On behalf of our over 700 employees we proudly announce that our founder and CEO Robert Klein was honored with a Humanitarian Award at the sixth annual Five Star Default Servicing Conference in Ft. Worth, Texas.

As discussed in a recent article from DSNews , the event which holds the claim of the largest gathering of default servicing professionals in history - the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo - commenced with the Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian Awards.

Three Humanitarian Awards were presented for charitable efforts that have helped ease the impact of the foreclosure crisis on local communities and families. "The Five Star Conference acknowledged that in the four years of these awards, it has uncovered many extraordinary humanitarian acts throughout the industry, and has chosen to single out the following few as shining examples of innovation and compassion during a time of unprecedented difficulty for many homeowners."

The first 2009 Humanitarian Award was presented to Robert Klein, CEO of Safeguard Properties, for his support of the city of Cleveland and its surrounding neighborhoods. In addition to the work performed by his locally-based company, Klein has volunteered both time and financial support to help the Cleveland area address its housing crisis.

Klein is the local foreclosure prevention program's most generous donor, a commitment he's pledged for the next three years. He also led a restoration effort for the city's historical Fir Street Cemetary and surrounding neighborhood, returning a blight-ridden neighborhood to the shining example of urban pride it was before the foreclosure crisis. Jim Rokakis, the treasurer of Cuyahoga County, which includes the Cleveland area, describes Klein as "one of the county's most self-less and valuable resources."

Additional Humanitarian Award recipients were:

• Dana Dillard, SVP of GMAC Mortgage -On top of her substantial duties as head of her company's special mortgage initiatives, Dillard volunteers her time to the foreclosure prevention efforts of HOPE NOW and NeighborWorks America.  
• GTJ Consulting LLC - Honored for the launch of its GTJ Foundation this year. One of the services GTJ Consulting offers its clients is the recovery of goods from foreclosed properties.

Additional award recipent include:

• 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award - Presented posthumously to the family of Michael C. Barrett, of the Dallas-based default law firm Barrett Daffin Frappier Turner and Engle, LLP.
• 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award - Edward R. Delgado, SVP of government and industry relations at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

To view the DSNews Article, please click here.