ATL Developments with Geoff Smith: Ribbon Cutting for the new Assurance Financial office in Roswell, GA
On this special edition of ATL Developments, North Fulton Business RadioX® host John Ray broadcast live from the ribbon cutting of the new Assurance Financial office in Roswell, led by Geoff Smith. John interviewed several key Assurance Financial executives who attended the celebration as well as real estate agents who came to support Geoff. The turnout was amazing, and Geoff was so busy that John and Geoff didn’t get to have a conversation until the next day by phone! Congratulations to Geoff and the rest of the Assurance Financial team on the new Roswell office!
Regular episodes of ATL Developments with Geoff Smith are broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Kenny Hodges, President & CEO, Assurance Financial
Kenny Hodges is the President and CEO of Assurance Financial. After working with Wells Fargo for seven years out of college, he founded Assurance Financial in 2001 and has grown the company to over 20 branch offices supported by two operations centers. He is a licensed mortgage banker through the National Mortgage Licensing System Registry and has 27 years of mortgage lending experience. Kenny earned a B.S. in Entrepreneurship Management from Louisiana Tech University where he was elected to serve as the Student Government Association President. He is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association where he is a past Board President. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Louisiana and is a past Chapter Chair. Kenny currently serves on the Louisiana Tech University College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board. Kenny is married with three children and resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Clavis Smith
Clavis entered the mortgage business in 1989 and has held numerous positions in mortgage origination and sales production before moving exclusively into sales leadership in 2014. He joined Assurance Financial in 2018 as the Eastern Regional Sales Manager. His experience in retail mortgage production provides great guidance and support to branch leaders and loan production personnel. Clavis is also very active in both state and national Mortgage Banker’s Associations advocating on issues to support the industry. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and currently resides in Glen Allen, VA with his wife. He has four children and one grandchild, and enjoys fishing on the Chesapeake Bay or playing tennis and golf in his spare time.
Chris Bartelski, Realtor and Educator
Chris’ passion for helping his wonderful clients find their home comes from his family house. Filled with 2 energetic boys, 2 cats, and a dog, it’s everything he ever wanted. It’s a gift that he will never take for granted. Using his experience as a marketer and associate broker, his purpose is to help you find your happy.
Damian Cook, Atlanta Branch Manager, Assurance Financial
Damian Cook is a Branch Manager and Loan Officer in the Atlanta Branch of Assurance Financial. Recognized for outstanding service, Damian has helped more than 775 clients become homeowners. Over 95% of borrowers who participated in a survey gave Assurance Financial the highest satisfaction rating. 100% of those rated Damian Cook’s attention to detail and customer service excellence as their primary reasons for the high satisfaction rating.
A native Georgian, Damian is involved with several organizations; he is as an active member of Dunwoody Baptist Church, Committee Chair of Young Life Perimeter North, and a volunteer of the Atlanta Food Bank. Damian enjoys CrossFit and traveling and spending time with his wife and three children. He graduated from the University of Alabama and received his master’s degree from Mercer University.
Damian is a recipient of the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia Gold Award, and the 2016 Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia Platinum Award. He is licensed with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry in the state of Georgia.
Michael Hernandez, The Hernandez Group
Michael & Roxie joined the Atlanta Board of Realtors in July of 1995. Roxie immediately began helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs, earning “Rookie of the Year” while Michael finalized the sale of his family business.
In 1998, Michael joined Roxie forming the Hernandez Group. They have since added a full-time Team Coordinator, several agents specializing in buyer representation, a full-time Business Development Department and a Multi-Lingual Agent, further improving the level of service they provide their clients.
The Hernandez Group is dedicated to building relationships and committed to providing the highest level of customer service that is embodied by all in their office. They take the extra steps necessary to fully grasp their clients’ needs: whether it’s buying or selling their first home, downsizing from their estate home, starting an investment portfolio with rental property, giving advice such as whether to build onto their current home or move to a larger home or looking for land to build their perfect home.
When you work with the Hernandez Group you get the full service and attention their highly qualified team believes you deserve.The Hernandez Group specializes in: Single Family Homes, Luxury Homes, Estate Sales, Condo/Townhomes, Lease Purchase Programs, New Construction, Relocation (In/Out of Georgia), Investment/Rental Properties,1031 Tax Free Exchanges & Self-directed IRA’s.
Geoff Smith, Host of ATL Developments with Geoff Smith
ATL Developments with Geoff Smith covers all things economic development in the Atlanta Metro area. From everything inside the Beltline to Avalon and beyond, Geoff Smith interviews the movers and shakers making the ATL one of the best places to live, work and play. An archive of past episodes can be found here.
Geoff Smith is a mortgage banker with Assurance Financial working with Real Estate agents and homebuyers to help them get happily to their closing table. Geoff is an authority on the latest economic development trends shaping the Atlanta Metro area. His interviews reveal an inside perspective at how things get done in the ATL.
Geoff is an active member of his community serving on the Board of Directors of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, as well as holding the position of chairman for the Chamber’s Education Committee. He is also Secretary of the Roswell Youth Baseball Association and coaches his sons in football, baseball and basketball. Geoff enjoys golf, camping and traveling with his wife and two sons. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia.
Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked from scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to 
