July 11, 2007

PROTECTING PRIVACY - THE LAW AND YOUR COMPANY PLAN

by Joey Prohaska, A.V.P., Western Region Training Coordinator, Southern Title Insurance Corporation

What's the #1 crime in the U.S. right now? Identity theft! It is sad and sobering to know that the Federal Trade Commission reports for the 4th year in a row identity theft topped the list of consumer complaints. Identity theft accounted for over 42 percent of all complaints lodged in the FTC Consumer Sentinel database in 2004, up 40 percent from 2002 and it keeps on growing. I shudder to think how the 2007 statistics will read. More story

TLTA MEMBERS KICK UP THEIR HEELS AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE

TLTA members, family and friends kicked up their heels at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort during the Annual Conference held June 8-10. Highlights included some fantastic fiddling by Johnny Gimble and family at the Friday night opening party and a toe-tapping performance by Gary P. Nunn and his band at the President's Gala. To view the Conference Slide Show, click here.

Many thanks to our sponsors for their generous support of the Annual Conference. Click here for a list of sponsors.

SHERI ASBELL INSTALLED AS 2007-08 TLTA PRESIDENT

SHERI ASBELL, Senior Vice President, Southwest Region Manager and Division Counsel for United General Title Insurance Company, was installed as TLTA 2007-08 president during a ceremony held during the annual conference. Asbell is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and Texas Tech University School of Law. She has served on the TLTA Board of Directors since 2002 and chaired its Regulatory Committee, Basic Manual Indexing Task Force and Finance Committee. More story and photo

BOB PHILO NAMED 2007 TITLEMAN OF THE YEAR

BOB PHILO was named TLTA TitleMan of the Year at the annual conference held in June. The Titleman of the Year is the highest award bestowed upon a TLTA member and is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the title industry and the association over a long period of time. A native of Washington D. C., Philo graduated from the University of Baltimore with a Juris Doctorate Degree in 1971. More story and photos

PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS RECOGNIZED

DAVID WOLFF, ABBE DOSS PATTON AND DEANA ROQUETTE HICKMAN received TLTA's Professional Excellence Awards during the association's general session at the annual conference. The Professional Excellence Award recognizes superior service and performance by those who work behind the scenes in the industry. More story and photos

TRACIE FLEMING RECOGNIZED AS TLTA'S 2006-2007 RISING STAR

TRACIE FLEMING, Vice President, Branch Manager for LandAmerica Commonwealth of Fort Worth was named TLTA's Rising Star for 2006-2007. This award was created to recognize committee volunteers whose involvement has been deemed exemplary. Tracie was identified by committee chairs for her enthusiasm and leadership skills. More story and photo

JOEY PROHASKA RECEIVES SUPER STAR AND MVP AWARDS

The TLTA Super Star Award was presented to JOEY PROHASKA, Assistant Vice President, Western Region Training Coordinator with Southern Title Insurance Corporation. Joey received the award for recruiting 113 individual members during 2006-2007. Joey was also recognized with the MVP Award for recruiting the most new agent members this year. Click here for photo

RECIPIENTS OF PEGGY HAYES TEACHING AWARD AND E. GORDON SMITH AWARD HONORED

The Peggy Hayes Teaching Award was presented to TERESA FROST, Vice President and Director of Training and Education for Alamo/Fidelity during the annual conference. The award honors an instructor who has shown outstanding service and commitment to the Land Title School. More story and photos

BRIAN PITMAN, ALLEN PLACE AND MINDY CARR RECEIVE PRESIDENT'S AWARD

Outgoing president Bruce Boyer recognized three individuals for their contributions to the association at the President's dinner. Bruce presented the award to BRIAN PITMAN in recognition of Brian's assistance and contributions during his year as president. TLTA Legislative Counsel ALLEN PLACE and Director of Government Affairs MINDY CARR received the President's Award for their tireless efforts during the recent legislative session. More story and photos

LESLIE MIDGLEY HONORED FOR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE TO TLTA

President Bruce Boyer made a special presentation honoring LESLIE MIDGLEY for her 25 years of service to TLTA and its members. Leslie joined the staff of the Texas Land Title Association in 1982 and has been involved in every aspect of the association since then. More story and photo

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN PRIZE WINNER

CINDY HOLLOWAY of American Title Company of Houston was the lucky winner of the 2007 Individual Membership Campaign prize drawing. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Barrett, Burke, Wilson, Castle, Daffin & Frappier, L.L.P. for their generous sponsorship of the Individual Member prize for a second year. Congratulations, Cindy! Click here for photo

SAVE $$ WITH THE BASIC MANUAL UPDATE SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAM

We wanted to give you more information about the Basic Manual Update Subscription Program that was launched in January 2007. This program is the best value for your dollar when it comes to purchasing updates for your Basic Manual. The Update Subscription Program allows you to sign up to receive your updates for one low, yearly rate, rather than having to purchase each update as they are released.

The subscription is for UPDATES ONLY, and does not apply to purchases of the complete manual. Members who have signed up for the subscription service will receive all 2007 updates to the Basic Manual, including TDI Bulletins and upcoming changes to Title 11 that were passed in the recent legislative session.

Click here for more infomation and to sign up for the Basic Manual Update Subscription.

THE TLTA CAREER CENTER - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY PRICES!

We're celebrating TLTA Career Center's one-year anniversary with special advertising rates for title industry employers. Tailor your recruiting to reach qualified title industry professionals quickly and easily. Search the resume database to proactively contact candidates, and get automatic email notification whenever a candidate matches your criteria. Click here for more information.

SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

We know many of you serve as instructors and trainers for your company, or have written articles about the title industry. We welcome your articles and information for publication in Downdate, Dateline, and on the TLTA website. Contact [email protected] for more information.