At its recent annual convention, the Missouri Land Title Association announced its annual awards and installed its new board members. But the highlight of the event was awarding the first Missouri Title Professional Designations, and outgoing MLTA President David Townsend awarded the first designation posthumously to Chris Elliott.
Elliott passed away in January 2017 after spending more than three decades in the land title industry, first at Chicago Title and then as vice president and underwriting counsel at First American Title. He was named the MLTA Title Person of the Year in 2007, and the professional designation program was renamed “The Chris Elliott Missouri Title Professional Program.”
Other recipients of the initial designations were: Ellen Albrecht, Chuck Bowman, Wendy Cromer, Elizabeth Daniel, Mary Jo Edmiston, James Hensley, Mike Malone, Matt McBride, Rick Pierce, Barb Seerey, Burton (Buzz) M. Shepard, Candi Slobodnik, David Townsend and Cheryl Williams.
Stacy Burton was named the Jack Flippo Title Person of the Year at the MLTA banquet, while Michele Lawrence and Grant Zehner shared the Young Title Person of the Year award.
Seerey was installed as the new MLTA president. Bowman will serve as first vice president, Mark Foglesong is the second vice president, Terry Detring is treasurer and Townsend is the immediate past president. Other board members are Malone, McBride, Jake Nesselrodt, James Payne, Ruth Redman and Robert Swiss.