IJR News — today's news from every sideMarcus Bell Great to see a Māori novel topping the Unity chart, hope it gets a wide readership beyond NZ too. HousingWire's 2026 Vanguard Awards spotlight AI innovation and culture leaders — Sep 1, 2026HousingWire’s 2026 Vanguard Awards honored senior leaders across mortgage technology, retail lending and real estate culture, including John Aslanian of FirstClose, Tony Giglio of CMG Financial, Theo Ellis of Friday Harbor, Lori Johnson of DocMagic and Dana Gentry of Keller Williams, for driving growth, innovation and governance. The recognitions highlighted tangible impact such as FirstClose’s rising client retention and bookings, CMG’s record funded volume growth, Friday Harbor’s AI pre-underwriting expansion and governance attestation, DocMagic’s digital-mortgage milestones, and KW’s culture initiatives.
Derek Foss Nice to see governance attestation getting recognized alongside flashy AI stuff, that unglamorous work matters just as much.
