MBA Presents Burton C. Wood Award to Texas MBA General Counsel John Fleming
The Mortgage Bankers Association presented its annual Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award to John Fleming, Counsel of the Law Offices of John Fleming, and General Counsel of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association.
The award is given annually to an MBA member employee in recognition of his or her sustained superior service to the association and the real estate finance industry. Fleming was presented the award at MBA’s virtual 2021 National Advocacy Conference.
“John is consistently one of MBA’s biggest supporters and for years has helped advance MBA’s legislative priorities,” said Susan Stewart, 2021 MBA Chair and CEO of SWBC Mortgage Corp., San Antonio, Texas. “His tireless efforts on behalf of our industry – especially most recently with the ongoing, state-level adoptions of remote online notarization – should be recognized and applauded. Through his valuable connections, John has been able to take our advocacy efforts to the next level, and as a proud Texan myself and former President of the Texas MBA, I am honored to see him win this prestigious award.”
Fleming has been instrumental in the success of several advocacy-related initiatives in recent years. In 2017, he negotiated Texas’ remote online notarization law, which secured greater legal certainty for RON and helped lay the groundwork for model legislation for RON adoption that has now become law in 34 states and counting. Additionally, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fleming has worked tirelessly with state and federal elected leaders to ensure safety and liquidity for the mortgage industry.
Fleming is an active Mortgage Action Alliance member, an annual Mortgage Bankers Association Political Action Committee donor and a consistent NAC attendee. He is frequently in touch with members of the Texas congressional delegation, state and local legislators, and regulators advocating on behalf of the real estate finance industry. Additionally, Fleming is a leading state and federal policy expert on the challenges to the real estate finance industry from residential and commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy laws.
The award is named after MBA’s late Legislative Counsel Burton C. Wood, who devoted more than 30 years of service to MBA’s advocacy efforts. Wood was the first recipient of the award in 1990, and his lobbying skills gained the respect and attention of both Republicans and Democrats alike. He passed away in 2010.
