Jason Mott, corporate credit manager at MFA Incorporated, has been elected to the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) board of directors for a three-year term. His service on the 18-member board began Jan. 1.
NACM was founded in 1896 to promote good laws for sound credit, protect businesses against fraudulent debtors, improve the interchange of credit information, develop better credit practices and methods and establish a code of ethics. MFA is a longtime member of the organization as part of its regional affiliate, NACM Heartland, based in Des Moines.
Mott has been serving on the NACM Heartland board of directors since 2018, most recently as vice chairman. Each of these regional affiliates contributes a member to the national NACM board. In 2021, the Heartland representative was no longer eligible for re-election to the national board, giving Mott an opportunity to step into that role.
“I’m not going on this board with any kind of a personal agenda,” he said. “I just want to contribute and help make NACM the best organization that it can be. That’s my ultimate goal.”
NACM is made up of credit professionals from all types of industries, said Maggie Bessenbacher, association executive for the Heartland affiliate. The local group is made up of about 140 members, she said, while nationally NACM has more than 8,000 members.
“Nearly every industry is represented through NACM—agriculture, pharmaceutical, steel, construction, biofuels, transportation, manufacturing—you name it,” Bessenbacher said. “Being able to interact with a wide variety of credit professionals is one of the key benefits of membership in this organization.”
That networking opportunity is invaluable, Mott said, as is the education and lobbying support that NACM offers its members.
“NACM gives its members access to credit information to help us make better credit decisions and increases our knowledge of credit, collections, bankruptcy—all those kind of things—through conferences, seminars and webinars,” Mott said. “And, arguably, I would tell you the most important thing is the opportunity to meet with other credit professionals in other industries as well as your own. I don't know how MFA would be able to effectively manage credit if it wasn’t for a group like NACM.”
Serving as a national director will expand those advantages, he added.
“I'll get to meet with credit managers from coast to coast,” Mott said. “Many of them are going to have a very different mentality and approach than we do here in the Midwest, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to building new relationships and bringing back some new ideas.”