Donald Webster one of the original framers of VHFA died earlier this month at the age of 82. As Vermont's Secretary of Development and Community Affairs from 1972 through 1976, Webster helped develop VHFA from its outset in 1974. Faced with a serious mortgage funds crunch across the state, Webster and VHFA's first Board of Commissioners created a Loans to Lenders Program that met with an overwhelming response. Within 3 months of the program's start, the program had committed funds to over 500 Vermont qualified home buyers.
The Board continued to roll out additional programs over the next few years to address unmet mortgage needs among Vermont homebuyers and lenders. In VHFA's first annual report in 1975, the board commissioners described their vision for the agency:
"We must look upon our people as a natural resource, just as we do the trees and the mountains. We, therefore, must make a commitment to protect them with decent shelter as they are a part of Vermont's total environment.... with strong support from both the administrative and legislative branches of our government we can accomplish this goal in the near future at minimal cost to the tax payers of the state through the vehicle of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency."
Read more about Donald Webster in The Commons.