Tom Monge arrived in Sun Valley in the June of 1977 with his family to live and work in the Wood River Valley. With a B.S.B.A. Degree from the University of Denver majoring in Building Industry and Real Estate and six years of extensive real estate marketing, appraising and lending experience, Monge opened the offices of First Western Mortgage Corp. which was the first mortgage banking firm to do business in the Wood River Valley, along with his own Real Estate Appraisal firm (Monge Appraisal) and a small real estate brokerage office. During the next ten years of mortgage operations, Monge was responsible for originating approximately $70 million dollars in new loans throughout the Sun Valley area. In 1978, Monge Appraisal purchased the appraisal files of Art Ensign and became one of only two real estate appraisal firms operating in the Wood River Valley. In 1988 First Western Mortgage closed its doors and Monge devoted his entire time to real estate appraising, consulting and brokerage operations. During the 20 years of Monge Appraisal’s operations, Monge became the largest real estate appraisal firm in the Wood River Valley.