Nominations for the prestigious awards ceremony, set to take place at Toronto's Liberty Grand, close this Friday (January 14)
This week is the final opportunity for mortgage professionals to submit their nominations for the 2022 Canadian Mortgage Awards (CMAs), with a closing date of January 14 for entries to the much-anticipated gala ceremony.
The 2022 awards are set to make their long-awaited return on April 28 as an in-person event at the “home” of the CMAs, Toronto’s Liberty Grand, after being staged virtually for two years due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Mortgage professionals from across the country will gather to toast the most outstanding performers in the industry across a range of different categories – 21 in total – recognizing the country’s finest brokers, brokerages, lenders, BDMs, underwriters, and service providers of the past year.
Excellence Awardees for each category are set to be announced by Canadian Mortgage Professional in March, with winners to be revealed at the awards show and profiled in a subsequent issue of CMP magazine.
The feeling of winning an award in front of peers and colleagues from across the mortgage industry is one that Christine Buemann (pictured below) described as a particularly meaningful one.
Buemann is a partner and mortgage broker at The Collective Mortgage Group, which came away with the New Brokerage of the Year Award at the 2021 CMAs.
That victory, she said, served as an affirmation of the hard work the Collective team had put in to get the brokerage off the ground, as well as the resolve it had shown to follow through on the original idea to found the company.
Read next: Nominations open for in-person Canadian Mortgage Awards 2022
“It’s very validating to feel as though you’ve stayed true to your purpose and your desire – what you find to be in alignment with your character,” she said. “It was also validating for that seemingly outrageous idea which goes against the flow of what everybody else in the industry tells you is the right way to do it.”
The original founding vision of Collective, Buemann said, was of a company built on transparency and trust, fostering a culture of connection and encouraging each individual to define success in their own way.
Being named the best new brokerage at the 2021 CMAs was an affirmation of the quality not only of the Collective team’s business, but equally of their character, she said.
“We have a very different business model. We’re not looking to be the biggest – we’re really all about quality over quantity,” she said.
“When you do something radically different, you need a lot of courage to overcome that initial fear, but I feel the anticipation of change is often far greater than the change itself. It’s really validating to feel as though we have the support.”
In her speech accepting the award on Collective’s behalf at last year’s event, Buemann expressed the hope that the victory would serve as an example of how determination and strength of character could overcome adversity and challenge.
“We ultimately hope to inspire others to have courage, to align their work with their values and fearlessly pursue their passions,” she said.
Read next: 2022 Canadian Mortgage Awards – major changes coming
With the ceremony having been held virtually last year, Buemann watched from her office – recalling clearly the moment when Collective was announced as the winner.
“I watched the ceremony because I love celebrating in everybody else’s successes, and as I’ve gotten to know more people in the industry I love watching them win,” she said. “When it came up [to the New Brokerage of the Year award] you get a little bit nervous – and then I literally stood and fist pumped the air when we won.”
Buemann said that the prospect of the CMAs returning as a live, in-person event for the first time in two years was a welcome development for the mortgage industry.
“I’ve been to the awards ceremonies before, and I’m really looking forward to the energy that people share in person – not just the recipients of the awards,” she said. “I think that’s a pretty special moment.”
Remember to get your nominations for the 2022 Canadian Mortgage Awards, held in conjunction with event partners, Coalition of Independent Mortgage Brokers of Canada (CIMBC), before the deadline closes this Friday (January 14).
The nomination process is completely free, and entries can be submitted by clicking here.
