21st Cares, Engagement, Awards, & a Farewell

August and September are busy months for just about everyone: school starts back and Saturdays are dedicated to football. For the 21^st Mortgage team, it’s no different. From volunteering and supporting community organizations, to engagement events, to Top Workplace recognition, to the retirement of David Jordan, we’ve done it all in August and September.

21^st Cares

Habitat for Humanity Women Build

August got started with a Habitat for Humanity Women Build project. 21^st was excited to have Team Members – Margaret Julian, Miriam Millsaps, Brooke Smith, and Barbie Spires – participate in the build. Similar to the 21^st Mortgage vision to bring families home with affordable loans, Habitat for Humanity strives to empower lives and craft communities by creating a world where everyone has a place to call home. Later in the month, we are happy to have more members of our team joining the Habitat Women Build to continue bringing families home.

GirlTalk Role Model of the Year: Kaylie Coward

Kaylie Coward, HR Generalist and Executive Assistant, was recognized at the 12^th Annual GirlTalk Gala Fashion Show as the 2023 Role Model of the Year. GirlTalk works to empower young women by reducing the likelihood of teen pregnancy and aiding in the furthering of their education. This year, GirlTalk began raising funds for a new house to help them achieve their mission.

Kaylie raised more than $11,000 for the organization and helped engage her fellow 21^st Team Members at the same time. In June, the 1^st Annual 21^st Mortgage KARM Prom was held at Bernadette’s Crystal Garden. Local organizations donated silent auction items and tickets were sold to Team Members with all proceeds going to benefit GirlTalk.

Beyond Engagement

Over the past year, engagement has been a focus for Bailey Anglin, Director of HR & Engagement, and her team. They see the importance of engaging Team Members beyond their desk every day.

2^nd Annual Spirit Week

The last week of August was filled with lots of fun and competition for our team. Spirit Week began as an innovative plan to encourage people to get away from the desk for a few minutes throughout each day of the week by engaging them in fun games, competition, and opportunities to give back to the community. Teams were formed inter-departmentally to compete in Kan Jam, Ladder Golf, Egg Races, and Trivia. The week ended with a sweet treat from Pelican’s SnoBalls and a Dunk Tank raising money for the American Heart Association in memory of former Team Member, Corey Jestice. The events of the week led up to the American Heart Association Heart Walk at Zoo Knoxville to bring awareness and raise funds to continue the AHA’s mission to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

Company Picnic

21^st Mortgage was happy to sponsor another year of the Company Picnic at Zoo Knoxville. More than 600 individuals joined one another for a day at the Zoo with food and opportunities to interact with Team Members and their families outside the office. The Company Picnic gives everyone an opportunity to celebrate their hard work with their friends and family.

The Award-Winning Traditions Continue

The 21^st Team has built a culture of winning. As the National Lender of the Year and National Floorplan Lender of the Year for more than 10 years, continuously improving to be the best is a common goal.

2023 Top Workplace Awards

Each year in August, Knox News recognizes the Top Workplaces in Knoxville. Earlier in the year, organizations were surveyed on areas of engagement, culture, leadership, training and development, and more to earn the recognition.

We are so excited to be recognized as a Top Workplace in the Large Business Category. This year 21^st was also recognized for the Leadership Award. A Team Member was quoted in the survey saying, “[The] Leadership is very confident in what they do and do not make decisions lightly. They go above and beyond to ensure employees below them know they are valued and necessary for a successful company culture.”

Chris Housewright, CIO, accepted the award on behalf of Tim Williams, CEO, mentioning, “In order to be successful, you need to have everyone growing in the right direction at the right time. That is what represents 21^st Mortgage."

A Farewell to David Jordan, CFO

To round out August, we celebrated the retirement of David Jordan, CFO. David was a member of the 21^st team for more than 25 years and was an integral part to the winning traditions that have been established. We are thankful for the leadership of David throughout the years, and we recognize the major role he played in our success over the years. Thank you, David, for your commitment, loyalty, and hard work!