Virginia Mortgage News and Views

On Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008, I attended the celebration of Fred's life here in Richmond, Va.

Fred and I worked together at GMAC Mortgage for a number of years. I owe a lot to Fred....he taught me so many things about people and how he really worked hard to help all that he could in their dream of homeownership. I saw he work tirelessly to fulfill his own mission of helping others. He did it with great pride and enthusiasm...everyday. My "Fred name" was JamieLee...most everyone that Fred knew had a special "Fred" nickname.

When I first read the book, "The Fred Factor", I honestly thought it was written about Fred Amrhein....it certainly was the epitome of Fred's day to day life. If you have the time, you need to read this book. I am sure you know a Fred in your life..maybe you are a Fred. I am going to work very hard to become a Fred.....not the one written about in the book..but the one I knew personally. I will miss Fred and his Fred-ism's. I will miss him a lot.

I learned something new about Fred on Saturday. I found out one of his favorite songs of all time was by James Taylor. The song is entitled "Sweet Baby James".  Fred's son sang that song to his daddy on Saturday . The next time I hear that song, I will think of Fred. I will sing that song out loud...one of the Fred-ism's I remember him saying all the time was: "you need to sing everyday like no one is listening!"

I don't think I will wait to hear the song. I am off to I-Tunes to buy it. Hold onto your eardrums.

Jamie Lee Chafin