Hello Members: Happy Summer, Everyone! Hopefully, you’re enjoying the warm (and humid!) weather and taking advantage of the extra daylight hours to have some fun! As for your OCEA Board, we’ve taken the summer off, with no General Membership meetings in July or August. THANK YOU to our June speakers - Greg Lerum of Lerum Insurance Agency, and Kirklyn Smith of EOI Direct. As promised, these charming gentlemen provided attendees with helpful information for understanding the interplay between Insurance Agents, Lenders and Escrow. If you missed out, you “shoulda” been there!

THANK YOU to our four June meeting sponsors - Umpqua Bank, represented by Allan Gomez; Corodata, represented by Max Schmitz; SoftPro, represented by Andy Su; and City National Bank, represented by Ray Moody. We are so appreciative of each of you and your continued support of OCEA. We could not provide our educational meetings to the membership without you!

THANK YOU to all those who donated door prizes - Bank of the West, BBS Notary, Corodata, City National Bank, The Escrow Training Institute, FPS, MyNHD, RBJ, SoftPro, SMS and Umpqua Bank. (I hope we haven’t missed anyone, but if so, please let me know!) $96.00 was raised in our 50/50 drawing, with “our” half designated for CEA’s Miriam Schwarz Benevolent Fund. Thank you to everyone who participated by purchasing raffle tickets and 50/50 chances! You are also instrumental in the success of our meetings!

THANK YOU to Mary Schwacher, as she retires from The Escrow Source, for years of behind-the-scenes work on behalf of OCEA! We’re going to miss your great smile, wish you all the best, and hope you’ll check in with us from time to time.

PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS: Congratulations to Debrina Wood of Hallmark Escrow, who recently successfully completed CEA’s exam and was awarded her “CET” - Certified Escrow Technician designation. ‘Way to go, Debrina! Stepping up to the challenge says a lot about your commitment to your career in escrow! If anyone else wants to do the same, the last test date of the year is Sunday, October 15th in Costa Mesa, immediately following Conference. Application deadline is September 15.

SAVE THE DATE: CEA’s 62nd Annual Conference will be held October 12-14, right in our backyard, at the Hilton Hotel Costa Mesa. Have you been getting CEA’s email blasts detailing the speakers and topics? Check it out on (and “like”) California Escrow Association’s FB page. Look for the “Alice In EscrowLand Super Hero” logo. It’s going to be GREAT. Don’t miss it!

PLEASE LIKE US: If you haven’t already, please search Facebook for “Orange County Escrow Association” to find our familiar orange logo, and “like” our page, too. There, you’ll find future meeting notices, photos and information about past meetings, and promotional items...

Speaking of which: Our MEMBERSHIP DRIVE CONTEST is going on until November 1. The winner will receive a prize of $100 CASH, AND admission to two future OCEA general membership dinner meetings. THAT’S worth the effort, right?! Tell your not-yet-member colleagues that if they join now, among other benefits, they’ll get reduced pricing for Conference...See contest details on the attached flyer. A membership application is also attached.

OCEA HISTORY SHOUT OUT: Attending the Escrow Institute of California’s 70th Conference earlier this year, I was entertained by a great slideshow with photos of their past events going WAY back, and also showing the history of the various types of machines and forms that have been used in escrow over the decades. Remember stationary phones, typewriters, carbon copy contracts, check imprinting machines, etc.?? If you have photos of your own to share, we would LOVE to have them! Please check your phone, the shoeboxes full of printed photos on the top shelf of your closet, your scrapbooks -- and send them over. OCEA was established in 1950 -- let’s see what we can come up with and how far back we can go with our own history!

ARE YOU INTERESTED in becoming a Director of OCEA? We’re always looking for talent and the infusion of ideas and energy that come with new faces at the table. We have one-year and three-year terms, and the investment in time and energy can be as big or as small as you like. Think about it! Election season is coming up fast - please contact me or any Director with questions.

SAVE THE DATE, PART DEUX: Our next General Membership Meeting will the third Wednesday of the month, on September 20. Lisa Tyler of Fidelity National Title will be educating and entertaining us in her inimitable style. Please mark your calendar now and watch your email in the coming weeks for details to follow.

Enjoy your summer, and as the (really old...) song goes: ‘See you in September!

Thank you,
Debi Peters, CSEO, OCEA 2017 President