

• Third, For Bank Customers, Exercise Best Practices. Banking law is changing to shift the responsibility for forgery and fraud back where it belongs—with the customer. The bank didn’t hire the crooked lawyer in this case—the customer did. If the claims period is reduced in your deposit agreement, then review account statements and the paid checks thoroughly. You may not have a second chance.

• Fourth, ATM Deposits Are Generally Not Reviewed. This may come as a complete surprise to you but ATM and remote capture (cell phone) deposits are often not reviewed by the depositary bank, except where the checks have specific red flags (amount, origin of check, size of deposit).

The bottom line to this case is that banks can, and often will, reduce the time period for making claims against the bank by its customers, therefore bank customers must be vigilant in reviewing account statements and supervising employees.

Levy Baldante Finney & Rubenstein, P.C. v. Wells Fargo Bank
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/Levyvsv.%20WellsFargo_42018.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

Inaugural Women's Leadership Forum Report
Equipment Leasing and Finance Association

Lori Frasier, Sr. Vice President, Strategic Services, Key Equipment Finance, and David T. Schaefer, CLFP, CEO, Orion Financial, Mintaka Financial. ELFA Chair, opened up the ELFA Women’s Leadership Forum event at DLL headquarters, Wayne, Pennsylvania. It is reported they encouraged attendees to speak up and take risks, and expressed the committed support from ELFA to embrace change in the industry.

Lori Frasier shared, “When I started in this industry, it struck me how few women were at ELFA events. The beginning of a cause.”

Dave Schaefer encouraged attendees to “Find a way to provide your leadership and get involved.

"Great turn out. So many women here are attended their first ELFA event. Fantastic! It has been an amazing experience to work with everyone on the ELFA Women’s council to see this come together. Thank you for committing to work together to make awesome happen.”

Attendees focused on networking, leadership and effective communication.

(Source: LinkedIn posting)

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Tammie Jo Shults, the 56 year old pilot of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737, has been widely praised for safely landing her aircraft after one of its engines exploded after 20 minutes in the air. The incident resulted in the death of a female passenger when shrapnel from the engine punctured the fuselage. In an air traffic control recording after the incident, Shults can be heard calmly describing the unfolding situation. After the emergency landing in Philadelphia, passengers praised her coolness under difficult circumstances as well as her technical skills and professionalism. Shults is a U.S. Navy veteran and was one of the first women to fly the F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet. She retired from active service in 1993 and left the reserves as a lieutenant commander in 2001.

Shults isn't just notable for her exceptional flying skills and for being a trailblazer in the Navy fast jet community. She is also notable as being one of very few women flying for airlines around the world. Even though figures fluctuate constantly, the Federal Aviation Administration believes that 4.36 percent of all U.S. pilots are women. According to data from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots published in the Telegraph, there are 7,409 female pilots across the world, accounting for 5.18 percent of total pilots. The following infographic shows the share of female pilots in major commercial airlines with United at the very top with 7.4 percent of its pilots women. Lufthansa comes second with 7 percent while British Airways comes third with 5.9 percent. Shults' employer, Southwest Airlines, has a female pilot share of 3.6 percent.

Norwegian is at the very bottom of the ranking with women accounting for one percent of its pilots. Even though the Middle East is home to some of the world's biggest and most recognizable airlines like Emirates and Etihad, it's an extremely challenging region for women hoping to get into the cockpit. On one occasion in 2016, Royal Brunei Airlines' first all-female flight-deck crew landed their plane in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After they taxied their airliner to the terminal, they were not even permitted to drive themselves away from the airport to their hotel. Despite all of the barriers, several Saudi women have still managed to become pilots in recent years while Saudia, the country's national airline, has said it is looking into sending women abroad on scholarships to train to become pilots.

https://www.statista.com/chart/13582/the-airlines-with-the-most-female-pilots/

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Part III
Customer Relation Management Keeps Score

Sales Makes it Happen by Ralph Mango
Tracking Progress

In the first two installments, we provided an overview of the benefits of a pervasive deployment of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, followed by suggestions on standardized templates by which to enhance the data inputs that drive those benefits. Again, the balance is to optimize and standardize this data input for all stakeholders to access while doing so with a minimum of selling time consumption.

Once the CRM has been implemented, teams trained on the requirements, standards, and process, and MIS created, the platform can be a useful measurement tool of milestone progress from Prospect Identification or Transaction Initiation through the Proposal-Contract Negotiation-Contract Execution processes. We have successfully implemented this as a method by which to measure timelines from stage to stage, and may be filtered by Account Manager, Business Unit, Client or Products.

Benchmark the best practices of top performers as the desired behavior and role model for the rest of the sales teams. This is one way to expose these skills of excellence to others on the team, emphasizing them as the desired outcomes.

For the sake of the analysis, we will use the continuum of: Proposal Issued to Proposal Accepted toContract Negotiation to Contract Execution/Signed.

Our top performers are averaging these time periods between stages:

obtaining Proposal acceptance within 30 days
3 months to negotiate/redline the contract
obtaining Client signature within 20 days of sending the Contract.

These periods are easily captured in CRM as a matter of course, as long as the milestones are recorded as required WHEN THEY OCCUR. This is all undone if the stages are completed on the same day, for instance, when the Contract has been signed but the status is still at 30%-Proposal Issued. These timeframes then become the standard by which everyone is measured and are a material aid in identifying variances when results are below plan.

As an example, if Ralph is taking 60 days to obtain Proposal Acceptance, or if Mary’s Contract Negotiations are taking 4 months…AND THEIR RESULTS ARE BELOW PLAN…use CRM to cite specific examples using the Outlook and templated contacts reports to reveal what happened, when and why.

These are invaluable diagnostic tools toward establishing empirical evidence of the reasons for the delays and can form the foundation of desired midstream corrections. If a PIP is implemented, this CRM data can also provide similar evidence toward compliance or other actions, and provides clear indication, using the system, where Ralph or Mary are not meeting desired targets. Thus, the subjectivity is diminished, if not eliminated, in favor of the evenly-applied objective standards by which everyone is measured. This can be invaluable if disciplinary action results and the methods by which the discipline was reached are questioned, especially if the contention is disparate treatment.

To this end, it is imperative that each milestone be clearly identified with conditions to be met. These will likely vary depending on your objectives but they must be clear and must be communicated to all who may be affected by them, and have input from Human Resources. For example, for Proposal stage, the conditions to be met may be established as the following:

Formal proposal containing product(s), rates, term, approval requirements (i.e., advance payments, security deposit, down payment, guaranties), documentation has been sent to Client.
If Client requires paper proposal, in addition to paper Proposal, send confirming email, attaching the same Proposal for documentation of the event.
On the date the Proposal is sent to Client, verified by Outlook email, Stage must be moved immediately to 30%. Compensation penalties for failure to do so.

Most, if not, all CRM platforms have applications that involve the Contract redlining process wherein all redlines on both sides are recorded and they are date and time stamped. It is from this application that the ‘legal-approved, execution-ready’ contract may be transmitted via electronic signature to the Client for completion. Filters may be implemented that read the Contract Amount and automatically open this section, requiring the redlining process to be conducted within it. This provides an added benefit of measuring the responsiveness of the Legal/Contract Administration processes as well.

Thinking of the many obstacles to closing the deal:
a. Key contact leaves
b. The Proposal or Contract is hung up in their approval process but you cannot find out who or where the delay is.
c. When to diplomatically inquire as to status as month or quarter end approaches.

These are among several that should drive attention toward identifying early on who will be involved in the process; the approval and execution process to be executed by the Client; and the approximate timeframe that is normal for the Client. These important details can be calendared into the platform while allowing sufficient to time to accommodate the Client’s process and still meet your closing deadline. All too often we wait too long and the deal slips into the next month or quarter.

CRM is an effective toward managing these expectations with time to spare.These may be perceived as radical and overly rigid intrusions to the process. Experience tells us that with constant and consistent communication of the reasons behind the changes, and the benefits and consequences thereof, the bumpy early stages of implementation give way to a more productive environment wherein selling time is optimized, support functions are always fully informed, and the Client benefits from satisfied expectations, perhaps the most valuable driver of client retention.

Ralph Mango
Associate Leasing News Editor
732-642-5008
ralphmango@hotmail.com

Part I
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2018/04_11.htm#crm

Part II
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2018/04_18.htm#crmI

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##### Press Release ############################

Terry Bowdler at NVLA Conference
Earns Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award

Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Terry Bowdler, CVLE received the 2018 Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award from the National Vehicle Leasing Association (NVLA) at the 2018 NVLA Annual Conference in La Jolla.

Bowdler has been in the consumer vehicle leasing industry for 40 years and has been a lessor for over 30 years. He served on the NVLA board of directors for over 15 years and held many NVLA positions, including National Legal and Legislative committee chair. Bowdler completed the Certified Vehicle Leasing Executive program in 1998 and introduced the Lease Here Pay Here division at NVLA in 2012.
2017 Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award PJ McMahon, CVLE presented the award and called Bowdler the embodiment of the values NVLA promotes.

“Terry is the best example of NVLA’s value proposition – he is all about relationships and giving back to the independent vehicle leasing community,” said McMahon, Vice President of Philadelphia-based McMahon Automotive Group. “Terry was an incredible asset on the NVLA board of directors and his straightforward, honest feedback was instrumental in helping the organization recover from the Great Recession.”

Bowdler is founder and CEO of LHPH Capital in San Diego. Founded in 2010, LHPH originated over $100 million in deep subprime lease receivables with Carite and Brite Leasing. LHPH Capital currently provides over $20 million of funding for LHPH and BHPH dealers throughout the United States.

Bowdler previously established Credit Union Leasing of America in 1988, and originated over $2.5 billion in credit union funded leases before selling to Westlake Financial Services in 2017.

The Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award was founded in 1977 and is the highest honor to be awarded by NVLA. The award was established to memorialize two pioneers of the vehicle leasing industry, Frank Pender and Jack Clemens, who were dedicated, hard-working vehicle lessors who exemplified the highest standards of professional conduct. Frank Pender and Jack Clemens were instrumental in developing the leasing organizations in California that formed the early roots of NVLA.

The Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award is voted on by the NVLA Executive Committee and past winners of the award. The winner is based on four categories of achievement: the number of nominations each candidate receives; service to the association; service to the industry; service to the local community; and the votes of the committee members themselves.

Founded in 1968, NVLA provides educational opportunities, promotes responsible legislation and communicates with members regarding developments and trends in vehicle leasing. NVLA promotes the leasing concept while encouraging the highest ethical and professional standards. Membership is made up of independent leasing companies, automobile dealerships, banks, credit unions and suppliers of goods and services to lessors.

### Press Release ############################

News Briefs----

New rules and limitations for depreciation
and expensing under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/new-rules-and-limitations-for-depreciation-and-expensing-under-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act

As Huntington's Q1 revenue jumps 57 percent,
CEO talks about what comes next
https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/24/as-huntingtons-q1-revenue-jumps-57-percent-ceo.html

CIT Group profit falls 46%
$97MM to period last year $179.9MM
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cit-group-profit-falls-46-2018-04-24

Delivery boom is changing everything
about the restaurant business
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/04/24/restaurants-struggle-adapt-food-delivery-boon/487605002/

Finance Minister says Saudi Arabia is investing
in technology 'like there's no tomorrow'
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/finance-minister-says-saudi-arabia-investing-technology-like-theres-no-tomorrow-224622899.html

We are looking for:
Account Executive
Senior Account Executive
National Sales Manager
2018 Interns for Sales, Operations, or Accounting

To learn more, please click here

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You May Have Missed---

Five Things You Must Know About Trade Wars
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/five-things-you-must-know-about-trade-wars

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Baseball Poems

Love of the Game

by David Michael Chambers

Crack of the bat

Love of the game

This is a picture

That needs no frame

From the pitcher's stance

High atop of the mound

To the cheer of the crowd

What a terrific sound

The ball flies high

Up into the air

When it comes down

Will it be fowl or fair?

The outfielder runs hard

Attempting to catch the ball

But into fowl territory

Alas does it fall

Once again

The pitcher comes set

Letting go with a fastball

His fastest yet

The batter then swings

With all his mustered might

Hoping to hit the ball

Clean out of sight

Clearing that outfield fence

Is what he longs to see!

Trotting around the bags

Crossing that plate with glee

A pop the batter does hear

As the ball shoots into the glove like a spike

Followed by the umpire's ringing up

The batter's third and final strike

On his way to the dugout

Smiling without shame

With a heart that's full of love

For this Baseball game

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Sports Briefs---

Las Vegas' projected win totals for every NFL team
https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Las-Vegas-project-NFL-over-under-win-totals-Texans-12858347.php

Top QBs for 2018 NFL Draft
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2765842-nfl-draft-400-top-qbs-for-2018-nfl-draft

Rob Gronkowski Officially Announces
Return to Patriots for 2018 Season
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2772351-rob-gronkowski-officially-announces-return-to-patriots-for-2018-season

Former Oakland A’s co-owner, East Bay developer dead at 95
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/04/23/former-oakland-as-co-owner-passes-away/

Report: KGO anchor allegedly caught on camera
stealing jacket at Warriors practice
https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/mike-shumann-reportedly-stole-ralph-walker-jacket-12858070.php

49ers’ trade for Steve Young:
a tale of intrigue, succession and tampering
https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/article/49ers-trade-for-Steve-Young-a-tale-of-12861322.php

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

California Nuts Briefs---

Trade Tariffs Costing Local Wine Industry
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Trade-Tariffs-Local-Wine-Industry-Wente-Vineyards-480543251.html

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

Napa's Heitz Cellar Sold to Arkansas Billionaire Gaylon Lawrence
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=197987

Can wine help save Greece's Santorini from too much tourism?
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/santorini-wine-greece/index.html

Global wine production plunges to a 60-year low
https://nypost.com/2018/04/24/global-wine-production-plunges-to-a-60-year-low/

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

[headlines]
----------------------------------------------------------------

This Day in History

    1507 - Little is known about the obscure scholar now called the "godfather of America," the German geographer and mapmaker Martin Waldseemuller, who gave America its name. In a book titled “Cosmographiae Introductio,” published this day, Waldseemuller wrote: "Inasmuch as both Europe and Asia received their names from women, I see no reason why anyone should justly object to calling this part Amerige, i.e., the land of Amerigo, or America, after Amerigo, its discoverer, a man of great ability." Believing it was the Italian navigator and merchant Amerigo Vespucci who had discovered the new continent, Waldseemuller sought to honor Vespucci by placing his name on his map of the world. First applied only to the South American continent, it soon was used for both the American continents. Waldseemuller did not learn about the voyage of Christopher Columbus until several years later. Of the thousand copies of his map that were printed, only one is known to have survived. Waldseemuller probably was born at Radolfzell, Germany, about 1470. He died at St. Die, France, about 1517-20.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15531a.htm
    1719 - Daniel Defoe published "Robinson Crusoe." The first edition credited the protagonist, Robinson Crusoe, as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a travelogue of true incidents. It was published under the full title “The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates.”
    1781 - Gen. Nathanael Greene engaged British forces at Hobkirk’s Hill, South Carolina, and was forced to retreat.
    1831 - The first streetcar company was incorporated, to be known as the New York and Harlem Railway.
http://www.westchestergov.com/wcarchives/sneakapeek/Mar2000/
march2000sneakapeek.htm
http://www.aggreen.net/ny_railroads/ny_rails.html
http://www.harlem.org/
    1861 – Sarah Emma Edmonds (1841-98), alias Frank Thompson, became a male nurse in the Second Volunteers of the United States Army. She later wrote “Nurse and Spy,” published in 1865, a rather lurid and perhaps not too accurate an autobiographical account of her exploits as a Union field nurse in northern Virginia and Kentucky but who was also a spy for the union forces. It has been estimated that approximately 400 women succeeded in enlisting in the army (either Union or Confederate) during the Civil War. She is buried in Washington Cemetery, Houston Texas, in lot G-26. This is a GAR lot that belonged to George B. McClellan Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. She is the only female member of the organization formed after the Civil War by Union veterans - The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Her biography, “She Rode with Generals,” was written by Sylvia Gannett. Also, Richard Hall in “Patriots in Disguise” has some biographical information on Edmonds, including her postwar career, but the source of Hall’s comments appears to be from Gannett's book.
    1861 - 7th New York arrived to reinforce Washington, D.C. where it was mustered for thirty days until June 3, 1861. Also known as the "Blue-Bloods" due to the disproportionate number of its members who were part of New York City's social elite.
    1862 - Admiral Farragut occupies New Orleans, Louisiana.
    1865 - Four of the five Lincoln assassination suspects arrested on the 17th were imprisoned on the monitors U.S.S. Montauk and Saugus which had been prepared for this purpose on the 15th and were anchored off the Washington Navy Yard in the Anacostia River. Mrs. Mary E. Surratt was taken into custody at the boarding house she operated after it was learned that her son was a close friend of John Wilkes Booth and that the actor was a frequent visitor at the boarding house. Mrs. Surratt was jailed in the Carroll Annex of Old Capitol Prison. Lewis Paine was also taken into custody when he came to Mrs. Surratt's house during her arrest. Edward Spangler, stagehand at the Ford Theater and Booth's aide, along with Michael O'Laughlin and Samuel B. Arnold, close associates of Booth during the months leading up to the assassination, were also caught up in the dragnet. They were joined by Arnold on the 19th and Spangler on the 24th. George A. Atzerodt, the would-be assassin of Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Ernest Hartman Richter, at whose home Atzerodt was captured, were brought on board the ships on the 20th. Joao Celestino, Portuguese sea captain who had been heard to say on the 14th that Seward ought to be assassinated, was transferred from Old Capitol Prison to Montauk on the 25th. The last of the eight conspiracy suspects to be incarcerated on board the monitors was David E. Herold. The prisoners were kept below decks under heavy guard and were manacled with both wrist and leg irons. In addition, their heads were covered with canvas hoods, the interior of which were fitted with cotton pads that tightly covered the prisoners' eyes and ears. The hoods contained two small openings to permit breathing and the consumption of food. An added security measure was taken with Paine by attaching a ball and chain to each ankle.
    1875 - New York City received three inches of snow, the latest measurable snow of record for that location.
    1898 - The U.S. declares war on Spain.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr25.html
    1898 - The temperature at Volcano Springs, CA hit 118 degrees to establish a U.S. record for the month of April.
    1901 - New York began requiring license plates on automobiles, the first state to do so.
    1904 – New York Highlanders pitcher Jack Chesbro won the first of his 41 wins on the season, a Major League record that still stands.
    1907 - Revolutionizing shipping, covered in a “History” Television documentary very well, was the first turbine-propelled naval ship “Chester,” commissioned this day and built at the Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME. The contract price for the hull and machinery was $1,688,000, quite a bit of money for its day. The “Chester” was equipped with four Parsons turbines. It trail speed was 26.52 knots, freeing ships from relying on wind to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
    1908 - Birthday of pianist Joe “from Bowling Green” Dean, St. Louis, MO.
    1908 - Birthday of Edward R. Murrow (d. 1965), born Egbert Roscoe Murrow in Greensboro, North Carolina. He first came to prominence with a series of radio broadcasts for the CBS news division during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States. A pioneer of television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of reports that helped lead to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy. On November 18, 1951, his popular radio show, “Hear It Now” moved to television and was re-christened “See It Now.” In the first episode, Murrow explained: "This is an old team, trying to learn a new trade." “See It Now” focused on a number of controversial issues in the 1950s, but it is best remembered as the show that criticized McCarthyism and the Red Scare, contributing, if not leading, to the political downfall of Senator McCarthy.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/murrow_e.html
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/murrowedwar/murrowedwar.htm
    1910 - Chicago, IL, was blanketed with 2.5 inches of snow, and a total of 6.5 inches between the 22nd and the 26th. It was the latest significant snow of record for the city.
    1913 - Birthday of the great alto sax player Earl Bostic (d. 1965), Tulsa, OK.
http://www.spaceagepop.com/bostic.htm
http://www.jazzradio.net/jazzcity/m_earl_bostic.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/bostic.html
(When I was learning how to play the alto sax, he was my favorite in the early 1950’s. I played along with “Harlem Nocturne” for hours until I memorized every lick and turn. It was not until I went to California and saw Charlie Parker in person that I decided I would never become an alto saxophone player and took up playing the Dixieland clarinet and fronting a 21 piece dance band sans musical instrument. I realized I had no talent to be an alto sax player after hearing “the Bird” in person. Charlie Parker with strings is perhaps my favorite album, next to Gil Evans and Miles Davis “Sketches of Spain” or “Old Bottle, New Wine.” or Basie’s “Atom Bomb” album. I also like both “Turk Murphy Plays WC Handy” and “Louis Armstrong plays WC Handy.” I like my friend Warren Luening's Big Band recordings. On yes, forgot, Bill May plays Jimmy Lunceford. Love all the Billy May albums. What a great arranger!!!!
My dance band could play “Lean Baby, Lean.” Kit Menkin).
    1913 - Birthday of accordion player Santiago “Don” Jimenez (d. 1984), San Antonio, TX.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/JJ/fji3.html
http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/7023.shtml
    1915 - Birthday of guitarist Johnny Shines (d. 1992), Frayser, TN. http://www.island.net/~blues/johnnys.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000003OQZ/inktomi-musicasin-20/
103-6620160-9563023
    1917 - Birthday of Ella Fitzgerald (d. 1996) in Newport News, Virginia. She was reared in a New York City orphanage. Ella Fitzgerald was admired for her superlative musicianship and her skill in scat singing (singing improvised syllables while using the voice as an instrument). Fitzgerald was discovered at the age of 16, singing in a Harlem talent show. From 1934 until 1939, she sang with the Chick Webb Band, directing it for a time after the leader's death in 1939. One of her first hit tunes is now an Easter favorite,” A Tisket, A Tasket.” In the mid-1940s, working with the American impresario Norman Granz, she toured Europe and Asia and performed in his Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. Fitzgerald appeared in the 1955 film "Pete Kelly's Blues." In 1958, Fitzgerald appeared with the American jazz composer Duke Ellington at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She has also toured Europe frequently with the Oscar Peterson Trio.
http://museum.media.org/ella/
http://www.redsugar.com/ella.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000047FO/inktomi-musicasin-20/
103-6620160-9563023
    1923 - Birthday of guitarist/singer Albert King, born Albert King Nelson, (d. 1992), Indianola, MS. He was a star at the Fillmore’s East and West during the 1960's, appearing on the bill with top rock stars. King's most popular records were made for the Stax label in Memphis in the late '60s and early '70s. "Cold Feet" made the pop charts in 1968.
http://home.t-online.de/home/MSilberberg/king.htm
http://www.blueflamecafe.com/index.htm
    1928 - Birthday of tenor sax player Willis “Gator Tail” Jackson (d. 1987), Miami, FL. http://www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/j/J14.HTM
http://www.fantasyjazz.com/catalog/jackson_w_cat.html
    1928 - Buddy, the first seeing eye dog, was presented to Morris S. Frank on this day. Many Seeing Eye organizations and schools continue to offer specially trained dogs “...to enhance the independence, dignity, and self-confidence of blind people...” They are now called Service Dogs. (visit http://www.seeingeye.org/).
    1932 - Birthday of Meadow George “Meadowlark” Lemon II (d. 2015), basketball Hall of Famer, born Wilmington, NC. For 22 years, he was known as the "Clown Prince" of the touring Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He played in more than 16,000 games for the Globetrotters and was a 2003 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. When basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain was asked his opinion on the best player of all time, he responded, "For me it would be Meadowlark Lemon." From 1994, he served Meadowlark Lemon Ministries in Scottsdale, AZ.
http://www.wcgroups.com/globe.htm
    1942 - Ella Mae Morse and Freddy Slacks' "Cow Cow Boogie" hits #1
    1945 - East meets West: US Army Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue encountered a single Soviet soldier near the German village of Lechwitz, 75 miles south of Berlin. Patrols of General Leonard Gerow's V Corps saluted the advance guard of Marshall Ivan Konev's Soviet 58th Guards Division. Soldiers of both nations embraced and exchanged toasts. The Allied armies of East and West had finally met.
    1945 - GONZALES, DAVID M., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 25 April 1945. Entered service at: Pacoima, Calif. Birth: Pacoima, Calif. G.O. No.: 115, 8 December 1945. Citation: He was pinned down with his company. As enemy fire swept the area, making any movement extremely hazardous, a 500-pound bomb smashed into the company's perimeter, burying 5 men with its explosion. Pfc. Gonzales, without hesitation, seized an entrenching tool and under a hail of fire crawled 15 yards to his entombed comrades, where his commanding officer, who had also rushed forward, was beginning to dig the men out. Nearing his goal, he saw the officer struck and instantly killed by machinegun fire. Undismayed, he set to work swiftly and surely with his hands and the entrenching tool while enemy sniper and machinegun bullets struck all about him. He succeeded in digging one of the men out of the pile of rock and sand. To dig faster he stood up regardless of the greater danger from so exposing himself. He extricated a second man, and then another. As he completed the liberation of the third, he was hit and mortally wounded, but the comrades for whom he so gallantly gave his life were safely evacuated. Pfc. Gonzales' valiant and intrepid conduct exemplifies the highest tradition of the military service.
    1945 - KNIGHT, RAYMOND L., (Air Mission) Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: In Northern Po Valley, Italy, 24 25 April 1945. Entered service at: Houston, Tex. Birth: Texas. G.O. No.: 81, 24 September 1945. Citation: He piloted a fighter-bomber aircraft in a series of low-level strafing missions, destroying 14 grounded enemy aircraft and leading attacks which wrecked 10 others during a critical period of the Allied drive in northern Italy. On the morning of 24 April, he volunteered to lead 2 other aircraft against the strongly defended enemy airdrome at Ghedi. Ordering his fellow pilots to remain aloft, he skimmed the ground through a deadly curtain of antiaircraft fire to reconnoiter the field, locating 8 German aircraft hidden beneath heavy camouflage. He rejoined his flight, briefed them by radio, and then led them with consummate skill through the hail of enemy fire in a low-level attack, destroying 5 aircraft, while his flight accounted for 2 others. Returning to his base, he volunteered to lead 3 other aircraft in reconnaissance of Bergamo airfield, an enemy base near Ghedi and 1 known to be equally well defended. Again ordering his flight to remain out of range of antiaircraft fire, 1st Lt. Knight flew through an exceptionally intense barrage, which heavily damaged his Thunderbolt, to observe the field at minimum altitude. He discovered a squadron of enemy aircraft under heavy camouflage and led his flight to the assault. Returning alone after this strafing, he made 10 deliberate passes against the field despite being hit by antiaircraft fire twice more, destroying 6 fully loaded enemy twin-engine aircraft and 2 fighters. His skillfully led attack enabled his flight to destroy 4 other twin-engine aircraft and a fighter plane. He then returned to his base in his seriously damaged plane. Early the next morning, when he again attacked Bergamo, he sighted an enemy plane on the runway. Again he led 3 other American pilots in a blistering low-level sweep through vicious antiaircraft fire that damaged his plane so severely that it was virtually nonflyable. Three of the few remaining enemy twin-engine aircraft at that base were destroyed. Realizing the critical need for aircraft in his unit, he declined to parachute to safety over friendly territory and unhesitatingly attempted to return his shattered plane to his home field. With great skill and strength, he flew homeward until caught by treacherous air conditions in the Appennines Mountains, where he crashed and was killed. The gallant action of 1st Lt. Knight eliminated the German aircraft which were poised to wreak havoc on Allied forces pressing to establish the first firm bridgehead across the Po River; his fearless daring and voluntary self-sacrifice averted possible heavy casualties among ground forces and the resultant slowing on the German drive culminated in the collapse of enemy resistance in Italy
    1946 - Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra recorded "Cement Mixer", (Majestic).
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_lunceford_jimmie.htm
http://home.swipnet.se/bearrecords/luncef.htm
http://www.cleveland.oh.us/wmv_news/jazz54.htm
    1947 - Theodore Roosevelt National Park established. Located in North Dakota, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park includes two sections of the Badlands on the Missouri River as well as Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch.
http://www.theodore.roosevelt.national-park.com/
    1949 - An article by Deac Aylesworth in Look Magazine predicted that radio was doomed and that within three years, TV would overshadow radio completely.
    1950 - The Boston Celtics made Chuck Cooper, an All-American from Duquesne University playing with the Harlem Globetrotters, the first black player drafted by any NBA team when they selected him in the second round.
    1952 - ESSEBAGGER, JOHN, JR., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company A, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Popsudong, Korea, 25 April 1951. Entered service at: Holland, Mich. Born: 29 October 1928, Holland, Mich. G.O. No.: 61, 24 April 1952. Citation: Cpl. Essebagger, a member of Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Committed to effect a delaying action to cover the 3d Battalion's withdrawal through Company A, Cpl. Essebagger, a member of 1 of 2 squads maintaining defensive positions in key terrain and defending the company's right flank, had participated in repulsing numerous attacks. In a frenzied banzai charge the numerically superior enemy seriously threatened the security of the planned route of withdrawal and isolation of the small force. Badly shaken, the grossly outnumbered detachment started to fall back and Cpl. Essebagger, realizing the impending danger, voluntarily remained to provide security for the withdrawal. Gallantly maintaining a l-man stand, Cpl. Essebagger raked the menacing hordes with crippling fire and, with the foe closing on the position, left the comparative safety of his shelter and advanced in the face of overwhelming odds, firing his weapon and hurling grenades to disconcert the enemy and afford time for displacement of friendly elements to more tenable positions. Scorning the withering fire and bursting shells, Cpl. Essebagger continued to move forward, inflicting destruction upon the fanatical foe until he was mortally wounded. Cpl. Essebagger's intrepid action and supreme sacrifice exacted a heavy toll in enemy dead and wounded, stemmed the onslaught, and enabled the retiring squads to reach safety. His valorous conduct and devotion to duty reflected lasting glory upon himself and was in keeping with the noblest traditions of the infantry and the U.S. Army.
    1953 - MIYAMURA, HIROSHI H., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company H, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Taejon-ni, Korea, 24 and 25 April 1951. Entered service at: Gallup, N. Mex. Birth: Gallup, N. Mex. G.O. No.: 85, 4 November 1953. Citation: Cpl. Miyamura, a member of Company H, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. On the night of 24 April, Company H was occupying a defensive position when the enemy fanatically attacked threatening to overrun the position. Cpl. Miyamura, a machine gun squad leader, aware of the imminent danger to his men unhesitatingly jumped from his shelter wielding his bayonet in close hand-to-hand combat killing approximately 10 of the enemy. Returning to his position, he administered first aid to the wounded and directed their evacuation. As another savage assault hit the line, he manned his machine gun and delivered withering fire until his ammunition was expended. He ordered the squad to withdraw while he stayed behind to render the gun inoperative. He then bayoneted his way through infiltrated enemy soldiers to a second gun emplacement and assisted in its operation. When the intensity of the attack necessitated the withdrawal of the company Cpl. Miyamura ordered his men to fall back while he remained to cover their movement. He killed more than 50 of the enemy before his ammunition was depleted and he was severely wounded. He maintained his magnificent stand despite his painful wounds, continuing to repel the attack until his position was overrun. When last seen he was fighting ferociously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers. Cpl. Miyamura's indomitable heroism and consummate devotion to duty reflect the utmost glory on himself and uphold the illustrious traditions on the military service.
    1953 - NBC-TV presented "Ethel and Albert", the video version of the popular radio show. Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce starred in the program
http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/ethelAndAlbert.html.
    1954 - Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York City, announced the invention by Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller, and Daryl Chapin of a solar energy battery to convert the sun’s energy into useful amounts of electricity. Made of specially treated strips of silicon, the battery needed no fuel other than the light of the sun. It had no moving parts, nothing in it was consumed or destroyed, and theoretically it was possible for it to last indefinitely.
    1956 - Malcolm McLean of Maxton, NC invented containerized shipping. He developed a large shipping container that could be packed with goods at the factory, hauled by truck to a port facility, carried on a specially fitted ships to a port terminal, offloaded from the ship, and hitched directly to trucks or loaded on freight cards for cross-continental transport, all without unpacking the containers' contents. The first containership facility was the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal, operated by the Port of New York Authority. It opened for business on August 15, 1962, when Sea-Land Service’s SS Elizabethport docked in New Bay, Elizabeth, NJ. During its first year, the facility handled 1.5 million tons of cargo on 242 vessels and employed 730 people, who earned a total of more than $4 million. This revolutionized the entire shipping industry, plus gave birth to container and railroad carrier leasing.
http://lonestar.texas.net/~mdmclean/MDM_BIO.html
    1956 - Elvis Presley reached number one on the charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel." It was Presley's first hit for RCA Victor after the company purchased his contract from Sam Phillips of Sun Records for $35,000.
    1956 - The Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria collides with the Swedish liner Stockholm, the latter tearing a hole in the starboard hull of the former, killing 52 instantly and causing the Andrea Doria to sink by morning. On board is one Mike Stoller, who would go on to become one of the famous Lieber-Stoller songwriting team.
    1957 – Major League Baseball adopted a new rule that prohibits runners from interfering with batted balls in the field of play. The rule was adopted in reaction to recent actions by several Cincinnati Reds baserunners. Earlier in the week, Don Hoak and Johnny Temple had intentionally interfered with batted balls as a way of preventing double plays. The rule gives the batter a single and the runner, if hit by the batted ball, is out and the play is dead.
    1958 - Arnold Palmer struggled to a final round 73, one over par, but still won the first of his four Masters championships. Palmer finished at 284, one shot better than Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins. He would win the tournament again in 1960, 1962 (in a playoff) and 1964.
http://www.palmergolf.com/
    1959 - The canal incorporated into a seaway opened a 400-mile waterway between Montreal and Lake Erie, connecting the St. Lawrence River with the Great Lakes. It formed part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, 2,342 miles long, which allowed oceangoing ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth, MN.
    1960 - Elvis Presley's first release since leaving the US Army, "Stuck On You" tops the Billboard chart. The record had been so highly anticipated, it sold over one million copies before it was even recorded.
    1960 - With the Folk music craze in full swing, The Brothers Four enjoyed their biggest hit as "Greenfields" reached #2 on the Billboard chart.
    1961 - Robert Noyce patented the integrated circuit which he invented with Jack Kilby. Noyce, nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley," co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel in 1968.
    1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson announces that General William Westmoreland will replace Gen. Paul Harkins as head of US Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) as of 20 June. The assignment would put Westmoreland in charge of all American military forces in Vietnam. One of the war's most controversial figures, General Westmoreland was given many honors when the fighting was going well, but when the war turned sour, many Americans saw him as a cause of US problems in Vietnam. Negative feeling about Westmoreland grew particularly strong following the Tet Offensive of 1968, when he had requested a large number of additional troops for deployment to Vietnam. On 22 March 1968, President Johnson announced that Westmoreland would leave South Vietnam to take on the post of Army Chief of Staff; Gen. Creighton Abrams replaced him as the senior US commander in South Vietnam.
    1964 - Dionne Warwick's "Walk on By" enters the Hot 100. Her fifth and thus far, biggest hit will eventually get to #6 on the chart for 13 weeks.
    1964 - Peter and Gordon reach Number One on the U.K. pop chart with "World without Love," a song composed by Paul McCartney of the Beatles
    1965 - Backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Bob Dylan takes the stage at the Newport Folk Festival and plays his first-ever set of electric songs, horrifying many (but, contrary to legend, not all) in the crowd. After three songs, an upset Dylan says "Let's go, man, that's all," and the band leave the stage, only to be coaxed back out by Peter, Paul and Mary to play two more originals in the more "appropriate" acoustic manner. (Mainly because the band, a last-minute idea of Dylan's, only knew the three songs.)
    1967 - Abortion first legalized: the first law legalizing abortion in the US was signed by Colorado Governor John Arthur Love. The law allowed therapeutic abortions in cases in which a three-doctor panel unanimously agreed.
    1967 - STUMPF, KENNETH E., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant (then Sp4c.), U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Duc Pho, Republic of Vietnam, 25 April 1967. Entered service at: Milwaukee, Wis. Born: 28 September 1944, Neenah, Wis. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Stumpf distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader of the 3d Platoon, Company C, on a search and destroy mission. As S/Sgt. Stumpf's company approached a village, it encountered a North Vietnamese rifle company occupying a well-fortified bunker complex. During the initial contact, 3 men from his squad fell wounded in front of a hostile machinegun emplacement. The enemy's heavy volume of fire prevented the unit from moving to the aid of the injured men, but S/Sgt. Stumpf left his secure position in a deep trench and ran through the barrage of incoming rounds to reach his wounded comrades. He picked up 1 of the men and carried him back to the safety of the trench. Twice more S/Sgt. Stumpf dashed forward while the enemy turned automatic weapons and machineguns upon him, yet he managed to rescue the remaining 2 wounded squad members. He then organized his squad and led an assault against several enemy bunkers from which continuously heavy fire was being received He and his squad successfully eliminated 2 of the bunker positions, but one to the front of the advancing platoon remained a serious threat. Arming himself with extra hand grenades, S/Sgt. Stumpf ran over open ground, through a volley of fire directed at him by a determined enemy, toward the machinegun position. As he reached the bunker, he threw a hand grenade through the aperture. It was immediately returned by the occupants, forcing S/Sgt. Stumpf to take cover. Undaunted, he pulled the pins on 2 more grenades, held them for a few seconds after activation, then hurled them into the position, this time successfully destroying the emplacement. With the elimination of this key position, his unit was able to assault and overrun the enemy. S/Sgt. Stumpf's relentless spirit of aggressiveness, intrepidity, and ultimate concern for the lives of his men, are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.
    1967 - Just days after completing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", The Beatles laid down tracks for "Magical Mystery Tour" at Abbey Road studios in London.
    1968 - SPRAYBERRY, JAMES M., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Captain (then 1st Lt.), U.S. Army, Company D, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 25 April 1968. Entered service at: Montgomery, Ala. Born: 24 April 1947, LaGrange, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Sprayberry, Armor, U.S. Army, distinguished himself by exceptional bravery while serving as executive officer of Company D. His company commander and a great number of the men were wounded and separated from the main body of the company. A daylight attempt to rescue them was driven back by the well-entrenched enemy's heavy fire. Capt. Sprayberry then organized and led a volunteer night patrol to eliminate the intervening enemy bunkers and to relieve the surrounded element. The patrol soon began receiving enemy machinegun fire. Capt. Sprayberry quickly moved the men to protective cover and without regard for his own safety, crawled within close range of the bunker from which the fire was coming. He silenced the machinegun with a hand grenade. Identifying several l-man enemy positions nearby, Capt. Sprayberry immediately attacked them with the rest of his grenades. He crawled back for more grenades and when 2 grenades were thrown at his men from a position to the front, Capt. Sprayberry, without hesitation, again exposed himself and charged the enemy-held bunker killing its occupants with a grenade. Placing 2 men to cover his advance, he crawled forward and neutralized 3 more bunkers with grenades. Immediately thereafter, Capt. Sprayberry was surprised by an enemy soldier who charged from a concealed position. He killed the soldier with his pistol and with continuing disregard for the danger neutralized another enemy emplacement. Capt. Sprayberry then established radio contact with the isolated men, directing them toward his position. When the 2 elements made contact he organized his men into litter parties to evacuate the wounded. As the evacuation was nearing completion, he observed an enemy machinegun position which he silenced with a grenade. Capt. Sprayberry returned to the rescue party, established security, and moved to friendly lines with the wounded. This rescue operation, which lasted approximately 71/2 hours, saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Capt. Sprayberry personally killed 12 enemy soldiers, eliminated 2 machineguns, and destroyed numerous enemy bunkers. Capt. Sprayberry's indomitable spirit and gallant action at great personal risk to his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1969 - At the end of their gig at the Fillmore in San Francisco, Crosby, Stills and Nash invite Neil Young on stage to back them on a couple of songs, and they like the result so much he almost immediately becomes part of the band.
    1970 - DJs around the U.S. played the new number one song, "ABC", quite often, as the Jackson 5 reached the number one spot in pop music for two weeks. "ABC" was the second of four number one songs in a row for the group from Gary, IN. "I Want You Back" was their first. "ABC" was one of 23 hits for Michael, Tito, Jackie, Jermaine and Marlon. "ABC" was knocked out of first place by The Guess Who and their hit, "American Woman".
    1970 - The Carpenters' "(They Long To Be) Close To You" hits #1
    1972 - Bill Sharman, ending his first year as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, was named Coach of the Year in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sharman had a first year record of 69-13.
    1973 - The group, The Sweet, received a gold record for the hit "Little Willy". The English rocker band recorded four hits in addition to their first million-seller, "Ballroom Blitz", "Fox on the Run", "Action" and "Love is like Oxygen". "Little Willy" was a top-three hit, while the group’s other gold record winner, "Fox on the Run" made it to the top five.
http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/Sharman.htm
    1974 - The National Football League adopted a 15-minute, sudden death quarter in an effort to reduce the number of tie games. The league also moved the goal posts from the goal line to the back line of the end zone to make it more difficult to kick field goals.
    1975 - The musical “A Chorus Line” debuts on Broadway, the first of what would be 6,137 performances over fifteen years
    1976 - Center fielder Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs rescued an American flag from two fans who ran onto the field and attempted to set it on fire. The incident occurred in Dodger Stadium in the fourth inning of a 5-4, 10 inning victory by the Dodgers.
    1976 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Let Your Love Flow,'' Bellamy Brothers.
    1977 - At a concert at the Saginaw, Michigan Civic Center, Elvis Presley makes what will be the last recordings of his life. Three songs from the show will appear, in heavily overdubbed mixes, on the posthumously released Presley album, "Moody Blue."
    1978 - Queen's single "We Are the Champions" was certified Platinum.
    1979 - The film "Rock & Roll High School" starring the Ramones premiers.
    1980 - President Jimmy Carter tells the American people about the hostage rescue disaster in Iran.
     1985 - "Big River (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)" opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The Tony Award-winning score for the show was written by Roger Miller (his first Broadway production). The show, about life on the Mississippi, with Daniel Jenkins in the starring role of Huck Finn, ran for 1,005 performances and won the Tony for Best Musical of the Year. "Big River" picked up several more Tony Awards: Featured Actor in a Musical to Ron Richardson; Best Director (Musical) to Des McAnuff; Best Book (Musical) to William Hauptman; and Best Scenic Designer and Lighting Designer to Heidi Landesman and Richard Riddell respectively.
    1988 - Top Hits
“Wishing Well” - Terence Trent D Arby
“Anything for You” - Gloria Estefan
“Angel” - Aerosmith
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” - Whitney Houston
“Pink Cadillac” - Natalie Cole
    1990 - Hubble Space Telescope: deployed by Discovery, the telescope is the largest on-orbit observatory to date and is capable of imaging objects up to 14 billion light-years away. The resolution of images was expected to be seven to ten times greater than images from Earth-based telescopes, since the Hubble Space Telescope is not hampered by Earth's atmospheric distortion. Launched Apr 12, 1990, from Kennedy Space Center, FL. Unfortunately, the telescope's lenses were defective, so the anticipated high quality of imaging was not realized. In 1993, however, the world watched as a shuttle crew successfully retrieved the Hubble from orbit, executed the needed repair and replacement work and released it into orbit once more. In December, 1999, the space shuttle Discovery was launched to do extensive repairs on the telescope.
    1990 - The Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix used to perform the "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock is auctioned off in London for $295,000.
    1993 - Top Hits
“Freak Me” - Silk
“Informer” - Snow
“Nothin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” - Dr. De
“I Have Nothing” (from the “Bodyguard”) - Whitney Houston
    1994 - Yankee Stadium in New York holds their first "Joe DiMaggio Day," featuring Paul Simon singing "Mrs. Robinson" (and cheers when he gets to "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?").
    1995 - The 257-day strike ends as the Dodgers beat the Marlins 8-7. The work stoppage caused last season to end early, force the cancellation of World Series, and delayed the opening of this season.
    1996 - U2 began their first tour in more than four years before a sellout crowd of 38,000 in Las Vegas. The band featured 11 songs from its "Pop Mart" album but the audience reacted more enthusiastically to such U2 standards as "Pride (in the Name of Love)" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." The glitzy and extravagant show featured what was billed as the world's biggest TV screen and the band emerging from an enormous lemon-shaped mirror ball suspended above the stage.
    1998 - The 'Iron Man's' streak continues as Cal Ripken plays in his 2,500th consecutive game as the Orioles host the A's at Camden Yards.
    2001 - Padres' outfielder Rickey Henderson, 42, breaks the career walks record established by Babe Ruth when he receives his 2,063rd base on balls.
    2002 - Top Hits
“Foolish” - Ashanti
“What’s Luv” - Fat Joe featuring Ashanti
“U Don’t Have to Call” - Usher
“I Need a Girl” (part 1) - P. Diddy featuring Usher and Loon
“Ain’t It Funny” - Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule
    2012 - In Illinois, a Cook County Circuit Court ruled that the tax Amazon.com levied on Internet businesses is unconstitutional.

NBA Finals Champions:
1952 - Minneapolis Lakers
1965 - Boston Celtics

Stanley Cup Champions:
1964 - Toronto Maple Leafs

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