Post by dex on Jul 31, 2022 11:11:07 GMT -5
In awe of the man behind ‘The Rock’
Your Turn
Daniel F. Harrington
Guest columnist
His mother died of cancer days after he graduated from East Providence High School in 1979. His father had a heart attack several weeks later and was hospitalized. Dean, the oldest of five teenagers, dropped out of college and took over the reins at home.
University life would forever elude him. Entrepreneurial brilliance, however, would not.
The founder of one of New England’s largest privately owned mortgage companies, Shamrock Home Loans, entered the business world pushing carriages for Rhode Island’s legendary Almacs supermarkets while still in high school. A promotion to the meat department, no small feat at the time, came quickly as his salty coworkers could see the kid with the fiery red hair had remarkable talent.
At age 23 he landed a night job with a consumer lending company which led to other positions in the industry eventually calling him away from the supermarket. Three and a half years after leaving Almacs, and still only 28 years old, he strolled into the Secretary of State’s office and incorporated Shamrock Home Loans.
Buoyed by a peculiar self-confidence and a near-genius level for recalling facts and figures, the hard-charging F. Dean Harrington entered an industry fraught with housing crashes, banking crises and fierce competition; yet continually came out on top, employing hundreds of people and booking billions of dollars in mortgages all while pursuing a single passion: helping people live in a home they love.
A self-described survivor, his innovations over the last 33 years as CEO of 'The Rock' are many. Ignoring the laws of diversification, Dean decided early on to focus only on mortgages. He made sure he interacted with employees and referral partners daily, perfected an ingenious direct mail campaign, and perhaps most significant, prioritized hiring talented people from outside the industry, most notably snatching his company president of 25 years, Rehoboth’s Rod Correia, from Major League Baseball!
Among his many accolades are these: CEO of the company declared the 2nd Best Mortgage Company to Work for in America by National Mortgage News, Hero Award Recipient from C12 Business Forums, and past president of Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association (RIMBA). No less than five of his current employees once owned their own mortgage companies.
Of course, to understand my brother, Dean, is to know the depth of his Faith. He prays with and for his employees at the office every day, Monday through Friday. 'This is God’s company,' he often reminds people while raising not a few eyebrows with the delightful title he employs on social media: Chief Repenting Officer.
His Faith extends beyond the borders of his handsome Rumford office, diligently supporting Providence Rescue Mission, Harmony Women’s Care and Ronald McDonald House and, in keeping with the Master’s charge of concealing benevolent deeds, countless other entities and people.
'Townies' properly remember Dean as one of the finest Little League Baseball and youth basketball coaches the city of East Providence has ever produced.
Fifty-four weeks my senior, Dean and I are the proverbial 'Irish Twins' (Do the math; poor mom!) and it’s been an absolute joy to watch his incredible life unfold before my eyes.
Daniel F. Harrington (danielfharrington@yahoo.com), a monthly contributor, lives in Warwick.
Your Turn
Daniel F. Harrington
Guest columnist
His mother died of cancer days after he graduated from East Providence High School in 1979. His father had a heart attack several weeks later and was hospitalized. Dean, the oldest of five teenagers, dropped out of college and took over the reins at home.
University life would forever elude him. Entrepreneurial brilliance, however, would not.
The founder of one of New England’s largest privately owned mortgage companies, Shamrock Home Loans, entered the business world pushing carriages for Rhode Island’s legendary Almacs supermarkets while still in high school. A promotion to the meat department, no small feat at the time, came quickly as his salty coworkers could see the kid with the fiery red hair had remarkable talent.
At age 23 he landed a night job with a consumer lending company which led to other positions in the industry eventually calling him away from the supermarket. Three and a half years after leaving Almacs, and still only 28 years old, he strolled into the Secretary of State’s office and incorporated Shamrock Home Loans.
Buoyed by a peculiar self-confidence and a near-genius level for recalling facts and figures, the hard-charging F. Dean Harrington entered an industry fraught with housing crashes, banking crises and fierce competition; yet continually came out on top, employing hundreds of people and booking billions of dollars in mortgages all while pursuing a single passion: helping people live in a home they love.
A self-described survivor, his innovations over the last 33 years as CEO of 'The Rock' are many. Ignoring the laws of diversification, Dean decided early on to focus only on mortgages. He made sure he interacted with employees and referral partners daily, perfected an ingenious direct mail campaign, and perhaps most significant, prioritized hiring talented people from outside the industry, most notably snatching his company president of 25 years, Rehoboth’s Rod Correia, from Major League Baseball!
Among his many accolades are these: CEO of the company declared the 2nd Best Mortgage Company to Work for in America by National Mortgage News, Hero Award Recipient from C12 Business Forums, and past president of Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association (RIMBA). No less than five of his current employees once owned their own mortgage companies.
Of course, to understand my brother, Dean, is to know the depth of his Faith. He prays with and for his employees at the office every day, Monday through Friday. 'This is God’s company,' he often reminds people while raising not a few eyebrows with the delightful title he employs on social media: Chief Repenting Officer.
His Faith extends beyond the borders of his handsome Rumford office, diligently supporting Providence Rescue Mission, Harmony Women’s Care and Ronald McDonald House and, in keeping with the Master’s charge of concealing benevolent deeds, countless other entities and people.
'Townies' properly remember Dean as one of the finest Little League Baseball and youth basketball coaches the city of East Providence has ever produced.
Fifty-four weeks my senior, Dean and I are the proverbial 'Irish Twins' (Do the math; poor mom!) and it’s been an absolute joy to watch his incredible life unfold before my eyes.
Daniel F. Harrington (danielfharrington@yahoo.com), a monthly contributor, lives in Warwick.
Go Friars!