I love the holidays - Past, present, & future (please click link before preceding)... I love gatherings.... and I love meeting people.

ACtive Rain gatherings -- For those of you new or old to Active Rain, it can be so much fun to meet others that you have followed, who you have talked to, and those that you have made an online connection with.  For those of you that know me, I guess you can say that I am a social butterfly. I just meeting people in general. But better yet, as I have mentioned, meeting in person those that you have connected with. Talk about solidifying those relationships, to bond with, and to grow into the future with.

If you don't get tired reading these kinds of blogs, you can read about them in this group.  Active Rain Gatherings Group

About a month ago, my friend and I decided to make a road trip to watch the Philadelphia Eagles play the Washington Redskins. Lewis Poretz, who is seen with me, is also an Active Rain member and owns his own mortgage company in Annapolis, MD. Even though Lewis is my competition in a small way, because I can also do loans in Maryland and Virginia, he is also like a brother to me. Gee, my older brother that I never had, who has the energy of a young buck. What's age.....What's great is that we get a long very well, competition or not. Another great thing about Active Rain....

In any case, this was on Sunday the 21st. As you can see, it was cold out. It got down to about 18 degrees that night with 15 to 20 mph winds. Even though the Eagles lost, there was fun that was had by all. We even went into Annapolis for some night life, that reminded me of my college years. Just a fun day with some great friends.

This gathering was organized a week prior and we had a few issues with some of the local restaurants taking in 10 to 15 people the day before Monday as a reservation. Since I was at the football game, Margaret Rome said that she would help. She was able to get Famous Dave's to take us in from the cold... and to put up with some crazy people.... some very good hearted crazy people.

On our left, you have John MacArthur & Audrey June-Forshey. John has some old memories of sporting figures and is an avid golfer, but told us that he doesn't care for gatherings and thinks that he is not social. He could have fooled me about the socializing issue. He was a hoot and fun to talk to.

And we had our own celebrity in Audrey June-Forshey, who reminded me of an actress slightly. Not only did se have a very sweet & pleasant southern accent, she was just a pleasure to talk to. And can Audrey take pictures of herself....  that's talent.

We now move onto Peg Silloway, Camille O'Donnell, and Pat Hommel.(left to right)  I felt bad, because I really didn't get a chance to chat with these 3 women. Time just got the best of me. But I made a comment early on that I felt like we were at a high school dance. If you would have looked at the whole table, we had girls at one end and guys at the other. How funny....

Peg is on AR and is Margaret Romes publisher. Can you believe this? We actually had a small talk about myself publishing a book on mortgages. How boring could that be. But I think I will accept the challenge.

Camille.....  now she stands for 'a strong person'. Camille's mom just past away on the 19th and she still made the time to meet many of us. Not only does she truly understand the importance of bonding, but sacrifice and friendships. Camille, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. Thanks for attending.

Pat actually works in the Annapolis area, so I am sure I will be seeing her soon. But this is someone that has been in real estate for over 30 years.

In our next group, we have Margaret Rome, Patricia "my real estate car needs cleaning" Kennedy, and Richard Iarossi.

I first had the pleasure of talking briefly to Margaret on her radio show back in the middle of 2007. Not only has she written a book, holds weekly real estate radio shows, but has a tremendous heart in helping her clients achieve that dream. I am witnessing it first hand, as I try to help a current client of hers to the closing table before 2009.

Pat?  Well, I have had the pleasure to hang out with Pat 2 other times. Once in NYC for the Bloggers Connect, which I highly recommend that you try to attend. And the 2nd time when she took the time to hear me speak at a rally in D.C..

Rich on the other hand, this was my first time talking to him ever. Not only a sports fan, but a family man. A very proud grandfather, who had his 1st grandchild not to long ago.

And back to my mortgage buddy, Lewis Poretz. Doesn't he look different compared to the first picture up top? A little more polished, yet still tired from the day before. And he should be a shamed for letting his Skins beat my Eagles.

As you can see, we were down 3-0 with 1:55 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. It was just an ugly game.

 And I wanted to thank my friend and neighbor, John Powers (right side), for making the trip with me. And for hanging out with me, while meeting a bunch of crazies from Active Rain.... lol  Seriously, some really great people and I enjoyed every minute of it.

PS... Martha Brown joined us also. Because she split before I had time to get a picture of her, can read about her in the blogs below. Martha, it was great meeting you.  Martha also works in Annapolis.

More blogs in regards to the Active Rain Gathering in Annapolis, MD

Warm Active Rain on a Chilly Day in Annapolis, Maryland  by : Margaret Rome

Thank You Jeff Belonger! Active Rain Gathering in Annapolis!  by : Patricia Kennedy

An Impromptu AR Gathering in Annapolis Maryland...What a Holiday Treat!!  by : Martha Brown

Active Rain Gathering Annapolis Maryland  by : Audrey June-Forshey

        I believe in AR Angels By : Camille O'Donnell

Here is a shot of other Active Rain gatherings or meet ups that I took place in : If this doesn't get you to want to meet members !!!!

1. My 1st Active Rain meeting with an AR member..... Rob who?????
2. Lunch with Ravi Shah......
3. West meets East....... a face to face with Jonathan Vetter, loan officer.
4. Active Rain Gathering in Philadelphia - 12/2007  A success
5. Bloggers Connect in NYC - January 2008 - great friends
6. Active Rain Gathering for the New Jersey Area - May '08 - NJ, PA, CT, NY, DE, MD
7. Active Rain gathering -- Princeton, New Jersey -- May 22, 2008
8. Want to meet a Pilot aka Mortgage Planner? --- Meet Robert Ashby
9. It wasn't politics.... just meeting some friendly Active Rain members in D.C.
10. It just wasn't about the Philadelphia Eagles in DC. - An Active Rain gathering in Annapolis, MD

________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. : The FHA Expert

For more information on how you can obtain your dream home, please click here : Mortgage Financing Options

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags

Copyright © 2008 by Jeff Belonger