We're closing in on a million loans and that's something we think is worth celebrating.

It's such a big deal to us that we're going to recognize the millionth closed loan by paying off one lucky client's loan. That's right. We're going to pick a Quicken Loans client who closes between now and December 31, 2010 and we're going to pay off their loan. They close a loan with us and then we pay it off.

Wow! I want that deal. Wait, I can't. I work here. I don't qualify.

But you do! All you have to do is refinance or buy a home and we might pay off your loan.

So how did we get to one million loans? It all started back in 1985 when Dan Gilbert and few of his friends founded Rock Financial. One thing lead to another and Rock Financial became Quicken Loans.

Things went well over the years and today the company that Gilbert and his friends started 25 years ago is now the nation's largest retail online lender and among the top five overall retail lenders. Last year we closed about $25 billion in loans and we're on track to top that this year.

I love Canine to Five, a dog boarding and daycare facility near downtown Detroit.

I've used them to board my dogs and attended their dog park events and even took my youngest dog to training they offer.

So when Liz, Canine to Five's owner, made the incredible offer for Quicken Loans team members moving downtown (1,700 of us in the next few weeks) to attend dog daycare for free for one month, I HAD to share that here.

That's an incredible offer and I hope many of my fellow Quicken Loans team mates take advantage of it and support Canine to Five once the free offer expires.

Liz has done a great thing with Canine to Five, taking a previously abandoned building in the Cass Corridor neighborhood (just north of downtown) and turned it into a viable, clean and overall wonderful business. It's businesses like Canine to Five that are helping Detroit turn the corner and become a better place.

The neighborhood has a lot of meaning for me. I went to high school down there (at Cass Tech) and I have to say that after years of watching the area decay, it's finally turning the corner.

Big accomplishments are always the result of a build-up of small things. Regardless of the importance, attention to the detail ultimately leads to larger success. In fact, consistently doing the little things shows you care.

It is this attention to detail that The Diff has awarded its first annual “Little Things Matter” Award to EzineArticles.com

EzineArticles was cool enough to send me a coffee mug and coaster as gifts for becoming an expert author on the Ezine site. The gift definitely made my day!

I recommend Ezine for anyone trying to gain more exposure when writing, or for a business trying to position itself as an expert in its respective field.

Quicken Loans new home was once again featured in the Detroit Free Press today! This time the main focus wasn’t the move into the Compuware Building downtown, but rather, the employees themselves and how they will acclimate to the transition from Livonia.

As everyone is preparing for the big move, some will even choose to pick up their lives and move downtown with the company.” Go big or go home,” right!? Some Quicken Loans employees have recently toured downtown lofts and apartments to possibly make their new home. With the development of fresh, innovative real estate buildings downtown, there many options to choose from.

What do I think about this?

I love it! I think living in a unique loft downtown Detroit would be awesome, especially when work is right around the corner. Living in the city puts you at the heart of everything and the possibilities are endless in Detroit. People who aren’t from around here may call me or anyone else crazy for even considering this, but Detroit seems to hold a bright future in its hands. As a recent college graduate, the career and life decisions I make right now will affect my life forever. I see the decision to move downtown Detroit as an exciting opportunity to take advantage of taking part in its re-birth. It may be taking a chance, yes, but you will never know what might have been unless you take these chances.

By Nikki Stellini

Quicken Loans is proud to announce that its Data Warehouse team is the co-winner of a Best Practices Award in Operational Business Intelligence from The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI), a leading association in the industry. The award recognizes the team’s excellence in creating and maintaining software that reports, gathers, secures, and analyzes up-to-the-minute data, keeping our business running efficiently and fostering growth each year.

The Quicken Loans Data Warehouse team is a group of dedicated engineers and database administrators who write the software programs that tie all of the company’s important data together in one location.
 “The team is really excited and proud to win this award,” said Steve Brennan, Quicken Loans Data Warehouse team leader. “We use business intelligence to stay on top of our game. It’s an honor to be recognized for our hard work in the industry.”

Yesterday, FOX TV in Detroit put a very cool time lapse video of the Quicken Loans billboard going up on the side of the Cadillac building in downtown Detroit.

We're proud of the billboard and we love the video. You can watch it here.

We'll be downtown soon. We hope to play a big part in Detroit's economic revival.

Stop by and say hello when we get down there!

Quicken Loans interns had a great time yesterday getting a “taste of Detroit” with Connect After 5 at the Summer Intern Program Kick-Off held at the YMCA downtown. Connect After 5 creates fun, after-work events for employees of local Detroit businesses to socialize and utilize what the city has to offer. Our interns met and mingled with many others, while enjoying food and giveaways from Detroit restaurants and venues. Businesses took over tables and supplied interns with their information and knowledge of the city. The event didn’t stop at food though; there was a DJ to entertain, a photo booth and bean bag toss. At the end of the night interns won prizes such as gift certificates, money and signed baseballs through random drawings. I think it’s safe to say that the event was a success and an awesome start to the summer!

Displayed below is an image of the event, photo courtesy of Connect After 5.

We've got a BIG announcement! Literally...

You may have already heard that Quicken Loans will be moving to downtown Detroit this year.  But if you somehow missed the message, we hope that this GIANT BILLBOARD will make it clear.  We're Quicken Loans and we're coming to Detroit!

Quicken Loans is a great place to work.  There is always something fun going on and yesterday was no exception.  The IT teams had a post-it note mural competition!  They created post-it note murals all over the 4th floor of the Quicken Loans office and they results were really cool. 

A few of us were talking today about doodling during meetings.  Some see this as a time-waisting habit or assume that the doodler is not paying attention to the Very Important Meeting taking place.  However, a 2009 study by Jackie Andrade shows that doodling actually helps keep your brain engaged and doodlers actually retain more information during meetings than non-doodlers.  The study suggests that doodling helped prevent people from daydreaming, which not only distracts the mind from the task at hand, but it also uses and focuses the brains energy on the daydream.  So doodle on, doodlers! There's even a flickr "office meeting doodles" group where you can upload your meeting "notes".

Photo by Flickr user mrmatt

This weekend marks the 4th Keith Hamm Foundation fundraiser. It's a great cause and proof that every penny raised in the name of a cause can make a difference.

Keith Hamm was the life partner of Mark Miller, a senior leader here at Quicken Loans.  When Keith succumed to cancer in 2006, Mark decided to celebrate his life with a party and a fundraiser.

To date the foundation has raised over $90,000 for lymphoma and leukemia research in Michigan. That's awesome and I'm glad I can do my part to chip in a little toward making that amount larger.

Cancer has touched everyone I know. My father died of cancer a year and a half ago. Several of my friends also have had loved ones die of cancer. Cancer sucks.

I salute Mark and the other volunteers who make the effort to help others. That's what this is all about. Celebrating the love of one great person by helping many other great people.

And that's a great thing.

The Keith Hamm Foundation 2010 event is this Saturday at the Rock Financial Center in Novi Mi at 7 pm. Come if you can. Ticket and event info is here. If you can''t make the event, consider a donation. It's a great cause.

Spotted this on Josh Linkner's Twitter feed.  I'd love to go fishing with David Lynch.  We'd set out on a rickety old pirate ship, he'd be eating a banana and whistling the theme song to "The Love Boat".  I'd only be able to speak backwards yet he would somehow be able to understand.  Small goats would wander around the boat and every so often one would do a cannonball into the black sea on which we sail.  Then I would catch a little fish.  The little fish would open his mouth and a stream of fireworks would shoot into the air.  David and I would embrace, and I would know that all is right in this strange, strange world.

via Museum of Weird Art

On April 21, David Carroll, Vice President of Administration at Quicken Loans attended the Michigan’s Next Great Companies 2010 Summit in Bath, Mich. and spoke about the company’s culture.

The summit brought business leaders from across the state together to help Michigan companies grow by focusing on culture and how their working environments can fuel innovation and creativity.

Michigan’s First Gentleman, Dan Mulhern, spoke about the importance of corporate culture and the keynote address was delivered by Bo Burlingham, author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big.

David Carroll’s presentation was part of an informal panel in which several companies had the opportunity to discuss how they make their organization a “great place to work.”  David explained that the Quicken Loans culture is a combination of a million little things and that our ISMs (18 guiding principles) enable all team members to live the culture each day.  Quicken Loans has been named to Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for seven consecutive years.

To learn more about resources to help your business receive recognition for a positive work environment, check out the Michigan Advantage web site.

Today, Detroit’s Bizdom U entrepreneurial bootcamp was featured on CNBC’s Power Lunch program.  The segment, which features interviews with Dan Gilbert and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, focuses on the need for a strong entrepreneurial core as part of Detroit’s recovery.

Bizdom U teaches entrepreneurs everything they need to know to start a thriving business in the city of Detroit.  While undergoing four months of intensive training, the entrepreneurs develop a plan for a scalable business that must be located in Detroit.  If the business plan is ultimately approved, the entrepreneur receives funding and continued mentoring along the way. 

Check out the Bizdom U video on Youtube.

Sometimes you get more than just a simple thanks for helping fellow team members.

That's what happened to Lindsay Greene and Sara Moore of the Quicken Loans HR Team.

They did such a great job helping a new team member (Kevin - I don't know his last name) that he sent them the following note:

“Thanks so much for working with me during my hiring process.  You are both a great asset to the company!”

Their compliment was received on a hand written card and both Lindsey and Sara received a beautiful hand-made leather barrette from Kevin.

It's nice to be recognized for a job well done. It's incredible to receive a hand-made leather piece of art.

Very cool.

Bill Emerson was pictured (the one on the right and taken by our own Dave "Witko" Witkowski) and featured in a great article in the Wall Street Journal today.

I won't bore you with the details, but it's good to know that now that the recession is winding down, TLC is back in style.

You can read the article (after today you might need a subscription) from the WSJ here.

 

Check out Quizzle's latest video, aptly titled "Is Your Credit As Good As Your Game?"

Quizzle partnered with our friends at Last Pictures to film it and we think the whole thing turned out great! Check it out and please share with all your friends. And if you don't have a Quizzle account (Um, hello! Free credit report and score!), sign up today.

I like to think we've done some innovative stuff here at Quicken Loans regarding online customer service and social media. It's been a passion of ours for several years now and it's great when results come back and get noticed.

Earlier this month Quicken Loans was featured in a WOMMA webinar about online customer service. I'm also be on the faculty of the upcoming WOMMA School of WOM in May in Chicago (I highly urge everyone with an interest in word of mouth marketing to attend the School of WOM - you'll be happy you did).

And next week Quicken Loans has been asked to sit on the panel of PRWeek's webinar - From Foe to Friend: Turning online critics into brand ambassadors.

It's a free webinar and I recommend signing up. You'll get some great advice and best practices from four online customer service experts, including our own Kelly LaVaute.

Don't miss it! You can sign up here.

Our Recruiting Team is filling up their schedules to help get the word out about our open positions! Want to work for Quicken? Visit us at one of the following Career Fairs, or get resume advice at Wayne State University!

• Eric Jones will attend the Wayne State Mock Interview/Resume Feedback Day on 3/23/2010 from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.

• Jason Haughton and Mike Hughes will attend theDavenport University (Warren) Business Career Fair on 3/23/2010 from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

• Eric Jones and Pete Ferency will attend the Northwood University Career Fair on 3/25/2010 from 11:00 am – 3:30 pm.

You can view and apply for our open positions at www.QuickenLoansCareers.com!  Call Quicken’s Career Hotline with any questions about these upcoming events: 1-800-411-JOBS.

I love it when I hear about great Quicken Loans customer satisfaction.

It's a nice feeling to know that our clients are happy and I take it personally. After all, I spend a big portion of my waking hours working for Quicken Loans. Obviously, I want my work to mean something and I want the company to which I devote so much of my time and energy to be perceived in a good fashion and to help people.

It means something to me to see a review or testimonial where a client is "wowed" by the customer service they received from their mortgage banker and the many other mortgage professionals that touch their home loan during the mortgage process.

So we decided to share some of these mortgage success stories and happy clients with the world. We call it our Quicken Loans customer satisfaction page, and it's here that you'll find the latest and best reviews of Quicken Loans from a variety of sites across the web. Viewpoints, Epinions, Twitter, FiLife, YouTube and our own Quicken Loans Reviews site, to be exact.

Let us know what you think. I also wanted to share one of my favorite video testimonials we've receieved in a while, from Tony and Amy of New Jersey. They refinanced and took the money they saved from their payment and did some really cool things around their very cute house. My favorite quote? "Our bathroom is no longer from the 60s."

Love it!

Regis Hadiaris is the man when it comes to web marketing. He writes about it often, as well as leadership, on his blog Dot Connector.

Yup, Reg knows his stuff.

But that's not what this is about. This is about Reg's other passion. Curling.

See, Regis is one of those strange guys who LOVES cold weather. He lives in Duluth and looks forward to days in the single digits. I don't get it. Never will, but that's beside the point.

He does get it and he also gets curling. He loves curling so much he is taking part in the House of Hearts Charity Bonspiel. Bonspiel is a word curlers use, by the way.

The House of Hearts Charity Bonspiel features 24 of the best curlers in the world (you may have seen some oof them recently in the Winter Olympics). Proceeds from the event go to the St. Luke Foundation in Duluth.

They are facing off against Reg and his team starting tomorrow and here's where you come in. You can help them raise money by helping Reg with a small donation (or a big one if you got it). Reg's goal was to raise $600 and he's already past that, thankfully. All donations still help a great cause and why not help Reg double his $600 goal? Seems like a good idea to me.

Bonspiel Reg.

Quicken Loans has been named one of FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the 7th consecutive year! To celebrate, our Recruiting Team is hosting a Career Fair on Tuesday, 3/9/2010 to showcase some of our open career opportunities! The Career Fair will be from 4:00 pm – 7:00 PM EST.

If you are a high-level performer who makes a difference in all that you do, check out our Mortgage Banking position at the Quicken Loans Careers site and attend our Career Fair! You’ll be on your way to success within your first year.

When: Tuesday, 3/9/2010 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Where: Quicken Loans, 20555 Victor Parkway, Livonia, MI 48152

By: Victoria Araj

Each year, Crain’s Detroit Business seeks young professionals who are considered difference makers in the metro Detroit area and honor them with the 20 in their 20s Award.  Quicken Loans is pleased to have one of their team members, Ryan South, 26, nominated for this prestigious award.  Ryan is a President’s Club banker at Quicken Loans, which is the company’s highest distinction for mortgage bankers to achieve and previously served as a Director of Mortgage Banking.

“This has been a personal goal of mine and it’s an honor to be a part of the nominated class because this award highlights the talent our area has to offer and the individuals who are dedicated to staying here and growing our city and state,” South said.

Great article about Quicken Loans chairman Dan Gilbert on sbnonline.com this past week. Wanted to share it with our readers.

Dan is a culture leader and really gets this stuff. Trust me on that.

Here's some of the article:

Dan Gilbert has a keen eye for detail. If your company’s signage, Web site or marketing materials contain any kind of misspelling, misdirection or misleading verbiage, he’ll see it and he’ll let you know about it.

Take, for instance, the sign Gilbert saw at an automobile repair shop offering “alignment” — a sign that was off-kilter. Or the store that featured two signs near its entrance, one reading “Store Closing” and the other “Now Hiring.” Or, better yet, the store with the neon “scrapbooks” sign that unfortunately had the first “s” burnt out.

I won't bother copying the rest here, but please go to the article and read it. It's a great read.

Thanks SmartBusiness for the great article about our chairman. We truly appreciate it.

Oh, and don't forget to check out the video SmartBusiness put on YouTube. We likes it!

By Mark Smith

While many of us envision a lengthy vacation as a relaxation utopia filled with tide-combed sandy beaches, romantic sunsets and tropical drinks filled to their sugary rims, one Quicken Loans team member decided to take a bit of a different vacation… one that benefits millions!

Along with 60 other generous folks from around the nation, David Little is heading in opposite direction of your typical holiday and venturing north…the Great White North to be exact! In order to raise donations for the Diabetes Research Institute, these brave snowmobilers are covering more than 4,100 miles through the frozen landscapes of northern United States and Canada on their trek from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to Tok, Alaska.

Organizing this trip with a cause is MichCanSka, Bill Bradfield’s international snowmobiling charity ride benefiting the Diabetes Research Institute which helps millions around the world in their fight against diabetes.

Follow David Little’s journey from the comfort of your cozy laptop on his blog. This site shares David’s posts along the snowy tracks of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon territory and Alaska.  You’ll also find links to the official MichCanSka site, live tracking of David’s group as well as a Donations page where you can help take the Diabetes Research Institute steps closer to curing diabetes.

Last month Quicken Loans hosted their 1st Annual Wellness Fair. The fair brought together various vendors and benefit providers such as Cigna Medical, Vision Service, Metlife Dental, Compuware, Powerhouse Gym, Botsford Hospital, and YMCA.

In addition to the multiple venders who were at the Wellness Fair there were free biometrics screenings where employees could get readings of their cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, and height, plus numerous healthy give-away prizes such as free frozen yogurt from Swirlberry, multiple Wii Fits, yoga mats, weights, stretch bands, Wii consoles, healthy recipe books, back massages and more.

Check out the video below where Quicken Loans Benefit Analyst, Erin Eiseman, discusses the happenings of the Wellness Fair.

by Victoria Araj

Detroit’s transportation system of yesterday and tomorrow will be featured in a PBS special airing on Monday, Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. on Detroit Public Television. “Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City” features the M-1 RAIL Project -- the light rail line that will connect the City of Detroit’s riverfront, downtown business district, leading educational, cultural and medical institutions, and key neighborhoods -- and includes an interview of Rock Enterprises’ (Quicken Loans parent company) President and Chief Operating Officer Matt Cullen.

We did it again!

For 7 years running, we've had the privilege of being a part of FORTUNE Magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For"! We're proud to retain the same position as last year, #29. We also continue to be the #1 ranked company in Michigan.

Check out part of FORTUNE'S profile of Quicken Loans:

What makes it so great?
Nation’s fifth-largest retail mortgage lender will move its headquarters this spring to downtown Detroit from the suburbs. The move, which will affect 1,700 employees, is owner Dan Gilbert’s idea.

Some of you might think a move to *downtown Detroit* is not a perk. But if you read the DIFF, you know we think it's the best thing since sliced bread. Not only are we excited to be a part of Motown's revitalization, we're excited to just be in the city - working, living, loving it.

You can see a little more insight in these quotes from our Chairman Dan Gilbert in a press release posted this morning:

“Our ranking on FORTUNE’s list is proof that a company’s culture and people can overcome any challenge. The last several years have been difficult for many companies in the home finance sector, but thanks to our extraordinary team members, and our take-charge, innovation-based culture, we not only survived – but achieved new company records in closed loan volume, client experience ratings, revenue and profitability,” said Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert.

“Our 3,000-plus dedicated and empowered team members continued to raise their level of awareness and met the challenges that faced them every single day. The passion and will to ‘figure it out’ was key to Quicken Loans’ accomplishments in an extremely difficult economic environment during the past couple of years,” Gilbert added.

I can't really say I've ever agreed with anything more. We did have challenges. We're not perfect. But the greatest thing about working at Quicken Loans is that everyone is a leader. You see something that doesn't make sense? Fix it. You want to make a DIFFerence? Do it.

My everyday job here as Social Media Manager is help make clients I come across on the web happy to work with Quicken Loans. And I'll tell you this...if I wasn't happy, I don't think I could do my job. My one bit of unsolicited business advice - make your employees happy. If they're happy, they'll make your clients happy. There's your bottom line.

On January 12th, at 5:22 p.m., a series of earthquakes ranging in magnitude of 6.5 to 7.3 brought Haiti to its knees. We can’t overlook the very real fact that the Haitians need our help.

So we, at Quicken Loans,are supporting two great organizations to help the people of Haiti. The first is the American Red Cross, who has already sent supplies from their warehouse in Panama and has committed over $1 million dollars of support to meet emergency needs. Funds raised by Quicken Loans team members through a payroll deduct campaign, jeans days, other fundraisers will be matched by Quicken Loans to support the American Red Cross’ Disaster Relief efforts for Haiti.

The second charity is Samaritan Feet. Quicken Loans is making a $5,000 donation to assist in helping them deliver shoes to the people in Haiti. The debris and devastation is so dreadful that the Haitian people that are trying to help others or move to different locations are having difficulties because they do not have shoes to protect their feet. Samaritan Feet will be shipping up to 10,000 pairs of new shoes to provide relief to the children.

Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone who has been affected by this devastation. To find out how you can help with disaster relief efforts, click on the following link which will take you to the American Red Cross page.

You see those ugly mugs? Those intense, manly, hairy faces are the result of some serious hard work.

The fine folks down in Quizzle Town have been pulling late nights to re-launch their namesake with a brand new look. It went live today - a visual masterpiece, a sheer work of art, all designed by the DIFF Design Doctor himself - Mr. Chris Kaufman.

And yet, behind that pretty new face lies one of the most easy-to-use personal finance sites with an interface so light and clean it can practically read your mind. The site is incredibly intuitive and you walk away every time knowing you've learned something. And we all know Quizzle remains the only place on the internet to get your free credit score & free credit report. Seriously. No strings attached, no goofy trial period membership. Quizzle is yours for free for as long as you like to use it. Or stare at it because it's so pretty. Like I do. What? I like pie charts.

And the ugly mugs, you ask? Why do I subject you to such a photo? The typically clean-shaven, boyish good looks of the Quizzle men were traded in weeks ago in for the rally beards you see above. All the men agreed to quit shaving until the site went live. They banded together like brothers in a fit of unity, a show of anticipation, for the re-launch of Quizzle. And now that it's live, the hunting trip can end and Quizzle CEO Todd Albery can go back to looking 10 years younger than he is.

DIFF readers, go check out the new Quizzle. Let 'em know what you think. And congrats to the entire Quizzle team - you have a beautiful, smart site that is truly one of the most useful things to grace the interwebz.

Hey we just wanted to make sure that first-time home buyers know this is the best time to get home. Not only has the First-Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit been extended but mortgage rates are the lowest on record and home prices are low across the nation, some areas are the lowest they have been in decades. 

Check out our First-Time Home Buyer guide below as a resource that can help guide you through every step of the way, from finding your real estate agent, picking a home, choosing your best mortgage, to the closing.

First Time Home Buyer Assistance

Jay Farner, CEO of One Reverse Mortgage (One Reverse Mortgage just happens to be a Quicken Loans family company), was recently interviewed by our own Regis Hadiaris on his Dot Connector Blog.

Regis presents a great interview of Jay Farner, with some leadership and personal productivity tips and insight that you won't want to miss. I highly suggest you check it out.

Here's a small sample to wet your beak:

What are the top client service lessons you have learned over the course of your career?

Jay Farner: I think it all starts with a quote Steven Luigi [Piazza, VP at Quicken Loans] always says: “people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Using that as the basis for Client Service is key.  Beyond that, I believe it’s about:

1. Asking really good questions
2. Demonstrating you can find the right solutions
3. Adjusting your approach to your Clients’ best way of learning
4. Being open minded to possibilities
5. Being insanely responsive to your Clients’ needs

Read the rest. You'll be happy you did!

Earlier this week, Quicken Loan team members were greeted in the lobby by 4 members of the the Detroit Doubletree Hotel staff with around 600 freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

The cookies were a welcoming gift to us at Quicken Loans, who will be Doubletree's new neighbors when we relocate to downtown Detroit in spring 2010!

Every Quicken Loans team member was handed a cookie in a Doubletree cookie sleeve and a flyer with more information about Doubletree's lovely downtown Detroit location.

Thanks Doubletree for cookies and satisfying some team members' morning hunger!

Quicken Loans is proud to have a unique culture, one which we're proud to share. You can even find our list of ISMs (a set of principles by which we live) on our website for everyone to see.

Crain's Detroit Business has an article, written by Dan Mulhern (Michigan’s First Gentleman), "Other Voices: Tough Times Test Corporate Culture"  which talks about the culture of some of the great companies in Michigan and mentions Quicken Loans as one of those:

The best companies identify what they want their ideal culture to be and define what that means and how to live it every day. In Southeast Michigan, we can look to business leaders such as Google, Valassis, Quicken Loans and Plante & Moran. Each of these companies has achieved national recognition for their commitment to their workforce.

Thanks, Dan, for your recognition of Quicken Loans pursuit of creating one of the best cultures to work in.

My lunchtime is usually reserved for me. It's a few moments to escape, get some fresh air, chat with some friends and snag some grub.

But yesterday, just before lunch, I got an email from one of my favorite project managers saying that she was was doing something slightly less self-serving on her lunch. Courtney wanted to hit some stores to support the new coat drive that Quicken Loans is doing.

Courtney sent out a 2 sentence email to some of the people around the area that we sit in and in less than 10 minutes, had over $100 to go spend on coats. So Courtney, me and one of our awesome BA's, Lisa, hit the road just after noon. Through some thrifty moves and a lovely Kohl's employee who hooked us up, we managed to get 11 coats. 11! A little bit of money, a few people, an hour of time and we'll keep 11 kids warm this winter.

I know, I JUST KNOW that Quicken Loans is going to collect so many more coats, but it was just crazy to me how with just a little bit of time and a little bit of money we could do that much. Trust me, we're not done. The entire company is on this mission. We'd like to invite you, too - we are collecting NEW coats on behalf of Capuchin Soup Kitchen and the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation. The coats should be for high school-age children or younger. You can bring them to any of our Michigan locations until December 15. Questions? Kelly@QuickenLoans.com

Just a quick thank you to Jason Keath for mentioning us today in his blog post 10 Great Corporate Blogs

It's an honor and we are very impressed to be included along such blogs as Zappos, GM Fastlane, Southwest's blog, among other very cool blogs.

Check out the full list at the link above.

Thanks again Jason. We'll try to keep this blog interesting and relevant. Hopefully we'll stay in your top 10.

This week, about 100 of us got together at All Saints' Church in Pontiac Michigan and helped give out Thanksgiving dinners to the less fortunate. We helped give out about 1,200 dinners and it was cool.

Please enjoy the vid!

The Today Show discusses a new helmet designed to reduce football related head injuries.

Concussions go drastically unreported at High Schools because many believe you have to be unconscious to have one. There are a number of symptoms that can be a sign of a concussion. According to the Journal of Athletic Training approximately 55,000 concussions are experienced in High School football each year.

Xenith has created a new specialized helmet that is being used to minimize these risks of concussion. These helmets are equipped with compression shock absorbers that cushion much like an airbag in a car. Watch the video to learn more about the new helmet design and what schools are doing to get the helmets for their teams.

Remember when we wrote about Tweet for ALS?

On Saturday, October 3rd the ALS (Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) Association held its annual Walk to Defeat ALS on Belle Isle and more than 500 people showed up to raise awareness for the disease. Bill Emerson, CEO for Quicken Loans challenged Quicken and its family of companies to raise over $75,000 to defeat ALS. Through individual team member contributions, internal auctions for unique prizes, creative team competitions such as raffles, themed lunches, the launch of a one-day online national Tweet-for-ALS campaign on the social media site Twitter and even valet parking for a day, the goal was surpassed and more than $120,000 was raised.

Now THAT is the DIFF. Good job, Quicken Loans!

Quicken Loans team members were given a task. Build a device that could keep an egg whole from a 5-story drop. The video says it all. The surprise winning device? A Dell computer that kept the egg unbroken. Other great gadgets included parachutes, balloons and even a pumpkin.

Word to the wise: 3 weeks is far too long to leave your mischievous co-workers alone with your belongings.

Yes, my brother works at Quicken Loans too. Yes, this is his desk. Yes, he spent 3 weeks in Italy with his wife. And YES, his team wrapped every single item of his in tin foil.

As a co-worker, I find this hilarious and awe-inspiring. As his little sister, I find it AWESOME.

Got a heads up from my friends Pete and Eric on our Recruiting team about 2 career fairs in Michigan. I think this is cool not only because we'll be there, but, well, Michigan's unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country. So, Michigan, if you're reading this and need a job - get to one of these career fairs tomorrow!

• Michigan 2009 Fall Career Expo, October 22 from 11am -3pm at Northwood University in Midland
• 5th Annual Diversity Career Fair, October 22 from 12noon - 3pm at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti

To check out what we have to offer, visit our Careers site and view all of Quicken Loans job listings.

Even though the word "boss" is a 4-letter word at Quicken Loans (we use the term "leader"), we took a few minutes to celebrate the leader of the DIFF/Brain Storm team, Mr. Clayton George Closson III today, National Boss Day. Treated him to his favorite coffee (Starbucks), some Halloween candy and of course, a slightly irreverent card. It's me and the big guy in the image above. Happy Leader Day!

Just over 10 years, ago Quicken Loans team member Adam Niskar had a day that changed his life forever.

A day and a 10 year journey that is best explained in the words of his brother, Ross: 

It was an extremely hot summer and Adam attended a lake party with friends. He decided to go swimming and, like he’d done many times before, Adam went running off the dock.

This dive was different.

Water levels were dangerously low. Adam hit his head on the bottom of the lake. What he thought was a safe level was only 30 inches of water. After he hit the lake floor, he immediately knew something was wrong.

Adam could not move his limbs. He was laying face down and in danger of drowning. At first, his friends thought he was joking. But this was no joke.