Strength in the face of adversity

MortgageBrokerNews is continuing its series of features on the finalists for Broker of the Year in both categories -- the under 25 employees and the 25 and over. This year’s group is the most diverse, spanning the country. Winners in both categories will be named at the upcoming Canadian Mortgage Awards on May 10 at the Liberty Grand in Toronto.

 

MortgageBrokerNews is continuing its series of features on the finalists for Broker of the Year in both categories -- the under 25 employees and the 25 and over. This year’s group is the most diverse, spanning the country. Winners in both categories will be named at the upcoming Canadian Mortgage Awards on May 10 at the Liberty Grand in Toronto.
 
Finalist in the Mortgage Broker of the Year (25 Employees and Over) category
 
Don MacVicar, Verico Premiere Mortgage Centre Inc., Dartmouth, N.S.
 
The past year has been a true test for Don MacVicar, who has had to push ahead despite his brother and business partner, David, being diagnosed with brain cancer at the young age of 47.
 
“This past year has been a true test of the fortitude of our team with the diagnosis of my brother and partner, David, with brain cancer at the young age of 47,” says MacVicar, the president of Verico Premiere Mortgage Centre in Dartmouth. “David has since taken early retirement and, with his departure, the entire team has come together to backfill the gap created in his absence, although David will never truly be replaced.”
 
This tight-knit family of 58 mortgage agents, five support staff and two sales people has drawn even closer together.
 
In banking and mortgage financing for 19 years, MacVicar started his career with Scotiabank in Halifax in 1994.
 
“I come from a family of bankers, including my father, Don Sr., who was a banker for over 40 years. I entered the mortgage brokerage channel in 2000 when I was with CIBC Mortgages in Toronto and was involved in the early evolution of the HLC Home Loans Canada model,” he says. “In 2006, my brother David and I, along with other partners, decided to leave the banking world and go out on our own as an independent brokerage to create Premiere Mortgage Centre.”
 
The other major business partners in the company are Kerri Reed, the VP Ontario Broker of Record, and Michelle Drover, the VP of the Atlantic division.
 
MacVicar’s life is inextricably intertwined with business and family – with people. 
 
“We attract the best and are very particular about who carries our business card,” he says. ”We have encouraged a culture of entrepreneurship where every agent is building their own business.” 
 
For a full list of finalists and to reserve your place at the industry’s biggest night visit www.canadianmortgageawards.com - hope you don't miss out this year!
 
The awards sell out every year and with only 3 tables left, we hope it’s not you missing out this year!