MCRC Annual Meeting Rallies the Troops

Advocates Honored for Work on Behalf of Consumers

Commissioner of Financial Regulation Sarah Bloom Raskin brought the crowd to its feet at MCRC's Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony on Sept. 24, 2009, with her passionate appeal to consumer advocates to take action as our state and nation face economic turmoil. The group of about 100 people gathered at The Meeting House in Columbia to honor three tireless advocates: Bloom Raskin was named the Denis J. Murphy Consumer Advocate of the Year, Delegate Sue Hecht of Frederick was named the Consumer Legislator of the Year, and Karl-Henri Gauvin of The Gauvin Law Firm was honored as the Volunteer of the Year.

“The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition leads the way in underscoring the problems of payday loans, the cost of being poor, the embarrassment of losing your house, the temptations to pay egregious sums of money to businesses that promise to fix it all, the hazards of being financially vulnerable – so that once we identify and understand these problems we can craft solutions that are precise and remedial,” Commissioner Bloom Raskin said. “The chickens have come home to roost; these are our problems and they are not disappearing on their own.  They are all around us and to pretend that they are not is pretty disingenuous when you’re starting at approximately 10,000 notice of intent to foreclose, 51 payday loan cases, 80 loss mitigation consultant cases, seven collection agency cases, 68 mortgage cases, nine credit repair cases, and up to 40 consumer complaints in one day.”


Delegate Hecht was introduced by Frederick attorney Scott C. Borison, who said Hecht "wants to know what the problems are and what solutions are available — she just eats up information. But most importantly, she actually does things."

Hecht, who sponsored a bill earlier this year to beef up the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, acknowledged audience members for their advocacy and noted that if consumer protections are strengthened then “people who are honest will have a better world."

Karl-Henri Gauvin of The Gauvin Law Firm was honored for his extensive pro-bono work in helping Marylanders avoid home foreclosure. "When I entered the field of law, I wanted to represent the underdog," he said. "We want to help those victims who lack a voice."

The event was made possible with help from the following sponsors:
Gold-level: Jack Fitzgerald & The Fitzgerald Auto Malls; National Association of Consumer Advocates; Quinn, Gordon & Wolf, Chtd; Silver-level: TracFone Wireless, Inc.; Verizon; Bronze-level: Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors, Civil Justice, The Hastings Group, Peter A. Holland, The Holland Law Firm, PC; MECU of Baltimore Inc.; University of Baltimore School of Law.