Commercial Collection Agencies of America recently held its third annual meeting in Delray Beach, Florida. The meeting was a smashing success, broke attendance records and effectively combined education and networking for all members. Agency members earned credits to comply with the educational component of the unparalleled certification program while attorneys earned continuing legal education to satisfy state requirements.

The meeting opened with a packed room for the Welcome Reception and Dinner. At the dinner, colleagues were reacquainted and new business relationships were formed. The association announced that through its recurring initiative, Commercial Collection Agencies of America Gives Back, a portion of the proceeds from the meeting will be given to Blessings in a Backpack, a program that provides weekend food for elementary school children run by Affiliate member and Standards Board member, Christine Hayes Hickey.

On Friday, the association hosted thirteen (13) speakers who spoke on a spectrum of vetted topics-its largest slate to date, exhibiting the association’s commitment to stellar education.

Sessions included:

Regulator Roundtables which facilitated small group discussions between agencies, attorneys and state regulators. The group welcomed past presidents and member regulators of NACARA-North American Collection Agency Regulatory Association to address all types of licensing and compliance issues. Regulators: Anthony Polidori, Sheryl Sailer and Steven McElwain

The association welcomed an esteemed panel of credit professionals during “Best Practices of a Collection Agency as Viewed by a Credit Practitioner”. Members learned what credit managers are looking for when employing an agency....excellent takeaways! Panelists: William Balduino, Virginia Soderman and Martin Scaminaci

“So You Think You Know Everything about Negotiating” featuring America’s Business Coach, Barry Elms when there was not an empty seat in the house. Barry later signed a complimentary copy of his book for all attendees.

“Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and the Implementation of the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgment Act” when attorneys Barbara Muller-Wilson, Peter Ramsey Helt and Bryan Kaplan showcased their extensive research on the subject and welcomed their colleagues’ input in this interactive session.

Mike Ginsberg of Kaulkin Ginsberg educated the group on “Selling and Purchasing an Agency-Looking at It from Both Sides of the Table.” Ginsberg taught members how to navigate through a change of ownership scenario.

The group learned about the “Ramifications of Filing a Bad Proof of Claim in Bankruptcy” from attorneys Barbara Barron and Steve Sather from Barron and Newburger P.C. An insightful study for all of our members!

One of the associations’ missions is to offer advanced, pertinent education to benefit each member. The meeting in Delray Beach exceeded the goal to offer advanced, pertinent education to benefit each member. The association is grateful to all speakers and panelists in assisting in fulfilling that mission!. 

Coupled with the top-notch education were frequent opportunities for the members to network. The Forwarders and Receivers session offered a unique session where all attendees met one another while addressing case scenarios and topics which face practitioners in their everyday work life.

The ever-popular Open Forum session focused on the rising costs of running a firm. The interactive dialogue highlighted the collegiality amongst the members while offering real world answers to questions posed by members.

The meeting’s social activities added a fun and festive vibe to the event! After the sessions on Friday, members teamed up in this year’s Triadic Tournament, “Martini Mixer”.

Triadic teams worked together to concoct unique, delicious martinis while getting to know new colleagues and renewing friendships with others….all while enjoying the Florida sunshine. Congratulations to the Green Team whose martini knocked the judges’ flip flops off! Literally!

On Friday evening, the association welcomed Miami Dolphin alumni players at the annual cocktail reception on the beautiful Pool Terrace. Hall of Famer, Dwight Stephenson joined by Roy Porter, Jeff Cross, Mark Higgs and others signed autographs and socialized with our members!

The Beach Bash at The Sand Bar, hosted by the Delray Beach Marriott, was the place to be for late night cocktails, conversation and fun and an exciting drawing! Dolphins’ players and members danced to awesome tunes (who knew we had so much rhythm in this group!) and enjoyed the lively tropical setting which has become a member favorite! Who has ticket number #3000039, anyway!?!

After the meeting concluded on Saturday, members played golf, tennis and headed to the pool and beach with their colleagues and friends for an afternoon of rest and relaxation. An impressive contingent of members braved the Atlantic Ocean to participate in the First Annual Fishing Charter. One of the members even caught a dolphinfish! And who could forget those fearless members who traveled to the Everglades for the Alligator Tour. We are glad to report…all members returned….limbs intact!

Thank you to our valued vendors: Datamatx, Buchbinder and First American-Data Tree. Please visit our website, under the Special Partners tab, to visit the vendors’ websites and learn more about their useful services.

Thank you to our generous sponsors with whose support, our meeting was spectacular! They are:

Click here to visit our gallery of great pictures of the meeting and social activities!

Commercial Collection Agencies of America is grateful to all attendees for making this year’s annual meeting another wonderful experience. Association members look forward to meeting again March 9-12, 2017. Details regarding the location will be announced soon.