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The wild story of triumph and tragedy behind
Tony Bennett’s ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’

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Why Companies Struggle to Attract Top Talent
By Ken Lubin, ZRG Partners

In the fiercely competitive landscape of modern businesses, securing top talent has become a paramount challenge for companies across industries. The pursuit of exceptional employees is not merely a matter of prestige; it directly impacts a company's growth, innovation, and long-term success. However, many companies find themselves grappling with the inability to attract and retain the best candidates. Let's think about some of the key reasons behind this struggle and suggest strategies to overcome these hurdles.

Lack of Competitive Compensation and Benefits

One of the most significant factors influencing a candidate's decision to join a company is the compensation package. Companies that are unable to offer competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits may find themselves losing top talent to competitors who can provide better remuneration and perks. Beyond salary, employees are increasingly looking for benefits that promote work-life balance, professional development opportunities, and a positive company culture.

Solution: Companies should regularly review their compensation and benefits packages to ensure they align with industry standards and the expectations of top talent. Additionally, offering unique perks or flexible work arrangements can help set them apart from competitors.

Poor Employer Branding

A strong employer brand is crucial in attracting top talent. Potential candidates extensively research a company before applying, and a positive perception can significantly influence their decision. Companies with negative reviews, a history of unethical practices, or a toxic work environment will struggle to attract the best candidates.

Solution: Building a positive employer brand involves promoting company values, employee success stories, and a supportive work environment. Companies should actively engage with employees to create a positive workplace culture, leverage social media platforms to showcase their company culture, and respond transparently to both positive and negative feedback.

Ineffective Recruitment and Hiring Process

A cumbersome and slow recruitment process can be a major deterrent for top talent. The best candidates are often in high demand and have multiple job offers, and a lengthy hiring process can cause them to lose interest or accept offers elsewhere.

Solution: Streamlining the hiring process is essential. Companies should clearly define the hiring criteria and have a well-organized interview process. Utilizing technology and artificial intelligence to handle initial screenings can save time and help identify the most suitable candidates quickly.

Lack of Career Growth Opportunities

Top talent seeks not only a job but a career path with room for growth and development. Companies that fail to provide clear progression opportunities may struggle to retain high-performing employees.

Solution: Offering career development programs, mentorship opportunities, and a well-defined path for advancement within the company can attract and retain ambitious talent.

Cultural Misalignment

Cultural fit plays a vital role in a candidate's decision to join a company. If an individual does not resonate with the company's values, mission, and work environment, they are unlikely to thrive or stay for long.

Solution: During the recruitment process, both parties should assess cultural fit. Companies should also focus on creating an inclusive and diverse workplace that appeals to a wide range of candidates.

Hiring top talent requires a concerted effort from companies to address the various challenges that can stand in the way. By prioritizing competitive compensation and benefits, building a positive employer brand, optimizing the recruitment process, providing career growth opportunities, and fostering a strong cultural fit, companies can improve their chances of attracting and retaining the best candidates. In doing so, they position themselves for long-term success, increased innovation, and a competitive edge in their respective industries.

Managing Director
ZRG Partners, LLC
Americas I EMEA I Asia Pacific
C: 508-733-4789
https://www.linkedin.com/in/klubin/

"What is the Ultimate Hire? The Ultimate Hire is the professional that every business, team or leader needs in their organization. This is the high performance individual that always rises to the top, brings the team to the next level and can significantly add to the bottom line. The Ultimate Hire is the person that you can't afford to be without. Finding, Attracting, Hiring and Retaining these professionals is critical to the success of your business. We have identified these traits and can help you find these top professionals."

The Ultimate Hire Collection:
http://leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/ultimate.html

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New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Scott Blaeser was hired as Senior Vice President, SLR Business Credit, Princeton, New Jersey. He is located in the Denver Metropolitan Area. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Pacific Western Business Finance (October, 2020 - July, 2023); Vice President, Crestmark Bank (August, 2014 - October, 2020); Senior Vice President, Celtic Capital Corporation (January, 2003 - August, 2014); Vice President, Business Development, GE Capital Business Credit (July, 2000 - March, 2002); Vice President, Business Development, Fremont Financial (1997 - 1999).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-blaeser-7785945/

Lori Maxon was hired as Regional Sales Manager, PNC, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She is located in Albany, New York. Previously, she was Vice President, NBT Bank (April, 2022 - November, 2022); Vice President, Key Equipment Finance (January, 2015 - July, 2020); Relationship Manger, Uni-Fi Equipment Finance (November, 2013 - January, 2015); Leasing Manager, KeyCorp (July, 1998 - October, 2013).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-maxon-58662ab/

Ryan McClure was hired as Midwest Regional Sales Manager, Vendor Finance, PNC, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Previously, he was at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, starting June, 2012, Account Manager, CVG; promoted June, 2013, Vendor Program Manager, CVG; promoted May, 2014, Territory Manager, CVG, promoted June, 2017, National Program/Vendor Territory Manager; Business Development Officer, Associated Bank (December, 2010 - June, 2012); Commercial Lender, 21st Century Bank (November, 2008 - December, 2010).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mcclure-b5319425/

Torre Monterz was hired as Senior Account Manager, Amur Finance, Grand Island, Nebraska, to specialize in transportation and construction. He is located in St. George, Utah. Previously, he was Senior Sales Manager, Transportation and Construction, Tandem Finance (January, 2021 - June, 2023): Vice President of Sales, Centra Funding (July, 2020 - February, 2021). He joined Partners Capital May, 2018, as Regional Sales Director, promoted March, 2017, Vice President of Sales; National Sales Manager, Ascentium Capital, February, 2015; Account Executive, Alliance Funding Group (January, 2014 – February, 2015); Inside Sales Representative/Marketing Assistant, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. (The Larkin Group) (June, 2013 – June, 2014).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrgetthejobdone/

Robert St. Cyr was hired as Business Development Manager, Velocity Capital Group, Channel Island Harbor, California. He is located in Westlake Village, California. He continues his Business Growth Guru as Robert St. Cyr (2017 - Present). Previously, he was VP, Business Development, CAN Capital (February, 2012 - December, 2016); VP, Sales and Marketing, Merchant Reward Network (December, 2009 - December, 2010); Sales Management, Innovative Merchant Solutions, Intuit (2007 - 2009); Channel Sales Manager, Fonality (March, 2006 - November, 2007); CEO, ASAP Global LLC (2001 - 2006); Data Network Manager, AT&T (1999 - 2001); VP, Sales, Zyan Communications (1999 - 2000); Sales and Product Development, Earthline Networks, Pasadena (April, 1997 - June, 1999).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-st-cyr-79a4801

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Leasing and Finance Industry Help Wanted
We Are Growing Our Senior Sales Team Now!
www.topmarkfunding.com/careers

Upstream Opportunities

Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

The competitive landscape is quickly changing in the commercial equipment finance and leasing industry and opportunistic originators are winning larger and stronger relationships. Challenges create opportunities for those who are willing to pursue success.

Most industry participants are rightfully narrowing their focus to those industries, equipment types, and transactions that fully align with their capabilities and expertise. Participants are repositioning themselves in the market. Therefore, competitive alignments are shifting (i.e., transactions that your competitor was aggressively pursuing six months or a year ago are no longer on his prospect list). Strong originators are aware of the shifting landscape and pursuing those relationships and transactions that may have been out of reach just a short time ago. Below are two examples:

A seasoned originator for a bank equipment finance company discovered that a captive finance company had drastically changed its programs and was only providing its best programs to specific equipment models and larger transactions. The originator quickly presented her programs to a group of distributors at a trade show and won several new relationships with national distributors that just a year before were unwilling to consider her product as an alternative to the captive options. The new relationships produced 80% of her production in the second quarter and she expects to hit her annual goal before the end of the third quarter.

A seasoned originator working for an independent finance company discovered that one of his most aggressive competitors was pulling out of his territory and no longer funding transactions in several states. Within days, the originator was visiting vendors and end-users that just a few months before were nearly off his radar. The originator solidified four vendor relationships that he is now their primary source and several end-users that he had lost transactions to his previous competitor in the last year.

2023 will be filled with new success stories as aggressive originators move upstream and capture their fair share of stronger assets during the repositioning of competition. Upstream Opportunities

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

Wheeler Business Consulting is working with individual originators and sales teams throughout the industry to ensure that they are well positioned in the market, capturing their fair share of business, and outperforming the competition. To schedule a one-on-one meeting contact Scott Wheeler at: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com

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Top Ten Leasing News Read by Readers
July 17 to July 21

(1) McKenzie Credit Group Founder CEO Passes Away
Remembering Joe Hawes
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2023/07_19.htm#hawes

(2) CLFP Foundation Adds 19 New CLFPs – With Photos
Growing Leaps and Bounds with 17 More Academies
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2023/07_17.htm#clfp

(3) *******************Announcement*******************
ELFA Outlines What You Need to Know About New York’s
Commercial Financing Disclosure Laws Taking Effect August 1
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2023/07_21.htm#elfa

(4) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2023/07_19.htm#hires

(5) Take Control
By Scott Wheeler, CLFP
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2023/07_21.htm#take

(6) Update to Friday Leasing News: Two Joining No Longer
Taking Broker/Discount Business Confirmed
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2023/07_17.htm#friday

(7) Texas tops list of worst places to live
and work in America, study says
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2023/07/18/texas-worst-places-states-to-live-work-in-america-cnbc-business/70421581007/

(8) Clear vs. TSA PreCheck: What’s better
for price and privacy?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/20/clear-tsa-precheck-cost-privacy-airport-security/

(9) Guide to the New York Commercial Finance Disclosure
Laws and Regulations by SFNet Advocacy Committee
https://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2023/07_19.htm#guide

(10) Bank of America’s Bond Losses Widened to
$106 Billion in Second Quarter
https://www.barrons.com/articles/bank-of-america-bond-losses-earnings-faed0e68

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U.S. Vehicle Production has Shifted
Over 45 Years - More SUV's than Cars

Once perceived as vehicles solely for off-road capabilities and adventuring (hence the name sport utility vehicle), SUVs soon became a useful transportation alternative for large families. Shortly after, they became the top-selling models for many automakers.

The graphic above uses data on the annual production shares of different vehicle types from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to explore the factors that have led to the surging popularity of SUVs.

U.S. Vehicle Production: The Rise of SUVs

As SUV production has evolved, they’ve started to blur the line between car and truck classes. The EPA classifies most two-wheel drive SUVs under 6,000 lbs as cars (car SUVs), while those with four-wheel drive or above 6,000 lbs are trucks (truck SUVs).

In the American market, sedans and wagons dominated production from before the 1970s and well into the 1990s. Combined with smaller car SUVs, cars accounted for more than half of U.S. vehicle production well into the 2010s.

But the rapid rise of heavier truck SUVs has shifted the landscape. Sedans and wagons dipped below 50% of market production for the first time in 2004. And by 2017, trucks (including truck SUVs, pickups, and minivans) have been the ones accounting for over half of new vehicle production.

Full Article:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/us-vehicle-production-shift

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In the “small ticket” era of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the leaders of this period were Advanta, Denrich, Foothill, IFG, Manifest, to name a few, but the most innovative and one that lasted the longest was Colonial Pacific Leasing, until they were purchased by General Electric.

(From our Archives: December 11, 2001)

The History of Colonial Pacific Leasing
by Christopher “ Kit “ Menkin

Colonial Pacific Leasing Company of Portland, Oregon traces its roots to a captive finance company formed in Massachusetts in 1961. The original name of the company was Colonial Leasing Company of New England. Its specialty was transactions under $2,200; the small ticket marketplace.

In the 1960's, Ford Industries, a subsidiary of Roseburg Lumber Company of Roseburg, Oregon, placed the financing for a number of its “Code-A-Phone” interconnect systems through Colonial Leasing of New England. When Colonial ran onto hard time in 1967, a time of recession, Roseburg Lumber bought the company, thinking it could finance its equipment themselves, and moved it to Portland in 1971 ( the 11 month recession ended November, 1970, ) changing the name to Colonial Pacific Leasing. According to published records, it had a $6 million portfolio, and 10,000 leases, primarily all small ticket items.

Roseburg Lumber operated Colonial Pacific on a limited basis. By 1976, the portfolio was $3.5 million, serviced by four employees. Late in 1976, the manager of Colonial Pacific retired and Roseburg Lumber made the decision to become more active in the marketplace. John W. Thorne, president, was hired. He was given the goal to increase the company portfolio to at least $15 million. In 1981, he built it to $50 million in "outstandings" with 52 employees.

Thorne built this portfolio by attracting lease brokers. Instead of having lease salesmen, which was the trend in the 1970's, Thorne saw having a “commission only “ salesman as the most cost affective manner in attracting business. Instead of going after vendor business direct with your own sales force, he decided it was more cost effective to establish a lease broker network. This was quite different than the times, as the main two leasing associations did not accept members who were not full recourse lessors or managed their own portfolios.

In 1979, lasting through 1980 ( the country came out its six month recession in July ) into early 1981, there was a West Coast Brokers Associations, an ad hoc group ( no dues )that numbered up to their top growth of forty members when it disbanded, with original members such as Mont Gates of Leaserite, Salt Lake City, Utah, Jim Harris of Oregon,: George Masters in Reno, Nevada, Jim Swander

( perhaps the first chair of the United Association of Equipment Leasing's broker group) and Duane Russell of San Jose, California, Pat McConnell at Hamilton Leasing, Louis Funston Marin County, California, and Kit Menkin of American Leasing. As stated earlier, no association would accept an independent lease broker, who were all quite independent and scattered all over the country. This was before

the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers.

Thorne had much experience working with larger leasing companies, forming two of them before coming to Colonial Pacific. Before his arrival, it is noted he had been a partner in a multistate firm of lease brokers. He brought with him the idea to build a company through broker transactions, and knowledge of how to do this.

In early 1979, Colonial bought Seattle-based World Wide Leasing, Inc. It installed a man as the general manger of that operation who had owned Transworld Leasing in Albuquerque. ( sorry, no record of the person's name. ) The Albuquerque company was retained as a branch location and World Wide continued. The concept was to form other branch locations, but using independent lease “super brokers,” who were part of the exclusive network.

Thorne's idea was to look a personal credit scores and not collateral. Literature from him to the outside sales force he was created said CPL “... considered all transactions except aircraft and automobiles at the time. Our marketplace was $2,500 to $50,000, requiring the lessee to have at least three years in business, along with good credit.”

Thorne actively courted broker transactions, particularly in the smaller amounts. The company was the first note to require financial statements on lease transactions below $15,000 ( it was the policy that financial statements may overcome the “application only” submission). The idea was to create faster approval time, and attract more lease brokers.

Colonial Pacific continued its vendor programs, almost all on a recourse basis. CPL ran all credit investigations. Vendors were screened for this program, and according to literature of the time, “ Since it does not require financials of the lessee, it must place a great deal of trust in that vendor. The vendor's ability to service the equipment and its reputation for doing so are essential ingredientsin Colonial's protection.”

Colonial maintained its own sales force, but in the first four years since

Thorne took over, more and more business was coming from lease brokers. The change started taking place were Dennis Doyon, Gordon Roberts, and others become more “broker coordinators.” Thorne then had the idea to open territories.

According to literature of the day, “ In order to prescreen brokers in cities distant from its headquarters, Colonial will establish one of its brokers in each city as a “broker screen”. Any broker unknown to the company who approaches Colonial from one of those cities will be asked to submit his transaction through the broker screen until such time as the company feels comfortable dealing with him directly.”

This was the start of what was later to become the Pegasus program. There were several “super brokers” who built up “fiefdoms,” based primarily from lease brokers who could not qualify due to volume, experience, or perhaps credit, to represent Colonial. The lease broker went through a super broker, who not only “filtered,” but with a volume would increase the commission or percentage shared ( often including the residual of the lease ).

“ Colonial also protects its brokers. If a transaction is brought in from a vendor originally introduced to Colonial through a broker, Colonial will protect the broker,” said literature in 1981.

Thorne attracted many brokers, as he was the first in the industry to actively pursue this marketplace. Until this time, lease brokers were considered not experienced or reliable, and vendor business through direct leasing salesmen was the key to leasing business.

“In its price range, Colonial does very little rate bargaining,” Thorpe said. “ In all other areas, however, it will negotiate. It will doe skips and almost anything else consistent with good credit decisions to make the deal. It prefers to retain Investment Tax Credit since the shelter requirements of Roseburg Lumber are very large, but it is perfectly willing to pass ITC for an increase in rate.”

CPL underwent several changes in management again. Roseburg both faced the changing lumber industry, plus a capital program for a growing leasing company.

According to a press release of this event, “ Colonial-Pacific Leasing Co. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RLC Industries Co. of Roseburg, Oregon. The parent company is one of the nation's major producers of lumber, plywood, paneling, particle-board and wood chips for pulp and paper manufacturing doing business as Roseburg Forest Products Co.

The ownership of RLC Industries co. recently decided to concentrate its investments in the wood products bushiness. Thus Colonial-Pacific, its only financial service business, does not fit into RLC Industries Co.'s future plans even though Colonial-Pacific's financial results and tax benefits have produced an excellent return on RLC Industries Co.'s investment. The sale of the business is contemplated to be structured as a sale of the stock of Colonial Pacific. “

Again, along came a company who thought their product, postage meters, which had catapulted U.S. Leasing, could be of better financial

benefit if they also controlled the financing.

Bruce Kropschot, on our Leasing News Advisory Board, formed Kropschot Financial Services in 1986. His first client was Colonial Pacific. He arranged the sale to Pitney Bowes Credit Corporation, which was finalized on December 31,1986. According to public records, at their fiscal year-end of March 31, 1986, prior to the completion of the sale, the company had net lease receivables of $92 million. Mike Burns was the president.

In February 1987, “ James Merrilees accepted a newly created position of vice president of operations for Colonial Pacific Leasing Corporation., The company was the first to use a “wide area network,” before the days of the internet. BLISS was the first available for brokers and lessors. It was a telephone direct “dial-up” to the CPL main frame computer. Rich Viola, Chief Financial Officer, named the program: Broker-Lessor Information System Support. It revolutionized the processing of applications and fundings of transactions.

Express Lease was trade marked by Pitney Bowes Credit/Colonial Pacific Leasing. Merrilees enjoyed the support of the parent company. ( After he left, he said in a conversation it was the happiest time of his career and had many good things to say about Pitney Bowes. )

At this time, the volume was $215 million a year. While General Electric was the largest in the industry, there is no doubt at this time Colonial Pacific was the leader in the broker network.

Merrilees also set the goal to have a portfolio of 20% “commercial” and 80% “application only.” While 95% of the transactions may have been by credit application, the 5% “financial statement”

submission applications brought in 20% each year to the portfolio. Curt Lynse with his staff was responsible for the growth of the commercial division, who's ability were not advertised, but those that knew financial statement credit, came here.( Lynse was manager of commercial credit, then sales manager, bringing the commercial division to 25% of the portfolio, and in 1998 moved to the small ticket division. He is leaving the end of this month and will reportedly be staying in the Portland area. In this period, the commercial division grew to 33% of the portfolio. )

Merrilees had inherited a vendor program. While other leasing companies had two divisions, such as Lyon Financial and Manifest Financial, Merrilees saw this as a conflict, particularly to attract the “cream” of the broker business. This was the beginning of brokers being accepted into leasing associations, to becoming more educated, some actually building their own leasing porfolio's, to leasing companies using third parties rather than their own salesmen, and computers were starting to change the way everyone was doing business, including the leasing business.

Pegasus was his answer. Colonial chose their six top lease brokers, gave them the vendor accounts, and actually let them operate with the CLP logo. The transition was controversial, and meetings were held in the regions of the new Pegasus dealers to explain the program to all Colonial brokers. While Merrilees did not attend, each Pegasus “dealer” ran the program, I can personally testify that if you made a complaint or had some questions, he heard about it, and would personally call you on the telephone as he wanted this program to work. It did.

In 1992, Merrilees was the San Francisco WAEL Conference Chairman, and president of Colonial Pacific Leasing Corporation, Tualatin, Oregon. The credit scoring system, which was started in 1987, was in full swing, with Steve Dunham's Leasing Associates as one of the top producers. Speed was king. Dunham, among others, was turning the world around in small ticket volume, based primarily on re-brokered transactions.

January, 1994 he left. The spring edition of the 1994

WAEL shows Merrilees did “ roll along” and became president and general manager of Nations Financial Business Leasing Group, Beaverton, Oregon. ( aka Greyrock and Nations Credit ). This group was purchased by Textron Financial and became their Vendor Finance Division ( 1999 through July 2001)

At the time of his departure, Merrilees told everyone he was leaving because of “this great opportunity.” He was reportedly very happy. Ironically, Mike Cingari had quit Pitney Bowes and gone to work for Nations Credit. It was he who recruited Jim Merrilees. Cingari later was to become president of Colonial Pacific. He would then leave, start MCM Leasing, bankrupting it in the near future. The situation of Merrilees leaving and Cingari taking over has been viewed as the CPL “jump the shark” key event, and perhaps the start of its demise.

As Merrilees left, Colonial had an application only produce named “Express Lease” which was approximately 80% of new volume. The remaining business was financial statement business termed the “Commercial Program.” Pegasus was formed to run vendor programs through six of the existing Colonial brokers. This program later was used to do the bulk of the rebrokered transactions.

NOTE: the BLISS system was introduced to the brokers as an on-line application process during this time. Everything was in place. A few key people did follow with Merrilees, but the company was humming. Pitney-Bowes hired Mike Cinagri to lead Colonial in 1994.

Small ticket scoring, or “application only” transactions grew to $150,000 for returning customers.

1998 United Association of Equipment Leasing Newsline, Summer, Conference Edition, “ Curt Lysne, CLP, a former manager and account executive at CPLC has returned as director of the company's Commercial Strategic Business Unit ( SBU ). With over 12 years of experience in the leasing industry, Lynse has owned his own brokerage firm and independent contracting business and worked for various funding sources.”

October 12, 1998 Press Release

-- General Electric Capital Corp. has agreed to buy Pitney Bowes Inc. unit Colonial Pacific Leasing Corp. for just over $800 million in cash, according to Charles McBride at Pitney Bowes. The unit will be added to GECC's Vendor Financial Services unit, and will bring approximately 250 employees, and a nationwide network of 355 brokers and lessors to Vendor.

Founded in 1961 and based in Portland, OR, Colonial Pacific has assets of approximately $750 million and finances small-ticket leases on a variety of commercial equipment, from medical imaging machines to computers. Its average ticket size is around $30,000.

The company had revenues of about $75 million for the six months ended June 30, following 1997 full-year revenues of $191 million. Year-to-date leasing volume was roughly $500 million at June 30.

For GE Capital, the acquisitions adds what Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst E. Reilly Tierney calls "an established player rather than a younger, faster-growing" competitor. Tierney added that Colonial Pacific brings with it a solid customer base and a demonstrated track record.

Pitney Bowes, based in GECC's home town of Stamford, CT, produces postage meters, mailing systems, copiers and other equipment, and is in the midst of a year-long restructuring, of which the sale of Colonial Pacific is only the latest move. In August 1997, it sold off $300 million in aircraft and other leases, and contributed another $800 million in leases to a joint venture it created with GATX Corp.

Recent shake-ups in the equity markets may leave companies like GE Capital, which have the comforting support of a gigantic, out-of-sector parent, in a prime position to capitalize on softness elsewhere in the industry. While many members of the usual host of in-sector buyers may be suffering from weakness in stock price, GE Capital, with its deep, all-cash pockets, could be doing some bargain hunting.

January 2, 2000 Press Release

– Jim Svinth has been named General Manager/ President of GE Capital Colonial Pacific Leasing, a leader in the small ticket equipment leasing industry.

Svinth takes over at CPL after recently serving as Senior Vice President, Institutional Lending at GE Capital Mortgage Services, Inc. (GECMSI) in Cherry Hill, NJ. Among his many contributions at GECMSI was the digitization of the business' origination front-end, providing customers with on-line access to pricing, application, approval, status and funding confirmation.

"I'm excited at the opportunity of leading a business that has been so dedicated to the broker market," Svinth notes." I look forward to working with our customers and finding ways to help them grow and succeed, so we can too."

In his role at GE Capital Mortgage Services, Svinth was the senior leader of Correspondent and Broker Originations responsible for national sales and operations. In addition, he was responsible for Cooper River Funding, a $1 billion secured warehouse-lending facility. GECMSI, which funded $11 billion in 1999, purchases loans on a flow and bulk basis ($5 million to $100 million) from intermediaries.

Prior to joining GE, Svinth held senior level positions in capital markets, risk management and product management with several leading lending institutions, including Wells Fargo (formerly Norwest), Prudential and Citigroup.

Svinth grew up in the Northwest earning his Bachelors Degree at the University of Washington and his Masters Degree at Washington State University, both in business and finance.

Colonial Pacific Leasing is a part of GE Capital's Vendor Financial Services division, a global leader in providing financial and service solutions to equipment manufacturers, dealers, distributors and end-users. GE Capital is a global financial services company consisting of 28 niche-focused businesses focused on consumer services, specialty insurance, equipment management, specialized financing and mid-market financing.

April 6, 2000 , this announcement was made by fax: “Sub-broker business will no longer be accepted." Discounting commission limits have been lowered as well as broker commission limits.

In reality, a few were allowed to accept “re-brokered business.” One

of them was Steve Dunham's Leasing Associates, one of the first to use BLISS and the company used first to test programs, including the Pegasus program, was allowed to submit re-brokered deals. His story in the leasing business would make fascinating reading, and perhaps when he retires, he could even write a book about.

Dunham's company was not considered a “super broker,” but a proven marketing arm for Colonial Pacific.

Readers can see from the Leasing News List

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

At about this time all major leasing companies were having troubles. Discounters couldn't place the “C” and “D” paper, deals from the previous year were started to jump back up and bite portfolio's, as collectors were having a tougher and tougher time and the roller coaster was over. It would be by Fall that the list grew even more serious with fallouts, mergers, fraud, foul play, and what was once a fun business, too easy to get into, was fulfilling the Robert Morris Associates analysis of equipment leasing that lenders and certainly

the stock market had ignored.

February 6, 2001, noon, Colonial Pacific closed former Tilden operation in Hauppauge, New York and Anaheim, California,

It reportedly came as a surprise to employees, we were told. They were not "upset," but surprised. They specifically did not want to talk "on" or "off" the record.

We had reported in Leasing News, September 21,2000: "Tilden in its current form will be closed down and folded into GE\Colonial Pacific."

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/September/9-21-00.htm

With the recent consolidation, and from the original news in September, this was not a surprise to regular readers of Leasing News. Many brokers were surprised as being “cut off.”

The official announcement read:

CPL announces closure of Tilden Financial

Some of you may be aware that we announced last Fall that GE Capital Tilden Financial was transitioning to become a part of GE Capital Colonial Pacific Leasing. After continued assessment and evaluation, we came to the conclusion that it was best it we consolidated the entire business into one location.

Therefore, effective today at noon Eastern Time, the offices of Tilden Financial in both Hauppaugo, New York and Anaheim, California will be closed and all business activities will be relocated to Colonial Pacific Leasing in Portland, Oregon.

We made this decision for the following reasons:

o We can expand our product offering to our customers, including the addition of Tilden's expertise in processing structured transactions.

o We are able to leverage synergies between the two businesses and eliminate any confusion in the marketplace of having two separate GE businesses focusing on the same origination channel.

o We can gain efficiencies by eliminating redundancies, reducing costs and fully utilizing the capacity at CPL.

We think you'll benefit from having one location to send all your lease transactions-everything from App-Only to commercial to structured transactions.

Our commitment to servicing your needs is as strong as ever. The people and resources are in place to make a smooth transition of Tilden's operations into our offices in Portland.

May 18, 2001 Press Release

- Denise Egloria has been named Account Manager for GE Capital Colonial Pacific Leasing, reporting to Jay McBee, Sales Manager.

Egloria will service brokers of GE Capital Colonial Pacific Leasing in the Midwest. She comes to Colonial Pacific with over nine years of experience in the financial industry, including positions in sales, customer service and operations.

Egloria's experience includes serving as Operations Manager at Pacific One Bank and then Branch Customer Service Manager for Bank of the West.

GE Capital Colonial Pacific Leasing is a leading financial services company, providing businesses with practical financing solutions through a nationwide network of brokers and lessors.

The above is the last press release on the Colonial Pacific web site. Nothing else from this date is noted.

With the acquisition of Mellon and Heller, a large rooftop was created in Chicago, meaning capacity, and GE simply wanted the leasing operation under one rooftop.

CPL/GE at the beginning of the month had over 500 brokers, according to a highly reliable source. Some 15% to 20% were chosen to remain, based solely on volume and profitability. There is no appeal process. The rumor about attracting new broker business the first of the year was questioned as to why GE would go through this, and then start again. Basically Leasing News was told this was not true. There is not plan to revamp. There is no plan to repeat the procedures in Portland, Oregon, meaning broker protection from return business, customer or vendor accounts.

As one past president, who does not want to be “quoted” said: “The company served the broker community for years like no other company has. It was a good, long run for the brokers, lessors and employees.”

It is said the General Electric buys not the leasing company or its people, but the portfolio. They are like the Borg in Star Trek, you either fit in, or eventually you are squeezed or transferred out. For instance, today there is no more broker program at GE that service these CPL “agencies,” including Steve Dunham's Lease Associates.

Coda: Leasing News would like to thank Bruce Kropschot for his help. If it is “public information,” he is very helpful. If it is confidential or private, I guarantee he doesn't even want to give us background or even talk about it. Confidentiality is his business. There were others who also contributed, but did not want to be quoted or acknowledged. There were many who we contacted who evidently did not want to contribute, after attempting twice to obtain a comment “on” or “off the record.”

We were unable to confirm that Mr. John Thorne had become ill, and subsequently died of a “brain hemorrhage.” If there is any corrections or additions for our “on line” version, we welcome it. editor )

[headlines]
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This Day in History

    1497 - The first European to set foot on the North American continent after the Vikings was John Cabot (also spelled Cabot, Cabotto, Caboote, Gabote, Calbot, or Talbot), a mariner who was probably born in Genoa, Italy. In 1496, King Henry VII of England granted Cabot a charter to sail west to Asia and set up a spice-trade monopoly. Cabot's ship, a 70-foot caravel called the Matthew, embarked from Bristol, England, on May 27, 1497, and arrived on the coast of Newfoundland---or possibly Maine---on June 24. After planting the English and Venetian flags, Cabot and his men spent a few hours exploring the landing site, then returned to their ship. According to historians, Christopher Columbus was attempting to follow
Cabot’s route; however, he never landed in North America, but in the
what is now called the Caribbean.
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/education/fact_files/fact_cabot.html
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/journals/EH/EH33/croxto33.html
    1579 - The first Christian religious service in English on the Pacific Coast was the Holy Communion service conducted at San Francisco Bay, CA, by the Reverend Francis Fletcher, who read from the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. Fletcher was chaplain on Sir Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, during its voyage of circumnavigation from 1577 to 1580. Drake named the place Nova Albion, Latin for New England. A 57-foot marble cross commemorates the event in Golden Gate Park. There is a controversy this day as to where he actually anchored; many think it is Bolinas Bay in Marin County, as his log so indicates, and a plaque so describes (but that is another story). He navigated the North Coast of California.
http://www.longcamp.com/nav.html
    1647 - The first woman in America to appeal for the right to vote was Margaret Brent, a niece of Lord Baltimore, the founder of the colony of Maryland. She came to America from England in January, 1638, and was the first woman in Maryland to own property in her own name. She became one of the colony's principal landowners and a person of influence, raising troop of soldiers in 1644. On June 24, 1647, she appealed for the right to vote in the colonial assembly by virtue of her position as secretary to Governor Leonard Calvert, asking for a “place and voyce,” but was ejected from the meetings. At the death of Calvert, she became his executor and acting governor, president over the General Assembly, but was refused a voice in the affairs of the government as “it would set a bad example to the wives of the colony.” She moved to Virginia in 1650.
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/1998/brent.html
    1664 – The New Jersey colony was established. Dutch and Swedish settlers founded parts of the present state as New Netherland and New Sweden. In 1664 the entire area, surrendered to the English, gained its current name. With the Treaty of Westminster in 1674, London formally gained control of the region; it retained that control until the Revolutionary War. Charles II gave the region between New England and Maryland to his brother, the Duke of York), which was renamed New York. Soon thereafter, he granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two friends who had been loyal to him through the English Civil War, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton. That part of New Netherland was named New Jersey after the English Channel Island of Jersey.
    1675 – In colonial New England, King Philip’s War begins when a band of Wampanoag warriors raid the border settlement of Swansee, Massachusetts, and massacre the English colonists there. In the early 1670s, 50 years of peace between the Plymouth colony and the local Wampanoag Indians began to deteriorate when the rapidly expanding settlement forced land sales on the tribe. Reacting to increasing Native American hostility, the English met with King Philip, chief of the Wampanoag, and demanded that his forces surrender their arms. The Wampanoag did so, but in 1675, a Christian Native American who had been acting as an informer to the English was murdered, and three Wampanoag were tried and executed for the crime. King Philip responded by ordering the attack on Swansee on June 24, which set off a series of Wampanoag raids in which several settlements were destroyed and scores of colonists massacred. The colonists retaliated by destroying a number of Indian villages. The destruction of a Narragansett village by the English brought the Narragansett into the conflict on the side of King Philip and, within a few months, several other tribes and all the New England colonies were involved. In early 1676, the Narragansett were defeated and their chief killed, while the Wampanoag and their other allies were gradually subdued. King Philip’s wife and son were captured, and on August 12, 1676, after his secret headquarters in Mount Hope, Rhode Island, was discovered, Philip was assassinated by a Native American in the service of the English. The English drew and quartered Philip’s body and publicly displayed his head on a stake in Plymouth. King Philip’s War, which was extremely costly to the colonists of southern New England, ended the Native American presence in the region and inaugurated a period of unimpeded colonial expansion.
    1714 - Considered the birthday of Matthew Thornton (d. 1803), signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Ireland.
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/thornton.htm
    1813 - Birthday of Henry Ward Beecher (d. 1887), famous American clergyman and orator, at Litchfield, CT. His dying words were, “Now comes the mystery.”
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASbeecher.htm
    1816 - The cold weather of early June finally gave way to several days of 90-degree heat in Massachusetts, including a reading of 99 degrees at Salem.
    1839 – Birthday of Gustavus Swift (d. 1903), at Sandwich, MA. He was an industrialist who revolutionized the meat-packing industry. He developed the refrigerator railcar that allowed the transportation of processed meat, and his company was one of the first that implemented vertical integration of multiple departments within the organizational structure. He used animal by-products for products such as glue, fertilizer and soap.
    1842 - Ambrose Bierce (d. 1914) was born in Meigs County, Ohio. American newspaper columnist, satirist, essayist, short-story writer and novelist who disappeared in the Mexican Revolution. Presumably died in the siege of Ojinega in January, 1914. Strongly influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, whose experiences in the Civil War marked him for life.
http://www.literature-web.net/bierce
http://www.creative.net/~alang/lit/horror/abierce.sht
    1846 - Col. Castro's forces from Monterey, under the command of Joaquín de la Torre, fought the "Battle of Olompali" north of San Rafael with Frémont's troops from Sonoma. Two Americans and five or six Californios were killed. (one time home of the Grateful Dead)
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=22728
http://www.chezbabcock.com/genealogy/histories/Olompali.txt
    1850 - The San Francisco Town Council passed an ordinance for the proper organization of the Fire Department. Rules and regulations were adopted for the first time. Destruction by fire was common in the West, as it was earlier in the East, and having a fire department was paramount for survival in a city due to all the buildings being made of wood and lighted by gas or oil wick.
    1864 – Colorado Governor John Evans warns that all peaceful Indians in the region must report to the Sand Creek reservation or risk being attacked, creating the conditions that will lead to the infamous Sand Creek Massacre.
    1869 - Abolitionist Mary Ellen "Mammy" Pleasant is named Voodoo Queen of San Francisco. http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/mepleasant.html
    1880 - Agnes Nestor (d. 1948) birthday, Grand Rapids, MI. U.S. labor leader. She emerged as the leader of the 1898 women glove-maker's strike in Chicago when she was only 18. The strike victory ended the pay deduction women had to pay for the rental of the machines the women used to sew gloves. A short time later, she led the women into their own union because men did not always support women's needs. She held posts with the International Glove Workers Union for the rest of her life and served as president of the Chicago Women's Trade Union League, 1913-1948.   She was a longtime advocate of the eight-hour day that became a reality in 1937. Child labor, minimum wage, maternity-health, and women's suffrage were also part of her life's work.
http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/images/hall/nestor.jpg
http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAWkenney.htm
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5728/
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.u
http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_nestor_agnes.htm k/USAWnestor.htm
    1880 - "O Canada," with music by Calixa Lavallee and French lyrics by Judge A.B. Routhier, was performed for the first time at the Skaters' Pavilion in Quebec City. Three bands, playing together, performed "O Canada" during a banquet at a national convention of French Canadians. Canada's future national anthem was reported to have been received enthusiastically.
    1885 - The first African-American Episcopal bishop was the Reverend Samuel David Ferguson, who was elected to the House of Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church.   He was consecrated in 1885, at Grace Church, New York City, as the successor of the Missionary Bishop of Liberia.
http://newark.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/blackexperience.html
    1895 - Birthday of William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey (d. 1983), boxing heavyweight champion and sports icon of the 1920s, at Manassa, CO. Dempsey boxed under several pseudonyms in western mining camps, came east and picked up Jack “Doc” Kearns as his manager. After defeating all available heavyweights, Dempsey took on champion Jesse Willard in Toledo, OH, on July 4, 1919. Dempsey won when Willard failed to answer the bell for the fourth round. He reigned as champ for seven years but defended his title only six times, losing to Gene Tunney in 1926. Following his boxing career, he became a successful New York restaurateur.
    1900 - Blues singer-guitarist Memphis Minnie was born Lizzie Douglas (d. 1973), Algiers, LA.
http://www.blueflamecafe.com/index.html
http://www.ping.be/ml-cmb/mmindex.htm
    1916 - Birthday of John Ciardi (d. 1986) at Boston, MA. American poet, critic, translator, teacher, etymologist and author of children's books. John Anthony Ciardi's criticism and other writings were often described as honest.
http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=697&CFID=9794231
& CFTOKEN=6584556
    1916 - The most lucrative movie contract to the time was signed by actress Mary Pickford. She inked the first seven-figure Hollywood deal. Pickford would get $250,000 per film with a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 a week against half of the profits, including bonuses and the right of approval of all creative aspects of her films. Not a bad deal for the former vaudeville and stage actress, who once appeared on Broadway with Cecil B. DeMille in "The Warrens of Virginia" for a measly $25 a week.
    1917 - Portia White’s (d. 1968) birthday, Truro, Nova Scotia. African-Canadian concert and operatic contralto.
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~jay/pages/docs/who.html
http://www.acappellacanada.ca/cdwhite/portia.html
    1922 - The American Professional Football Association took on a new name. They decided to name themselves the National Football League.
    1924 - Six men at a rock quarry south of Winston-Salem, NC, sought shelter from a thunderstorm. The structure chosen contained a quantity of dynamite. Lightning struck a near-by tree causing the dynamite to explode. The men were killed instantly.
    1929 - Bessie Smith records sound-track for her only movie, “St. Louis Blues.”
http://www.blueflamecafe.com/index.html
    1930 - Dr. Albert Hoyt Taylor and Leo C. Young of the Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory, Anacostia, DC (now part of Washington DC), discovered radar by noting that airplanes reflect radio waves even though they fly above the transmitter and receiver, rather than between them.
    1931 - Lili de Alvarez shocks social propriety by playing at Wimbledon in shorts instead of the longish, hampering dresses that were de rigueur.
    1936 - Mary Jane McLeod Bethune (d. 1955), born in Mayesville, SC, the daughter of slaves, became the first Federal administrator who was an African-American woman. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt named her director of the Negro Division of the National Youth Administration. In 1904, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls, later known as Bethune-Cookman College, located in Daytona Beach, FL. She was also the founder and first president of the National Council of Negro Women. In 1991, her home and offices in Washington, DC, were designated a national historic landmark.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/dreamteam/marybethune.html
http://www.nahc.org/NAHC/Val/Columns/SC10-6.html
   [Wiki: Jun 27]1942 - Pianist Bruce Johnston was born Benjamin Baldwin in Peoria, IL. He joined the touring version of The Beach Boys in 1965 when Brian Wilson decided to quit touring after a nervous breakdown. Johnston has continued to be associated with The Beach Boys over the past quarter century, both as performer and producer.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?UID=2:55:11|PM&p=amg&sql=B18553
http://www.del-fi.com/albumcovers/ac71228.html
(My high school friend, who also played piano in my band, and he would reciprocate when someone was sick in his band and he needed a replacement.
    1944 - Jeff Beck, one of the great rock guitarists, was born in Surrey, England. Beck's first important band was the Yardbirds, where he was the replacement for Eric Clapton in 1964. In 1967, he formed the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. The beginnings of heavy metal could be heard in the group's blues-based songs. The Jeff Beck Group broke up after only two albums, and Beck was then sidelined for 18 months with a fractured skull suffered in a car accident. A new Jeff Beck Group put out two more LPs before Beck formed a band with two former members of Vanilla Fudge, Tim Bogert and Carmen Appice. But that group dissolved as well, in 1974. Beck then began playing fusion music, often in collaboration with keyboards player Jan Hammer. Jeff Beck has made only rare appearances since 1980, but his aggressive style has heavily influenced rock guitarists who followed him.
   1947 - Mick Fleetwood, drummer with Fleetwood Mac, was born in London. Originally a blues band when it was formed in 1965, Fleetwood Mac developed into a pop group that put out one of the world's best-selling albums, "Rumours," in 1977. It sold 15-million copies. In 1980, Mick Fleetwood recorded a solo album in Ghana with African musicians. Fleetwood Mac made a comeback in 1987 with the album "Tango in the Night." He lives in Hawaii, where he has a restaurant in Lahaina. Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
    1948 - In the early days of the Cold War, the Soviet Union challenged the West's right of access to Berlin. The Soviets created a blockade and an airlift to supply some 2,250,000 people resulted. The airlift lasted a total of 321 days and brought into Berlin 1,592,787 tons of supplies. Joseph Stalin finally backed down and the blockade ended on May 12, 1949.
    1948 - Thomas Dewey of New York became the first presidential candidate to be re-nominated after a defeat. He lost to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1944 and won re-nomination this day in 1948. He was defeated in the 1948 election by Harry S. Truman, Roosevelt's Vice-President who assumed office after the death of the President in office. The newspapers of the Election Day had printed up early morning editions that said “Dewey Wins,” but it was Truman, who stumped for election all over the United States, pulling one of the biggest American political upsets. He won 24,104,836 popular votes to Dewey's 21,969,500; the electoral vote was 304 to 189. Dewey received 22,006,285 votes in 1944 but only 99 electoral votes. In the 1948 election, Strom Thurmond, States Rights Democrat, 1,169,312; Henry A. Wallace, Progressive, 1,157,172, which pollsters said would draw votes from Truman in the South. The key was Truman went out and worked for the votes, train stop-to-train stop, where the mustached Dewey and his advisors thought he had the election in the bag.
    1949 - “Hopalong Cassidy” premiered on television, the first TV western. It starred William Boyd in the title role as a hero who wore black and rode a white horse, Topper.   The original episodes were segments edited from 66 movie features of Hopalong Cassidy and his sidekick, Red Connors, played by Edgar Buchanan. The films were so popular that Boyd produced episodes especially for TV with Gabby Hayes as his sidekick. During his reign, Hoppy had many sidekicks. It was popular for us boys to wear his two six guns and black hat. Television was about to introduce many Western heroes, as all the Saturday Western movies were brought back to the tube.
http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/memories/
show_mem.php?ID=S1564
    1949 – Phyllis George (d. 2020) was born in Denton TX. A former Miss America (1970), she was the first woman to hold an on-air position in a national televised sports broadcasting show when she became an anchor on the CBS Sports pre-game show, “The NFL Today."
    1951 - *BENNETT, EMORY L., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Sobangsan, Korea, 24 June 1951. Entered service at: Cocoa, Fla. Born: 20 December 1929, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. G.O. No.: 11, 1 February 1952. Citation: Pfc. Bennett a member of Company B, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations. At approximately 0200 hours, 2 enemy battalions swarmed up the ridge line in a ferocious banzai charge in an attempt to dislodge Pfc. Bennett's company from its defensive positions. Meeting the challenge, the gallant defenders delivered destructive retaliation, but the enemy pressed the assault with fanatical determination and the integrity of the perimeter was imperiled. Fully aware of the odds against him, Pfc. Bennett unhesitatingly left his foxhole, moved through withering fire, stood within full view of the enemy, and, employing his automatic rifle, poured crippling fire into the ranks of the onrushing assailants, inflicting numerous casualties. Although wounded, Pfc. Bennett gallantly maintained his l-man defense and the attack was momentarily halted. During this lull in battle, the company regrouped for counterattack, but the numerically superior foe soon infiltrated into the position. Upon orders to move back, Pfc. Bennett voluntarily remained to provide covering fire for the withdrawing elements, and, defying the enemy, continued to sweep the charging foe with devastating fire until mortally wounded. His willing self-sacrifice and intrepid actions saved the position from being overrun and enabled the company to affect an orderly withdrawal. Pfc. Bennett's unflinching courage and consummate devotion to duty reflect lasting glory on himself and the military service.
    1951 - Twelve inches of hail broke windows and roofs, and dented automobiles, causing more than $14 million damage. The storm plowed 200 miles from Kingmand County, KS into Missouri, with the Wichita area hardest hit. It was the most disastrous hailstorm of record for the state of Kansas.
    1951 - Top Hits
“Too Young” - Nat King Cole
“On Top of Old Smokey” - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
“How High the Moon” - Les Paul & Mary Ford
“I Want to Be with You Always” - Lefty Frizzell
    1952 - President Harry Truman signs the bill that directs women be commissioned officers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force as various medical specialists such as dentists, doctors, osteopaths, and veterinarians.
    1952 - Thunderstorms produced a swath of hail 60 miles long and 3.5 miles wide through parts of Hand, Beadle, Kingsbury, Miner and Jerauld counties in South Dakota. Poultry and livestock were killed, and many persons were injured. Hail ten inches in circumference was reported at Huron, SD.
    1952 - Eddie Arcaro set a thoroughbred racing record for American jockeys by winning his 3,000th horse race.
    1953 - Al Kaline signed with the Detroit Tigers following his graduation from high school. The future all-star and Hall of Famer of the Tigers was 18 years old.
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/
hofer_bios/kaline_al.htm
    1955 - In an effort to speed up the game, primarily for television viewers, Major League baseball announces a new rule which requires a pitcher to deliver the ball within 20 seconds after taking a pitching position.
    1957 - Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald session on Verve “Take the A Train.”
    1959 - Top Hits
“Personality” - Lloyd Price
“Lonely Boy” - Paul Anka
“Along Came Jones” - The Coasters
“The Battle of New Orleans” - Johnny Horton
    1961 - President John F. Kennedy assigned Vice-President Lyndon Johnson with unifying the US satellite program. Not given proper credit,
President Johnson played a significant role in the development of satellites.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun24.html
    1962 - The longest game ever played in Yankee history ends thanks to a home run hit by Jack Reed in the 22nd inning. The Mississippi native's lone big league career homer helps the Bronx Bombers beat Detroit in Tiger Stadium, 9-7.
    1964 - Sam Cooke starts a two week stay at New York's Copacabana Club. A 70-foot billboard announcing the engagement is erected in Times Square
    1966 - Lenny Bruce and Mothers of Invention @ S.F. Fillmore Auditorium
Artist: Wes Wilson & Edmund Shea
http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/lenny-bruce-postcard/BG013-PC.html
    1966 - Show: Zig-Zag Man, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Bill Ham @ SF Avalon Ballroom

Artist: Stanley Mouse
http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/big-brother-and-the-holding-company-poster/FD014-PO.html
    1966 - John Lennon's second whimsical book of original prose, poetry, and drawings, entitled “A Spaniard In The Works,” is published in his native England
    1966 - In an watershed moment for the brother/sister duo later known as the Carpenters, the jazz combo known as the Richard Carpenter Trio wins the Hollywood Bowl's "Battle of the Bands" contest.
    1966 - With the McCoys and the Standells opening, the Rolling Stones' 1966 tour begins at the Manning Bowl in Lynn, Massachusetts, inciting yet another crowd riot that the police counteract with tear gas. Rock concerts are banned from the venue for nearly two decades.
    1967 - 5th Dimension make their TV debut performing their hit single "Up, Up and Away" on ABC's American Bandstand.
    1967 - Guitarist Zal Yanovsky quits the Lovin' Spoonful after their gig at the Forest Hills Music Festival in New York.
    1967 - Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" enters the Billboard chart, where it will peak at #5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group's organist, Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Orchestral Suite in D," composed between 1725 and 1739.
    1967 - Top Hits
“Groovin'” - The Young Rascals
“She'd Rather Be with Me” - The Turtles
“Windy” - The Association
“All the Time” - Jack Greene
    1968 - Jim Northrup becomes the sixth big leaguer to hit two grand slams in the same game. The “Slammer’s” power surge in the fifth (off Eddie Fisher) and sixth (off Billy Rohr) frames enables the Tigers to rout the Indians at Cleveland Stadium, 14-3.
    1970 - On an amendment offered by Senator Robert Dole (R-Kansas) to the Foreign Military Sales Act, the Senate votes 81 to 10 to repeal the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. In August, 1964, after North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers (in what became known as the Tonkin Gulf incident), President Johnson asked Congress for a resolution authorizing the president "to take all necessary measures" to defend Southeast Asia. Subsequently, Congress passed Public Law 88-408, which became known as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, giving the president the power to take whatever actions he deemed necessary, including "the use of armed force." The resolution passed 82 to 2 in the Senate, where Wayne K. Morse (D- Oregon) and Ernest Gruening (D-Alaska) were the only dissenting votes; the bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives. President Johnson signed it into law on August 10. It became the legal basis for every presidential action taken by the Johnson administration during its conduct of the war.
    1972 - "I Am Woman," by Helen Reddy, was released by Capitol Records. The number one tune (December 9, 1972) became an anthem for the feminist movement. Reddy, from Australia, made her stage debut when she was only four years old. She had her own TV program in the early 1960s. Reddy came to New York in 1966 and has appeared in the films "Airport 1975," "Pete's Dragon" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Reddy also had four million-sellers: "I Am Woman," "Delta Dawn," "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" and "Angie Baby." She had a total of 14 hits on the pop music charts.
http://www.helenreddy.com/
    1972 - At tonight's show in Fort Worth, TX, the Rolling Stones film the performance that would become the quadrophonic concert documentary “Ladies And Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones.”
    1973 - After an extensive two-year investigation, 19 major music label heads, including Clive Davis of Arista and the Gamble-Huff team behind Philadelphia International, are indicted by the state of New Jersey for "payola" practices and income tax evasion
    1973 - Legendary rock organist Al Kooper rejoins his first band, Blues Project, onstage during a concert in Central Park.
    1973 - In his first year of eligibility, Warren Spahn receives 316 of the 380 votes cast to become a member of the Hall of Fame. The southpaw, who recorded thirteen 20-win seasons, retired as the winningest left-handed pitcher in big league history with 363 victories.
    1975 - Top Hits
“Love Will Keep Us Together” - The Captain & Tennille
“When Will I Be Loved” - Linda Ronstadt
“Wildfire” - Michael Murphey
“You're My Best Friend” - Don Williams
    1975 - The U.S. Attorney in Newark, New Jersey hands down indictments to 19 music industry executives in a two year investigation. Counts of income tax evasion and payola are leveled. Among those named include: Clive Davis, former president of Columbia Records, and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, architects of the Philadelphia sound of the 70's.
    1977 – Madison, Wisconsin Police Detective Bruce Frey witnessed one of the strangest events of his career when he saw Elvis Presley jump out of his limo and stop two teenagers who were beating up a younger lad at a local gas station. Elvis said, "I'll take you on." Frey remembers: "They looked up at him, froze in mid-punch and the victim ran into the gas station." The pair quickly apologized and Elvis got back into the limo and headed for his hotel room at the Sheraton.
    1980 - Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon purchase the Mets for an estimated $21.1 million. The price tag was the highest amount ever paid for a baseball franchise until the Dodgers were sold for over $2 billion in 2012. Hedge fund owner Steve Cohen, a lifelong Mets fan, bought the Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020.
1983 - Pitcher Don Sutton of the Milwaukee Brewers struck out Alan Bannister of the Cleveland Indians, the 3,000th strikeout in his career. The Brewers won, 6-2. Sutton wound up his career with 3,574 strikeouts.
    1983 - Top Hits
“Flashdance...What a Feeling” - Irene Cara
“Time (Clock of the Heart)” - Culture Club
“Electric Avenue” - Eddy Grant
“You Can't Run from Love” - Eddie Rabbitt
    1984 - Joe Morgan of the Oakland A's hit the 256th home run of his career to break the record held by Rogers Hornsby for most home runs by a second baseman.
    1985 - The 1983 Heisman Trophy winner, Mike Rozier, jumped from the United States Football League to the Houston Oilers of the NFL. Rozier signed for more than two million dollars over a four-year period.
    1987 - Thunderstorms spawned six tornadoes in eastern Colorado. Baseball size hail was reported near Yoder, CO, and thunderstorm winds gusting to 92 mph derailed a train near Pratt, KS. The town of Gould, OK, was soaked with nearly an inch and a half of rain in just ten minutes.
    1988 - Forty-three cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Valentine NE reported an all-time record high of 110 degrees, and highs of 102 degrees at Casper, WY, 103 degrees at Reno, NV, and 106 degrees at Winnemucca, NV, were records for the month of June. Highs of 98 degrees at Logan, UT, and 109 degrees at Rapid City, SD, equaled June records. Lightning killed twenty-one cows near Conway, SC
    1989 - Paul Simon brought his "Graceland" tour to Moscow, playing the first of two concerts before 5,000 people in Gorky Park. It was Simon's first appearance in the Soviet Union.
    1989 - The Beatles finally get a US #1 Country hit when Rosanne Cash's cover of "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party" reaches the top spot.
    1991 - Top Hits
“Rush, Rush” - Paula Abdul
“Losing My Religion” - R.E.M.
“Unbelievable” - EMF
“The Thunder Rolls” - Garth Brooks
    1992 - Portland, Oregon became the first city outside of New York to host the NBA draft. At the Portland Memorial Coliseum, the first overall pick went to the Orlando Magic who picked 7'1" center Shaquille O'Neal of LSU.
    1992 - Billy Joel's old alma mater, Hicksville High in Long Island, NY, awards the singer-songwriter an honorary diploma in place of the one he never stayed in school to receive.
    1993 - Hank Williams' illegitimate daughter Jett is awarded a piece of the country legend's estate from his son, Hank Jr.
    1997 – Seattle’s Randy Johnson struck out 19 and lost to the Oakland A’s.
    1998 - Johnny Cash makes his first public appearance since announcing his battle with Shy-Drager Syndrome, walking onstage at Kris Kristofferson's latest Nashville concert to sing Cash's hit "Sunday Morning Coming Down," written by Kris.
    1998 - AT&T announced that it was buying cable TV giant TCI for $31.7 billion. The deal let AT&T move closer to its goal of providing local phone and high speed Internet service to millions of U.S. homes
    1999 - Eric Clapton puts 100 of his guitars up for auction in New York at Christie's to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. His 1956 Fender Stratocaster, named Brownie, was sold for a record $497,500. The guitar was used to record "Layla." The auction helped raise nearly $5 million for the clinic.
    2001 - Believed to be an historical first, sixty-eight Major League umpires participate in a pre-season session to practice calling strikes as defined by the rule book. With the help of minor leaguers wearing tapes nine inches above their belts, the men in blue get a good look at pitches, normally called balls, which now will considered a strike as the rulebook interpretation of the zone will be enforced this upcoming season.
    2004 - US President George W. Bush awards the Medal of Freedom to Doris Day.
    2012 - Billboard.com named Olivia Newton-John's 1982 hit, "Physical" as The Sexiest Song of All Time. Other classic Rock songs that made the top ten were Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night," Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" and another Rod Stewart contribution, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy."
    2014 - The original lyrics to 'Like a Rolling Stone,' handwritten by Bob Dylan on hotel stationery, sold for $2 million at auction.
    2020 – NY Governor Cuomo announced that people arriving from nine states hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic must quarantine for two weeks.

Stanley Cup Champions:
    1995 - New Jersey Devils

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