The American Repossessor

When someone dies that we like and respect, both as a good friend and colleague, it impacts our lives in ways we can’t even begin to think about, until it happens.

Needless to say that I am deeply saddened by the death of a wonderful man on 30 April 2009, a man that really was way ahead of his time within the repossession industry as during my time within it, (as people like him are the minority and not the majority), unfortunately that really have the honesty, the integrity and the dignity that this man had. My career extends over 20 years of being in business and I have worked with many businesses and their owners, in many countries around the world and met many people so I feel qualified to make that comment, as experience prevails.

It was his professionalism, his dedication, quality of service commitment and a great personality with a quirky sense of humor to boot, that drew me to work with him, both as a consultant and as a member of his senior management team, seeing his company through ‘thick and thin’ but always looking to reach his goal, but more importantly, always seeking to take those that worked for him, with him. He truly was about wanting to ‘share the wealth’ that he created. Those that really knew him will know exactly what I am talking about.

By all means, he was no saint in the sense of being ‘holier than thou’ but the man I knew had scruples and morals that many don’t even know what those two words mean.

It is because of working with him and his company that I am where I am now, as prior to that I had worked in many industry sectors ranging from retail, construction, non-profit, government, law enforcement, engineering, clothing manufacturing, business support sector and many others…. but I had never encountered an industry such as this one, until I met Karl Moss.

A veteran law enforcement sergeant, that served on the Governor’s detail with George Voinovich , who saw an opportunity within the repossession industry and started his own repossession/recovery company called Integrity Recovery, Inc. on a part time basis. Knowing Karl as I did, I knew exactly why he gave the company its name and he lived up to that in all that he did, through his employees, both office staff, drivers and field agents.

When I was developing the marketing for the company, one of the main phrases I used was one that truly did reflect Karl and who he really was -

…”Our role is not to judge those that are misfortune enough to have their vehicle within a repossession process, and because of this awareness, we treat the debtor with respect, courtesy and dignity, in order that they can keep their integrity in tact…”

No, he did not presume or assume to understand the complicated beings that many of us are, as there were times when human beings exasperated him. But he didn’t give up.

Part-time soon became full-time and before he knew it, Integrity Recovery, Inc. was a multi-million dollar company, covering the entire state of Ohio and employing 30 people plus. He knew what clients wanted and he provided a service that more than met their expectations.

Of course, there were ups and downs, I mean, what company does not experience that? Through the rough times, employees (many of which had been with the company for years) were dedicated and committed to him and his vision of the company and through the good times, he would ensure that he re-numerated their loyalty, and not just in monetary ways!

Both my children met him many times and liked him immensely. I have to say, he was one of the few people that accepted me for who I was and the business experience I had, particularly as I was new to the United States. Being an ‘outsider’ and from another country is not easy, even though I knew America was ‘good friends’ with the United Kingdom, is not easy by anyone’s standards but he really made me feel welcomed, as did his family.

In many ways, Karl was a quiet, but polite, unassuming man that had a passion for cars. His office walls were surrounded by shelves of model cars from all eras, all of which were kept in pristine condition. He was meticulous about the vehicles that he owned and when he had downtime or wanted to relax, he would detail them. Not something many of us would want to do through choice, but Karl was Karl.

Karl leaves behind a wife and two lovely children, parents, family, friends and a team of colleagues and employees that will miss him immensely.

An old Brit song, sang by Dame Vera Lynn that became famous during World War II “………..We’ll Meet Again…” and Karl, you are most definitely high on my list of people that I would want …”to meet again someday…..” (as the song goes).

Susan Marston