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######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release,” it was not written by Leasing News nor has the information been verified. The source noted. When an article is signed by the writer, it is considered a “byline.” It reflects the opinion and research of the writer.

Selling in a Volatile Market

Sales Makes it Happen
by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

Originators in the commercial equipment finance and leasing industry are encountering a volatile market. The majority of current originators have never experienced a rising interest rate environment and/or credit and funding requirements that are more restrictive than even a few months ago. Some originators are recoiling, becoming passive or worse yet, and apologetic.

Experienced originators understand that volatility creates opportunity when experienced sales professionals engage in the market with confidence and are able to articulate the facts.

Below are a few comments that confident originators are using in today's market:

The markets are volatile. For larger transactions, we are tying the proposed rates to XYZ index to ensure our ability to fund all transactions at the time of closing.
Mr. Vendor, you are correct, we have increased our credit criteria because we have seen a slight increase in delinquencies and the company must have a well-performing portfolio to protect its sustainability. The company has a 30-year history and it is committed to being a premier finance company for the long term.
Our management team is well connected to the capital markets and the company prudently reacts to various changes in order to offer highly competitive products in the current market.
I am requesting additional information I want to fully understand your business and build a meaningful credit file so that the company can fund this transaction along with future requests. My objective is to establish a long-term relationship and to be your premier financing partner.
With rising yields, many of our clients are exploring some of our more creative structures which offer additional monthly cash flow savings. Would you like me to provide additional details?

In the current market, originators must add value to the process. Originators must listen to the needs of their clients and offer meaningful, creative solutions. Originators must move beyond commodity offerings. Originators must build meaningful relationships based upon realistic market conditions. Originators must embrace the market changes and lead with confidence.

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com

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J.D. Power: Brand Loyalty Vital for
Leasing Success in Tight Market

J.D. Power reported finance companies need to focus on bringing their lease customers back to the brand in light of the current market. J.D. Power said lease options for customers are limited as auto leasing volume continues to fall.

In fact, analysts indicated leasing now accounts for just 17% of total new-vehicle sales.

According to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. End of Lease Satisfaction Study released the key to attracting and retaining those customers is understanding when lessees make their decisions and how best to communicate with them at the right moment.

Patrick Roosenberg, Power Director of Automotive Finance Intelligence, said, “In this market, lenders need to take actions that create and maintain brand loyalty because there are fewer lease opportunities. The best course of action is for lenders to do everything in their power to maintain their current customers.

“In that effort, we compare the different end of lease journeys, between customers that are brand loyal and those that leave the brand, to identify and understand lender specific actions that affect loyalty,” Roosenberg continued. “According to our data, the optimal recapture point is long before a customer ever sets foot in a dealership. The greatest opportunity to retain lease customers is six to nine months before vehicle turn-in.

“By being proactive with their communication, knowing when it should begin and understanding the communication channels customers value, lenders maximize their chances to forge a brand loyalty with a customer that can pay dividends for years to come.”

Source: AFJ Auto Finance Journal

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Leasing News Advisor/Legal Editor
Marshall Goldberg

Marshall Goldberg
Glass & Goldberg, A Law Corporation
22917 Burbank Blvd.
Woodland Hills, CA 91367-4203
(818) 474-1532 Direct
(818) 888-2220 Main
(818) 888-2229 Facsimile
mgoldberg@glassgoldberg.com
www.glassgoldberg.com

Marshall F. Goldberg is the Managing Partner and a founder of Glass & Goldberg. He has served as lead counsel in well over one hundred major trials. He has been an active member and leader for over 40 years in financial institution associations, including the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association ("ELFA"), the National Vehicle Leasing Association ("NVLA"), The Alternative Finance Bar Association, and the National Equipment Finance Association (“NEFA”), and its predecessors.

Marshall has been selected for the past fourteen (14) consecutive years for inclusion in “Super Lawyers Magazine,” which represents only 5 percent of the lawyers in the State of California. Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers, chosen from a rigorous, multiphase process, who have attained high peer recognition and professional achievement.

Marshall has served on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Legal Committee and the Credit and Collections Management Committee. He also served as a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Equipment Lease Financing. He has been the Chairman of the Professional Development, Education and Information Sub-Committee for the ELFA Legal Committee. He was responsible for developing, organizing, managing and editing the Legal Website, which includes an online compendium of legal issues pertaining to the 50 States, "What's New in the Law", and the "Catalogue of Legal Information".

With the assistance of the ELFA staff, Marshall developed, chaired and monitored the Legal Listserve, an online forum for attorneys to discuss pertinent legal issues on a daily basis. Marshall is co-author and co-editor of the Executive Guide to Remedies, and the Executive Guide to Lease Documentation. Marshall also serves on the ELFA Legislative and Regulatory Subcommittee.

He is the recipient of the annual “Edward A. Groobert Award for Legal Excellence” presented on behalf of the ELFA Lawyers. This is the highest award given to an attorney by a peer group of hundreds of both in house and outside counsel.

Marshall is married to Patti for 45 years, who is also an attorney and is now the administrator of Glass & Goldberg. They name and they have three boys, Daniel, a partner and chair of the privacy department for the law firm of Frankfurt Kurnit, Justin, an executive consultant for IBM and Ethan, a software engineer for Samsara, an Internet of Things company that develops objects with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies to connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet.

Academy for Leasing and Finance Professionals
Registration Now Open for Two Class Times
Limited Spots Available

Stearns Public in Person, ALFP
June 20 – June 21, 2023

Stearns Public in Person, ALFP
September 19 – 20, 2023

The Academy for Lease and Finance Professionals (ALFP) is a three-day event designed to fully prepare an individual to sit for the CLFP exam assuming the attendee has already self-studied. A trend has begun in having virtual online sessions.

During the first two days, all of the required sections of the CLFP exam are covered in-depth. On the third day, the exam is offered but is not mandatory and may be taken on another day.

Students are strongly advised to have read and studied The Certified Lease & Finance Professionals' Handbook prior to attending the class in order to ensure success.

Professional Handbook for Taking the Test in 2023
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TZM6SJ9?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

About Academy
https://clfpfoundation.org/academy-for-lease-and-finance-professionals

Full Schedule:
Academy for Certified Lease & Finance Professionals
March 2023 to October 2023 Updated
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2023/03_27.htm#academy

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Allied Financial Solutions
Promotes J.R.Schneider to President

J. R. Schneider has been promoted to President of Allied Financial Solutions (AFS). J R celebrated his 20th Anniversary with AFS on April 1, 2023. Over the past 20 years, J, R .has built relationships with many rental companies and has help AFS become the largest independently owned lender to the rental industry.

J .R has. excellent rapport with our customers and seeks to find the best solutions for their financing needs. In his new position, He will continue to lead AFS into the future and help AFS meet the challenges of an ever-changing economic climate.

Harry Schneider, the founder of Allied Financial Solutions, will continue to work daily at the company as Chief Executive Officer. Harry has been lending to the rental industry since 1976. Harry previously was Senior Vice President of American Equipment Leasing which at the time was the largest lender to the rental industry.

We hope you will join us in congratulating J R for his 20 years of excellent service to the rental industry.

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FDIC Announces Upcoming Sale of the Loan Portfolio
from the former Signature Bank, New York, New York

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced the framework of a marketing process for the approximately $60 billion loan portfolio retained in receivership following the failure of Signature Bank, New York, New York.

The portfolio is comprised primarily of commercial real estate (CRE) loans, commercial loans and a smaller pool of single-family residential loans. The CRE loans include a concentration of multifamily properties, primarily located in New York City.

The FDIC has a statutory obligation, among other factors, to maximize the preservation of the availability and affordability of residential real property for low- and moderate-income individuals. The FDIC is currently reviewing the CRE loans secured by multifamily residences that are rent stabilized or rent controlled, an important source of affordable housing in New York City. For this portion of the portfolio, the FDIC plans to reach out to state and local government agencies, as well as community-based organizations, to inform them of the FDIC’s efforts and to seek their input as the FDIC develops its marketing and disposition strategy.

The FDIC expects to begin its marketing of the retained loan portfolio of the former Signature Bank later this summer. The FDIC has retained Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc. (Newmark) as an advisor on this sale. Interested parties should contact NewmarkSBBPortfolio@nmrk.com to obtain further information about the sale and the qualifications to participate.

For general information about the FDIC’s asset sales program, visit the FDIC’s website at https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/asset-sales/.

This is an announcement only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any loans or any interest therein. Information concerning the loans will be furnished only to persons who demonstrate that they have a level of financial sophistication and resources sufficient to evaluate and bear the risks of an investment in the loans. The loans will be sold only to qualified purchasers. All sales will be "AS IS" and without any representations or warranties of any kind whatsoever.

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Mitsubishi HC merger creates
$7.5 Billion North American Commercial Finance Company

New York, NY, Chicago, IL, Montreal, QC, and Norwalk, CT, – Mitsubishi HC Capital America – and its subsidiary, Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada – along with Mitsubishi HC Capital (U.S.A.) and ENGS Commercial Finance merged to create the largest non-bank, non-captive finance provider throughout North America with more than $7.5 billion in owned and managed assets on April 1.

Craig Weinewuth, former ENGS Commercial Finance President and CEO, will be the President and CEO of the combined company. “The expanded scope and size of this integrated business positions us to deliver even more to our customers and financing partners,” said Weinewuth. “Our growth potential throughout North America and the service level enhancements were the main drivers of this merger. Joining forces benefits the market in numerous ways; from our advanced digital capabilities, an enhanced and larger team of finance professionals, and the ability to create one platform that delivers the most comprehensive products and services to the entire North American market. We truly are better together.”

Although the company has been combined into one platform, the integrated company will go to market in the United States as Mitsubishi HC Capital America and in Canada as Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada. Mitsubishi HC Capital America will have two primary operating businesses: 1) a $3.9 billion Vendor Solutions business which will be led by Jim Freund, formerly from ENGS, who will be its new President and 2) a $1.6 billion Commercial Finance business which will be led by Brian Rosa, formerly from Mitsubishi HC Capital (U.S.A.), who will be its new President. Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada’s $2 billion business will continue to be led by its current President François Nantel.

The Vendor Solutions team, through its new integrated offerings, will provide an even more robust suite of solutions for the commercial equipment industry. This includes, but is not limited to, financing class 1-8 trucks and trailers, industrial, construction, healthcare, franchise, fitness, and IT equipment. The business also has a Sustainable Development Group, whose main objective is to partner with businesses to deliver customized solutions to support the global environment.

“A fundamental aspect of our mission as we work with existing customers and build relationships with new ones is not only to better their business, but to better our communities and wider society,” said Weinewuth. “Our company is hyper-focused on engaging in activities that seek to resolve environmental, social and economic issues through the projects we finance. To this end, we have committed a team of employees to focus on displacing our carbon footprint and prioritizing renewable energy and energy efficiency.”

Freund stated, “The Vendor Solutions business will bring a cohesive and targeted approach in bringing new products to market and a seamless experience for customers, vendors, and partners. Through these capabilities, the Vendor Solutions business will provide complete financial servicing for companies looking to grow their business and will enhance these offerings with complementary products such as competitive floorplan financing, solutions to acquire and update equipment, proprietary technologies to streamline and automate processes, and many more capabilities.”

Mitsubishi HC Capital America has also created a dynamic suite of commercial finance solutions. In his new role as President of the Commercial Finance business, Rosa’s team will bring greater lending capacity to growing businesses across the United States with an emphasis on working capital, asset-based loans, trade finance and structured finance leases and loans. “Clients can now enjoy access to a full suite of services designed to provide solutions across the whole value chain. Our team is comprised of experienced and respected finance veterans across the United States and Canada who are skilled in constructing customized solutions to meet specific customer needs,” added Rosa.

With the merger now complete, the company will also get the benefit of Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada’s expertise and strong track record in equipment and commercial financing solutions throughout Canada and utilize its cross-border capabilities to deliver North American solutions to vendors, customers and partners. “We will be able to leverage the best practices and products including our North American digital tools, allowing customers to experience maximum flexibility, speed and access to the company’s greater lending capacity as the largest non-bank/non-captive finance company across North America,” said Nantel.

Other changes to the company include the retirement of Ryan Collison, former President and CEO of Mitsubishi HC Capital America. Ryan joined Mitsubishi HC Capital America in 2005, and since that time has held positions as Senior Vice President - Operations, Chief Credit Officer and Chief Information Officer.

Other leaders named to new positions within the newly integrated company include:

Mark Duncan, Executive Vice President and COO
John Vande Moore, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Takahiro Sohma, Head of Japan Desk
Dan Canine, Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Christopher Johanneson, Executive Vice President & Chief Digital Officer
John Carroll, Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Planning Officer
Sue Santos, Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer
Rob Carron, Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Kirk Mann, Executive Vice President & Head of Transportation, Vendor Solutions
Doug Hirai, Executive Vice President, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer
Terry Hatfield, Executive Vice President & Chief Operational Excellence Officer
Joni Kovac, Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer

About Mitsubishi HC Capital America
Mitsubishi HC Capital America is a specialty finance company that has extensive capabilities throughout North America, and with its affiliate, Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada, offers a consultative approach and expansive digital platform to help organizations of all sizes accelerate growth. With $7.5 billion in assets and more than 800 employees, the company is the largest non-captive, non-bank commercial finance company in the United States. Mitsubishi HC Capital America partners with equipment manufacturers, dealers and distributors, as well as end-customers directly, in providing customized financial solutions, including transportation and commercial finance. Dedicated to improving the communities where it operates, the company is committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Visit https://www.mhccna.com/en-us

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This Day in American History

    1614 - Powhatan Indian princess Pocahontas (d. 1617) married English Jamestown colonist John Rolfe in Virginia. Their marriage brought a temporary peace between the English settlers and the Algonquians. In 1616, the couple sailed to England. The "Indian Princess" was popular with the English gentry.
    1621 - The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth on a return trip to England.
    1649 – Elihu Yale (d. 1721) was born in Boston. He was Governor of the East India Company settlement in Fort St. George, at Madras, India, and a benefactor of the Collegiate School in the Connecticut Colony, which in 1718, was renamed Yale College in his honor.
    1761 - Sybil Ludington (d. 1839), daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington, was born in Kent, NY. She was a heroine of the Revolutionary War who became famous for her night ride on April 26, 1777 to alert rebel forces to the approach of the British regular forces. She rode forty miles through the night to warn militiamen under the control of her father that British troops were planning to invade Danbury, Connecticut. On her way to gather her Father’s troops, she warned the people of Danbury. Due to her father’s position, Sybil had to move from town to town following her father, and unknowingly playing an important role in the success of the colonies. The afternoon after Sybil’s ride through Danbury, the British troops burned down three buildings and destroyed multiple houses, but thankfully did not kill that many people. She rode into the damp hours of darkness, through Carmel to Mahopac, then to Kent Cliffs, from there to Farmers Mills and back home. She used a stick to prod her horse and knock on doors. She managed to defend herself against a highwayman with a long stick. When, soaked with rain and exhausted, she returned home, most of the 400 soldiers were ready to march.
    1768 - The first English-speaking Chamber of Commerce in the world was established by 20 merchants at a meeting at Fraunces Tavern, New York City, "…for promoting and encouraging commerce, supporting industry, adjusting disputes relative to trade and navigation, and procuring such laws and regulations as may be found necessary for the benefit of trade in general…" John Cruger was the first president.
    1792 - President George Washington exercised his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States. The bill outlined a new apportionment formula submitted by then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Apportionment described how Congress divides seats in the House of Representatives among the states based on the US census figures. President Washington thought the bill gave an unfair advantage to the northern states.
    1850 – The California Legislature passed an act for the incorporation of San Francisco. San Francisco was founded on June 29, 1776, when colonists from Spain established Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, near a boat anchorage around what is today Portsmouth Square. Together with Alcalde (Mayor) Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. It was renamed San Francisco on January 30, 1847. The Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the west coast at the time.
    1854 - Thousands of people gathered at the Plaza for dedication of the new San Francisco City Hall bell. Fire Chief Engineer Duane broke a bottle of champagne over the bell that was also to be used for alarms of fire. The tower was to be used by fire spotters.
    1856 - The birthday of Booker Taliaferro Washington (d. 1915), black educator and leader, born at Hale’s Ford, Franklin County, VA. He wrote in "Up from Slavery:” "No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem." Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American community. Washington was from the last generation of black American leaders born into slavery and became the leading voice of the former slaves and their descendants. They were newly oppressed in the South and the Jim Crow discriminatory laws enacted in the post-Reconstruction Southern states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His base was the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. As lynchings in the South reached a peak in 1895, Washington gave a speech, known as the "Atlanta Compromise," which brought him national fame. He called for black progress through education and entrepreneurship, rather than trying to challenge directly the Jim Crow segregation and the disenfranchisement of black voters in the South. Washington mobilized a nationwide coalition of middle-class blacks, church leaders, and white philanthropists and politicians, with a long-term goal of building the community's economic strength and pride by a focus on self-help and schooling. But, secretly, he also supported court challenges to segregation and passed on funds raised for this purpose. Decades after Washington's death in 1915, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s took a more active and militant approach, which was also based on new grassroots organizations based in the South, such as CORE, SNCC and SCLC.
http://www.historycooperative.org/btw/
    1858 - Washington Atlee Burpee (d. 1915) was born in Sheffield, New Brunswick, Canada. He was the founder of the W. Atlee Burpee & Company.
    1862 – The Battle of Yorktown began, fought from April 5 to May 4, 1862, as part of the Peninsula campaign. Union Gen. George McClellan's Army of the Potomac encountered Gen. John Magruder’s small Confederate force. McClellan suspended his march up the Peninsula toward Richmond and settled in for siege operations. He planned a massive bombardment for dawn on May 5, but the Confederate army slipped away during the night of May 3.
    1865 – The Battle at Amelia Springs near Jetersville, Virginia was an engagement between the Union Army and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia that occurred during the Appomattox Campaign. It was followed by a second rear guard action near the same location on the night of April 5, 1865 and morning of April 6, 1865 during the Union Army pursuit of the Confederate forces (Army of Northern Virginia and Richmond local defense forces) which were fleeing westward after the fall of Petersburg and Richmond at the Third Battle of Petersburg on April 2, 1865. The actions took place just prior to the Battle of Sailor’s Creek on April 6, 1865. That battle would be the last major engagement between the Union Army under the overall direction of Union General-in-Chief, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia before that Confederate army's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865.
    1869 - Daniel Bakeman, the last surviving soldier of the U.S. Revolutionary War, died at the age of 109. Bakeman said he was born on October 9, 1759 in upstate New York to Dutch immigrants. At the age of twelve, he married Susan Brewer (who was fourteen and a half) on August 29, 1772. Their marriage, at 91 years and 12 days, is the longest claimed on record and also the only marriage claimed to have exceeded 90 years.
    1871 - Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner (d. 1954), football player and coach, born at Springville, NY. After playing several sports at Cornell, Warner began coaching football, most notably at the Carlisle Indian School where he coached Jim Thorpe. He coached three undefeated teams at the University of Pittsburgh and went to the Rose Bowl three times with Stanford. He ended a 44-year career at Temple.
    1892 - The Ithaca, NY Daily Journal published an ad introducing a new 10 cent ice cream specialty called a Cherry Sunday.
    1900 - Actor Spencer Tracy (d. 1967) was born in Milwaukee. One of the major stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Tracy was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Actor and won two, sharing the record for nominations in that category with Laurence Olivier. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the 9th greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
    1906 - Hipster, flipster, musician Lord Richard Buckley was born Richard Myrle Buckley (d. 1960), Tuolumne, California.
http://www.lordbuckley.com/LBC/The_Printheads/TheLordWhoBecame.html
http://www.lordbuckley.com/LBC/LBC_Misc_Pages/LBC.html
http://singersong.homestead.com/LordBuckley.html
http://dir.salon.com/story/people/feature/2002/06/26/buckley/print.html
    1908 – Actress Bette Davis (d. 1989), she of ‘the eyes,’ was born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in Lowell, MA. In 1999, Davis was placed second on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema. She was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was reputed for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the AFI.
    1909 – Albert R. Broccoli (d. 1996) was born in Queens, NYC. He was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the UK and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Broccoli is most notable as the producer of many of the James Bond films. He and Harry Saltzman, who owned the film rights to Ian Fleming’s character, saw the films develop from relatively low-budget origins to large-budget, high-grossing extravaganzas, and Broccoli's heirs continue to produce new Bond films.
    1911 - 80,000 march in 5th Avenue funeral for Triangle Shirtwaist victims, NY.
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/
    1913 - In an exhibition game, 25,000 fans watched the Brooklyn Superbas play their first game in Ebbets Field. Brooklyn beat the Yankees, 3-2, as Superbas outfielder Casey Stengel hit the park's first homer, an inside-the-parker.
    1915 - Towering Jess Willard beat Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the heavyweight championship of the world in Havana, Cuba. Johnson, a black American who had held the title since defeating Tommy Burns in 1908, had been widely criticized for his flamboyant lifestyle. Willard, from Kansas, was touted as the "Great White Hope," whose goal it was to recapture the title for the "Caucasian race." The decision was controversial as Willard was on the floor several times with many "slow counts." It was also said that Johnson thought he could escape Mann Act charges against him if he lost to a "white man." A movie was made about his life starring James Earl Jones.
http://www.famoustexans.com/jackjohnson.htm
        1916 – Actor Gregory Peck (d. 2003) was born in La Jolla, CA. His performance as Atticus Finch in the 1962 film “To Kill a Mockingbird” earned him the Best Actor Academy award, in addition to four other nominations in the same category. In 1999, the AFI named Peck #12 among the Greatest Male stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
    1917 - Birthday of writer Robert Bloch (d. 1994), born Chicago, perhaps best known as "Collier Young.” American crime and suspense writer, who is famous for stories about psychopaths. Best known is “Psycho,” a stunning film by Alfred Hitchcock (1960). Also wrote humorous fantasy, science fiction, short stories, screenplays and radio plays.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rbloch.htm
http://web.tiscali.it/andrebalza/
    1918 - George "Joe" Sobek (d. 1998), inventor of racquetball, was born at Greenwich, CT, in 1950. Sobek decided he needed more exercise. He was such a good squash player that he was unable to find opponents and he was not interested in either handball or paddle ball. Sobek is credited with inventing the sport in the New Britain, CT YMCA, though not with naming it. For the racquet, he added strings to a platform-tennis paddle. For the ball, he used the core of a tennis ball. By his death, his sport was being played by 8.5 million people in 91 nations.
    1922 – The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, was founded by Margaret Sanger at the First American Birth Control Conference in New York City. Birth Control Leagues had already been formed in a number of larger American cities between 1916 and 1919 due to Sanger's lecture tours and the publication of the Birth Control Review. By 1924, the American Birth Control League had 27,500 members.
    1922 – “My Little Margie,” Gale Storm, was born Josephine Owaissa Cottle (d. 2009) in Bloomington, TX. Also a singer, her first record, "I Hear You Knockin’,” sold over a million copies.
    1923 - Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, OH began the first regular production of balloon tires.
    1925 - At spring training, the New York Yankees whipped the Brooklyn Robins, 16-9, North Carolina as the teams were returning from spring training. Babe Ruth collapsed in the Asheville, NC railroad station after the game and was taken to a New York City hospital. Ruth underwent an operation for an ulcer on April 17th and stayed in bed until May 26th. After a sportswriter wrote that Ruth's illness was due to binging on hot dogs and soda pop before a game, it became known as "the bellyache heard 'round the world." However, the exact cause of his ailment has never been confirmed and remains a mystery. Glenn Stout, in his history of the Yankees, suggests that alcohol was at the root of Ruth's illness, pointing to the fact that Ruth remained six weeks at St. Vincent’s Hospital but was allowed to leave, under supervision, for workouts with the team for part of that time. He concludes that the hospitalization was behavior-related. Playing just 98 games, Ruth had his worst season as a Yankee; he finished with a .290 average and 25 home runs. The Yankees finished next to last in the AL with a 69–85 record, their last season with a losing record until 1965.
    1926 - Birthday of guitarist Lou Miller, Baton Rouge, LA
http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/m/mill6700.htm
    1926 - H.L. Mencken arrested in front of hundreds of cheering spectators in Boston, for selling a banned issue of the “American Mercury” magazine that he founded in 1924 with George Nathan. The magazine featured writing by some of the most important writers in the US through the 1920s and 1930s. After a change in ownership in the 1940s, the magazine attracted conservative writers. A second change in ownership a decade later turned the magazine into a virulently anti-Semitic publication. The magazine went out of business in 1981, having spent the last 25 years of its existence in decline and controversy. Mencken rarely flinched from controversy. He was in the thick of it after the Mercury's April, 1926 issue published "Hatrack," a chapter from Herbert Asbury’s “Up From Methodism.” The chapter described purportedly true events: a prostitute in Asbury's childhood in, nicknamed Hatrack because of her angular physique, was a regular churchgoer who sought forgiveness. Shunned by the town's "good people," she returned to her sinful life. The Rev. J. Frank Chase of the Watch and Ward Society, which monitored material sold in Boston for obscenity, concluded that "Hatrack" was immoral and had a Harvard Square magazine peddler arrested for selling a copy of that American Mercury issue. That provoked Mencken to visit Boston and personally sell Chase a copy of the magazine, the better to be arrested for the cameras. Tried and acquitted, Mencken was praised for his courageous stance for Freedom of the press; it cost him more than $20,000 in legal fees, lost revenue, and lost advertising. Mencken sued Chase and won, a federal judge ruling the minister's organization committed an illegal restraint of trade. He held that prosecutors, not private activists, should censor literature, if anyone should. But following the trial, the Solicitor of the US Post Office, Donnelly, ruled the April, 1926 American Mercury was obscene under the federal Comstock Law, and barred that issue from delivery through the U.S. Post Office. Mencken challenged Donnelly, aroused by the prospect of a landmark free speech case before the US Court of Appeals and legendary Judge Learned Hand. But, because the April, 1926 Mercury had already been mailed, an injunction was no longer an appropriate remedy and the case was moot.
http://www.io.com/~gibbonsb/mencken.html
    1926 - First issue of Hugo Gernsback's magazine "Amazing Stories" is published.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Stories
http://paizo.com/amazing
    1927 - Drummer Stan Levey (d. 2000) birthday, Philadelphia.
http://www.rhythmweb.com/people/stan.htm
    1928 - Birthday of singer Tony Williams (d. 1992), Elizabeth, NJ. He was the lead singer of The Platters from 1953 to 1960, the period of their greatest success and string of hits. In a dispute over money, Williams left the Platters to pursue a solo career. Williams was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Platters in 1990. Tony performed with his own version of the Platters, known as the International Platters.
http://www.hotshotdigital.com/OldRock/PlattersBio.html
    1933 – Frank Gorshin (d. 2005) was born in Pittsburgh. He is best remembered as The Riddler in the TV series, “Batman.”
    1934 - Birthday of tenor sax player Stanley Turrentine (d. 2000), Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.sonicnet.com/allmusic/ai_bio.jhtml?ai_id=507685
    1936 - The fourth deadliest tornado in US history rips through Tupelo, MS, killing 235 but sparing Elvis Presley, still an infant, who is held in his Great Uncle Noah's house by his mother Gladys until the storm passes.
    1937 – Colin Powell was born in Harlem, NYC. A retired four-star general in the US Army, he was the 65th Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, the first African American to serve in that position. During his military career, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987–1989), as Commander of the US Armed Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), holding the latter position during the Persian Gulf War.
    1942 - The Ski Union of America was formed in New York City to become the governing body for amateur skiing in the Western hemisphere.
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/thisday/index.jsp
    1945 - The temperature at Eagles Nest, NM, plunged to 45 degrees below zero to establish an April record for the United States.
    1949 - "Fireside Theater" premiered on TV. Gene Raymond and later Jane Wyman hosted this NBC anthology program consisting of 15- and 30-minute dramas. One of its most acclaimed presentations was "The Reign of Amelika Jo" on Oct 12, 1954. It was set in the South Pacific during World War II and had a mostly black and Asian cast.
    1951 - General MacArthur's letter of March 20 to House minority leader Joseph W. Martin criticizing President Truman's strategy and the concept of limited war was made public. In the letter, MacArthur advocated using Chinese Nationalist troops to open a second front against Communist China.
    1951 – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for spying and passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. In 1995, the United States government released a series of decoded Soviet cables, codenamed VENONA, which confirmed that Julius acted as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets, but did not provide definitive evidence for Ethel's involvement. Ethel's brother David Greenglass, whose testimony had condemned her, later stated that he had lied to protect his own wife Ruth, who had been the actual typist of the classified documents he stole, and that he was encouraged by the prosecution to do so. Both were executed on June 19. 1953 at New York’s Sing-Sing Prison by electrocution.
    1951 - Top Hits
“If” - Perry Como
“Mockingbird Hill” - Patti Page
“Aba Daba Honeymoon” - Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter
The Rhumba Boogie - Hank Snow
    1953 - In Washington, D.C., President Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated the Presidential Prayer Breakfast. Its name was later changed to the Annual National Prayer Breakfast.
    1953 - Buddy Rich joins Harry James band Easter Sunday, Hollywood Palladium.
    1955 - Richard J. Daley was elected mayor of Chicago, IL, starting one of the most colorful political careers in the twentieth century. A man who lived in the house in which he was born until he died, he was never a "rich" man in money, but perhaps the most single politically powerful man in American history.
   1956 – Fidel Castro declares war on dictatorial and corrupt Batista regime. As the US turns against him, he moves into the Communist fold and sets up his own dictatorship.
    1958 - Johnny Mathis' album, "Johnny's Greatest Hits," on Columbia Records, made it to the pop music charts for the first time. The LP remained on the charts for a record 490 weeks (nearly 9-1/2 years!) The record began its stay at number one (three weeks) on June 9, 1958. Mathis studied opera from age 13 and earned a track and field scholarship at San Francisco State College. He was invited to Olympic try-outs and chose a singing career instead. He was originally a jazz-style singer when Mitch Miller of Columbia switched Mathis to singing pop ballads. He would chart over 60 albums in 30 years. When he declared himself "gay," his popularity waned.
    1958 - Irvin Feld's “Greatest Show of Stars” opens its 80-day North American tour in Norfolk, Virginia. Headlining are Sam Cooke, the Silhouettes, Royal Teens, Everly Brothers, Jimmy Reed and Clyde McPhatter. The bill is expanded with the addition of Paul Anka, Roy Hamilton, LaVern Baker, Frankie Avalon and others.
    1959 - Top Hits
“Venus” - Frankie Avalon
“Come Softly to Me” - The Fleetwoods
“It's Just a Matter of Time” - Brook Benton
“When It's Springtime in Alaska” (“It's Forty Below”) - Johnny Horton
    1961 - "Secret Agent" premiered on TV. Before Patrick McGoohan became "The Prisoner," he played the role of intelligence agent John Drake on this CBS adventure series. Produced in England by ATV, it also aired there as "Danger Man."
    1961 - Barbra Streisand appears on "The Jack Paar Show."
    1962 - Billie Sol Estes was indicted for selling millions of dollars' worth of chattel mortgages on nonexistent fertilizer tanks. In the late 1950s, Estes was heavily involved in the Texas anhydrous ammonia business. He produced mortgages on the nonexistent tanks by convincing local farmers to purchase them on credit, sight unseen, and lease them from the farmers for the same amount as the mortgage payment, paying them a convenience fee as well. He used the fraudulent mortgage holdings to obtain loans from banks outside Texas who were unable to easily check on the tanks. The scandal that sent him to jail for fraud multiple times was complicated by his ties to friend and future President Lyndon Johnson. This event was a major driver in the establishment of the asset verification and inspection industry.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKestes.htm
http://www.tigertales.com/local97/estes120897.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~sixthfloor/
    1963 - Martha and the Vandellas make their chart debut with "Come and Get These Memories." It reached #29 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart and #6 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart. The song is also notable as the first hit recording written and produced by the songwriting/production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland who would become the top creative team at Motown by the end of 1965.
    1965 - Bob Hope hosted the 37th Annual Academy Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles. "My Fair Lady" and "Mary Poppins" vied for Best Picture as did "Alexis Zorbas," "Becket," and "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." And the winner was ... "My Fair Lady" (Jack L. Warner, producer). "My Fair Lady" was the name in the winner's envelope seven more times: Best Director (George Cukor); Best Actor (Rex Harrison); Best Cinematography/Color (Harry Stradling); Best Art Direction-Set Decoration/Color (Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton, George James Hopkins); Best Costume Design/Color (Cecil Beaton); Best Sound (George Groves-Warner Bros. Studio Sound Dept.); and Best Music/Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment (André Previn). "Mary Poppins" was not about to let Eliza Doolittle steal all her thunder. Julie Andrews was awarded an Oscar for Best Actress for her title role; Cotton Warburton won for Best Film Editing; Peter Ellenshaw, Hamilton Luske, Eustace Lycett for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects and Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman won for Best Music/Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee" from "Mary Poppins") and for Best Music/Score-Substantially Original. The two remaining crowd-pleaser awards went to Peter Ustinov in "Topkapi" for Best Supporting Actor and to Lila Kedrova in "Alexis Zorbas" for Best Supporting Actress.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148977.html
    1966 - San Francisco Grayline Tours starts hippie tours of Haight/Ashbury.
    1966 – Don Larsen, the pitcher of the only perfect game in World Series history while with the New York Yankees, was released by the Baltimore Orioles. He was the last player to have played for the St. Louis Browns, who moved to Baltimore in 1953 to become the current Orioles.
    1967 - Top Hits
“Happy Together” - The Turtles
“Dedicated to the One I Love” - The Mamas & The Papas
“Somethin' Stupid” - Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra
“Walk Through This World with Me” - George Jones
    1968 - San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto issues a proclamation condemning the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thousands of people gathered at Civic Center in memory of the civil rights leader. City flags lowered to half-staff.
    1969 - A weekend of antiwar demonstrations begins in all major; anti-war marches in 50 cities attract an estimated 150,000 Vietnam War protesters.
    1970 - BUKER, BRIAN L., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Detachment B-55, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. Place and date: Chau Doc Province, Republic of Vietnam, 5 April 1970. Entered service at: Bangor, Maine. Born: 3 November 1949, Benton, Maine. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Buker, Detachment B-55, distinguished himself while serving as a platoon adviser of a Vietnamese mobile strike force company during an offensive mission. Sgt. Buker personally led the platoon, cleared a strategically located well-guarded pass, and established the first foothold at the top of what had been an impenetrable mountain fortress. When the platoon came under the intense fire from a determined enemy located in 2 heavily fortified bunkers, and realizing that withdrawal would result in heavy casualties, Sgt. Buker unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his personal safety, charged through the hail of enemy fire and destroyed the first bunker with hand grenades. While reorganizing his men for the attack on the second bunker, Sgt. Buker was seriously wounded. Despite his wounds and the deadly enemy fire, he crawled forward and destroyed the second bunker. Sgt. Buker refused medical attention and was reorganizing his men to continue the attack when he was mortally wounded. As a direct result of his heroic actions, many casualties were averted, and the assault of the enemy position was successful. Sgt. Buker's extraordinary heroism at the cost of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1971 - The second incarnation of the Washington Senators opened their last season in the nation's capital, defeating the Oakland Athletics, 8-0. After the season, they moved to Arlington, TX, and became the Texas Rangers. The original Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1962. In 2005, Major League Baseball returned to the nation’s capital when the Montreal Expos were sold and relocated to DC and became the Nationals.
    1972 - A tornado, 500 yards wide at times, touched down at a marina on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, and then tore through Vancouver, WA, killing six persons, injuring 300 others, and causing more than five million dollars damage. It was the deadliest tornado of the year, and the worst of record for Washington.
    1972 - For the first time in Major League history, the regular season failed to open due to the player strike which started on April 1. 86 games were lost before the labor dispute was settled.
    1975 - Top Hits
“Lovin' You” - Minnie Riperton
“Philadelphia Freedom” - The Elton John Band
“No No Song/Snookeroo” - Ringo Starr
“I Just Can't Get Her Out of My Mind” - Johnny Rodriguez
    1979 – The Orioles’ manager Earl Weaver won the 1000th game of his career. He was 1480-1060 (.583) as a Major League manager, all with the O’s.
    1982 - An unprecedented April blizzard began in the northeastern U.S. One to two feet of snow fell across Massachusetts and Connecticut, and up to 26 inches was reported in Maine. New York City received a foot of snow. Winds reached 70 to 80 mph during the storm, and the storm also produced numerous thunderstorms, which contributed to the heavy snow.
    1983 - Top Hits
“Billy Jean” - Michael Jackson
“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” - Culture Club
“Hungry like the Wolf” - Duran Duran
“When I'm Away from You” - The Bellamy Brothers
    1984 - The second annual MTV Video Music Awards are broadcast. Winners include Michael Jackson for "Beat It," the Police for "Every Breath You Take" and Cyndi Lauper for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."
    1984 – Kareem Abdul Jabbar became the highest-scoring player in NBA history with 31,421 career points. At the time of his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar held the record for most games played by a single player in the NBA; this would later be broken by Robert Parish. He also was the all-time record holder for most points (38,387), most field goals made (15,837), and most minutes played (57,446).
    1985 - Broadcasters banded together to play the single, “We Are the World,” at 10:50 a.m. E.S.T. Stations in the United States were joined by hundreds of others around the world in a sign of unification for the African relief cause. Even Muzak made the song only the second vocal selection it has ever played in elevators and offices since its inception.
    1987 - Calling it the first launching of a television network in almost 40 years, the FOX Broadcasting Company, under the direction of media and publishing baron, Rupert Murdoch, started with two Sunday night offerings. "Married......With Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show" were the beginnings of the FOX lineup.
    1987 - "Married...With Children" premiered on TV. This raunchy Fox TV show premiered as the antidote to Cosby-style family shows. Ed O'Neill starred as boorish, luckless shoe salesman Al Bundy; Katey Sagal portrayed Al's big-haired, spandex-clad, sex-starved wife Peggy; Christina Applegate played air headed bombshell daughter Kelly and David Faustino played hormone-driven son Bud. The Bundys' neighbors were portrayed by Amanda Bearse as Marcy Rhoades, David Garrison as husband #1, Steve Rhoades and Ted McGinley as husband #2. The last episode aired Apr 20, 1997.
    1987 - "The Tracey Ullman Show" premiered on TV. This Emmy award-winning comedy-variety show was one of the Fox network's early critical hits. Tracey Ullman starred with Julie Kavner, Dan Castellaneta, Joe Malone and Sam McMurray. The show, produced by James L. Brooks, contained sketches, songs and satire. Animated snippets in between segments introduced us to the Simpsons, executed by Matt Groening, creator of the "Life in Hell" comic strip. "The Simpsons" spun off from the show in 1990 with Castellaneta and Kavner speaking the voices of Homer and Marge Simpson.
    1987 - A storm produced unprecedented April snows in the central Appalachians. Mount Mitchell, NC received 35 inches of snow, and up to 60 inches (six feet) of snow was reported in the mountains along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. The total of 25 inches at Charleston, WV easily surpassed their previous record for the entire month of April of 5.9 inches. The 20.6 inch total at Akron, OH established an all-time record for that location.
    1988 - Thirty-nine cities across the eastern half of the country reported record high temperatures for the date, including Saint Louis, MO with a reading of 91 degrees. Laredo, TX was the hot spot in the nation with an afternoon high of 100 degrees
    1989 - Unseasonably hot weather prevailed in the southwestern U.S. Afternoon highs of 100 degrees at Santa Maria, CA and 105 degrees in Downtown Los Angeles established records for the month of April.
    1989 - David Letterman becomes the first network TV series to use Dolby stereo.
    1990 - Paul Newman wins a court victory over Julius Gold to keep giving all profits from Newman foods to charity. According to the Newman's Own Foundation website, over $500 million has been generated for charity since 1982. In 2016, the company donated profits of $30 million after gross sales of $600 million.
    1991 - Top Hits
“Coming Out of the Dark” - Gloria Estafan
“This House” - Tracie Spencer
“Hold You Tight” - Tara Kemp
“Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House” - Garth Brooks
    1993 – The expansion Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins played their first games ever.
    1993 – Construction began in Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created on April 20, 1983, by Atlantic Records founder and chairman Ahmet Ertegum. The first group of inductees, inducted on January 23, 1986, included Elvis, James Brown, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, and Jimmy Yancey were inducted as Early Influences, John Hammond received the Lifetime Achievement Award and Alan Freed and Sam Phillips were inducted as Non-Performers…but the Hall of Fame still had no home. The search committee considered several cities, including Memphis (home of Sun Studios and Stax Records), Detroit (home of Motown Records), Cincinnati (home of King Records), New York City, and Cleveland. Cleveland lobbied for the museum, citing that WJW disc jockey Alan Freed both coined the term "rock and roll" and heavily promoted the new genre—and that Cleveland was the location of Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball, the first major rock and roll concert. On May 5, 1986, the Hall of Fame Foundation chose Cleveland as the permanent home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum dedicated on September 1, 1995, with the ribbon being cut by an ensemble that included Yoko Ono and Little Richard, among others, before a crowd of more than 10,000 people. The following night an all-star concert was held at the stadium. It featured Berry, Bob Dylan, Al Green, Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp and many others.
    1998 - Ray Piecuch, a cowboy poet from New Hampshire, completed his yearlong 3,500 mile ride across country on his horse, Bo, with a champagne celebration at Baker Beach.
    2003 - Earth's first contact by extra-terrestrials as the Borgs go back to prevent the testing of time warp.
http://www.movie-gazette.com/cinereviews/164
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117731/quotes
    2010 - Twenty-nine coal miners were killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
    2011 - A bill banning the abortion of a fetus more than 20 weeks old passed the Idaho House of Representatives.

NCAA Basketball Champions:
1983 - North Carolina

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