The Independent Standards Board, which creates, renews, and amends the Association’s certification program, has added a new requirement to the certification program effective January 1, 2023.

Agencies certified by the Association were required to adopt a written information security policy as of the beginning of the year. The Data Security Standard, put forth by the board, comprehensively enumerates eleven (11) areas of compliance and was introduced early in 2022 to allow agency members time to prepare for the adoption and implementation.

Each agency member meets the certification requirements annually to earn and maintain a Certificate of Accreditation and Compliance. The program, considered the platinum standard in the industry, is comprised of the most rigorous requirements across a number of planes. Although most of the certified agencies of CCA of A already had such a policy in place, the independent board recognized the importance codifying the requirement of securing data held within an agency and formalized it in the already unparalleled program offered by CCA of A.

“The work of the Standards Board is aimed at ensuring that the CCA of A certification program continues to be the platinum standard. The addition of the Data Security Standard requiring adherence to a written information security policy incorporating best practices further enhances the quality certification program upon which the credit community has come to rely,” commented Standards Board Chair, Christine Hayes Hickey.

Through our initiative, Commercial Collection Agencies of America Gives Back, a portion of the proceeds of our annual conference along with individual members’ donations, have been given to the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation.   

At the Association’s general membership meeting, CCA of A President, Pete Roth invited members to suggest charitable organizations which would benefit from a donation.  Member, Warren Pinchuck suggested the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation, which helped his daughter, Hope.  Overwhelming support for the suggestion was heard from Pinchuck’s fellow members and soon a vote passed.

The Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation supports patients, their families and caregivers every step of the way during a cancer diagnosis or bone marrow, Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) or cord blood transplant. Founded in 1992 BMCF is dedicated to improving the quality of life for cancer and transplant patients and their families by providing vital financial assistance, comprehensive resources, educational information, physician referrals, and emotional support programs.  Guided by a medical advisory board of nationally recognized cancer specialists and working with hospitals across the United States, BMCF  is the only organization of its kind that does not limit assistance to a specific disease, type of transplant or age range. BMCF@BoneMarrow.org.

In addition to BMCF, Commercial Collection Agencies of America has also been fortunate to donate a portion of the profits from previous conferences to the following organizations, amongst many others:​​

Commercial Collection Agencies of America is an organization of commercial collection agencies, creditors’ rights attorneys and law list publishers.  CCA of A is the only association in which all agency members are certified; most for over four decades.  The Association offers the superior certification program in the industry.  Most importantly, CCA of A it is an organization whose members know the importance of caring for others.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Opal Grand Resort for our Annual Conference October 19-22, 2022!

We attended and exhibited at the Credit Research Foundation Forum & Expo in Louisville, KY, August 8-10, 2022.

As a Platinum Partner, CCA of A offers credit practitioners the reassurance that the certified commercial collection agencies that they chose are recovering their bad debts, protecting their funds and upholding professionalism in the industry.

Commercial Collection Agencies of America participated and exhibited at NACM’S Credit Congress, alongside certified agency members June 5-8, 2022. 

We enjoyed meeting credit practitioners and imparting the criticality of using an agency certified by CCA of A, as it offers the PREMIER certification program in the industry.

Our Semi-Annual Conference was held April 20-22 at the Charleston Marriott in Charleston, South Carolina.

Thank you to all who joined us!

Thank you to everyone who attended our 2022 Semi-Annual Conference in Phoenix!

CCA of A continued to “Raise the Bar” on certification at the Open Forum-the most collegial discussion in the industry.

Other highlights included Credit Research Foundation’s Bill Balduino and Matt Skudera educating our membership on the changing role of the credit practitioner, AR performance by industry segments, and the critical importance of technological advancements.

Commercial Collection Agencies of America has elected its new Board of Directors and has announced the slate of officers of the organization.
Board members include Pete Roth of CST Company, Fred Wasserspring of Lyon Collection Services, Inc., David Herer of ABC-Amega, Inc., Humberto Matz of Creditors Adjustment Bureau, Tom Claybaugh of Mountain States Commercial Credit Management, Inc., Jim McDermott of Altus Receivables Management and Steve Rauch of Rauch Milliken International.

Officers are Pete Roth, President; Humberto Matz, Vice President; David Herer, Secretary; and Fred Wasserspring, Treasurer.

The Board was recently chosen by its peers at the annual conference in Delray Beach, Florida where members and colleagues gathered for two and a half days of education and networking.

The CCA of A Board meets monthly to handle the business of the Association as well as strategically plan for organizational and industry-related needs.

The Board directs its multiple committees to create key programming and education, to evaluate legislative needs and identify regulatory changes, to market agency and affiliate member services, to attract new members, to introduce cutting-edge technologies and services to its members, and to meet the needs of future leaders in the collection field.

Every initiative put forth by the Board and its committees is developed with the mission of the Association at the forefront: to elevate the standards and uphold the professionalism in the commercial collection industry for the benefit of protecting the credit granting community.

“There are many issues facing this industry, both near and long-term. Commercial Collection Agencies of America will be well served by this notable group of individuals chosen to lead this important organization,” noted Pete Roth.

“Being chosen as the new President of this organization’s Board of Directors is both an honor and privilege. With the support of such distinguished agency representatives on the Board, I hope to carry on the kind of leadership and vision that my predecessors, Bruce Godwin and Meg Scotty displayed during their terms,” he added.

Commercial Collection Agencies of America is an organization of commercial collection agencies, creditors’ rights attorneys and law list publishers. The certification program, which is the platinum standard in the industry, is promulgated by an Independent Standards Board, which includes professionals from a cross-section of industries related to credit and collections.

Commercial Collection Agencies of America announced that through its initiative, Commercial Collection Agencies of America Gives Back, a portion of the proceeds of its annual conference in Delray Beach, along with substantial donations from individual members, and a fleet of bicycles has been given to 4KIDS of South Florida. 

At each CCA of A conference, members cap off two days of continuing education with a large networking event and participate in a novel team-building experience.  This year, attendees came together Friday afternoon to assemble bicycles for foster children served by 4KIDS.  Each team built a bicycle, creatively named its bike and nicknamed its team, as well as crafted cards for each recipient child. 

Teams then presented their bicycles to a judges' panel, in what turned out to be a “bring down the house” finale. The creativity and teamwork were impressive, and members had a lot of fun, but what happened earlier in the day, made the event even more meaningful. 

At Friday morning’s general membership meeting, CCA of A President, Bruce Godwin invited all attendees to participate in the charity event.  After he announced that 4KIDS of South Florida would be the recipient of the bicycles and the monetary donation from the Association, Godwin, a Boca Raton resident, offered to personally donate to 4KIDS, as well.  Immediately, members in the room enthusiastically offered their personal donations, to match Godwin’s, and within minutes, thousands of dollars were raised, to compliment the donation of eight bicycles.

“Watching this event develop during the day was exciting,” commented CCA of A’s Executive Director, Annette M. Waggoner.  “From the overwhelming generosity of members in the morning to the palpable anticipation for the event during the day, to the finale in the early evening, when over a hundred members took a group photo with Karen Granger of 4KIDS. These colleagues masterfully collaborate during the year on behalf of their clients and today, they came together in the same collegial fashion for a worthy cause…so inspiring.” furtheredWaggoner. 

4KIDS brings hope to babies, kids, teens, and young adults by providing safe and secure environments for healing, equipped parents and caregivers who are trained to love kids from hard places, essential resources to meet their physical needs, nurturing counsel to help them thrive, and a renewed sense of value in their hearts.  For the thousands of children who are removed from their homes each year 4KIDS has hundreds of foster families across six (6) Florida counties to meet the need.  More information can be found at 4KIDS - 4KIDS, Inc. 

In addition to 4KIDS, Commercial Collection Agencies of America has also been fortunate to donate a portion of the profits from previous conferences to The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Blessings in a Backpack, The ALS Association-Greater Chicago Chapter, The Red Cross, Mental Health Associates of Western New York, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Emily Stillman Foundation Ronald McDonald House – Atlanta and the American Diabetes Association. 

The Association is overjoyed to collaborate with NAPPS, the largest non-profit association for process servers in the US. We look forward to welcoming Gary A. Crowe, Eric Vennes and Clair Schull at the annual meeting and to hear about effective process serving at the upcoming annual conference!

The following is from their website:

WHO WE ARE

The National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS) is the nation’s largest community of professional process servers and the first resource for credible information regarding the profession.

Founded in 1982 in Las Vegas NV, NAPPS today has well over 2,000 members representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, seven Canadian provinces and nearly two dozen foreign countries. It is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

NAPPS members assure a citizens right to due process and access to the legal system. To this end, a NAPPS member is committed to being accountable, reliable and valuable to their legal clients, the courts and the parties and witnesses they serve.

Membership is on an individual basis, and each member is expected to adhere to high ethical standards and have a thorough understanding of the NAPPS Code of Ethics on which NAPPS prides itself.