Black Tie Gala Benefit Salutes Agencies, Industry Veterans

Resource Management Services, Inc., Santa Fe Springs, CA. –- At Collection & Recovery Solutions 2005 Black Tie Gala Benefit, Friday evening September 9 at the Wynn Las Vegas, representatives from a select group of creditors each presented one of their agency vendors with a Tribute Award. Heather Crowshaw of Bank of America recognized Client Services, Inc. for "Consistent Outstanding Performer" for Bank of America; Jay P. Cocchiara, Kelli Edmonds and Gary Boshes recognized Commercial Recovery Systems as "Top Agency Performer 2005" for Chase Automotive Finance; Mike Daverio and Sue Arigi from Discover Financial Services congratulated A. L. Summerlin for his positive impact on the Collections industry; James Priester of HSBC Retail Services recognized Corporate Receivables, Inc. as HSBC "Collection Agency of the Year – 2004"; and Jean Fisher and Blake Hardaway congratulated GC Services for their efforts on behalf of Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.

The evening began with a Red Carpet reception, complete with interviews and photo opportunities with Mark McGrath, of Extra! and Sugar Ray fame. After a gourmet dinner, Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton entertained the crowd of 500 guests and after the Tribute awards, Wayne presented representatives of the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Foundation for Children with a check for $28,500 representing proceeds from a silent auction the previous evening. He then kicked off a live auction to benefit CHOC by signing a guitar. The auction highlight came when J.P. Kelso of PRS Assets, LLC paid $110,000 for a signed Paul McCartney guitar and presented it to his friend, Michael Bendickson of Absolute Resolutions Corporation. Bruce Gray, President of Creditors Interchange announced a challenge donation by the employees of Creditors Interchange in the amount of $50,000. Proceeds from the event total more than $250,500. Judy Hammond, President of Resource Management Services, Inc. expressed her appreciation, "I’m overwhelmed by the generosity of the Industry and grateful for the support of so many people." Donations are still being accepted at the CHOC Foundation (www.choc.org).

The Gala evening concluded with a Roast of Agency Veterans including Howard Knauer; A. L. Summerlin, including video highlights from Dan Olson and a signed hobby horse from Wayne Newton; Hank Markowe, who was presented a lifetime achievement award by John Hill; and John Rousseau, who received a surprise visit from his pool playing friend, pool champion Jeanette Lee, the Black Widow.