March, 1966 President's Message
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TITLE ws MARCH, 1966 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE MARCH, 1966 Fellow ALTA Members: Time does indeed fly! It is hard to realize that this month of March is the 6th month in our ALTA year and that, after March, there will be just 6 months ahead in our year. A good time to take inventory of activities to date and plans for the remaining time in the 1965-66 year. Has your ALTA committee met by some form of communication? A personal, a telephone conference, or at least a written exchange by mail, meeting of members? Has your com mittee chairman let you know what is expected, or sought, of you this year? Have you, as a committee member, offered to be of service to your chairman? We have enough time remaining in our year to accomplish much of benefit to ALTA. Let's communicate. In December we enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a meet ing of the Public Relations Committee at our ALTA Washington headquarters office; in January, a special meeting of the Executive Committee was held, also at our Washington headquarters office; and in February, a pre-organizational meeting at Charlotte, North Carolina virtually assured the addition to ALTA of another affiliated regional land title association (tentatively named Land Title Association of the Carolinas). Principally through the efforts and enthusiasm of N. Bruce Boney, Charlotte, North Carolina, a mem ber of the Membership and Organization Committee, the formal organization of this new association and its first convention meeting in late May seem a reality. In March, the annual mid-winter conference at Chandler, Arizona with the unusual resort atmosphere of the San Marcos, the first ALTA golf tournament, and (possibly) a new attendance record established. Looking ahead to April: Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma will hold state conventions; the Central States Regional Title Insurance group will meet; and on April 22-23 the first ALTA Manage ment Seminar will be held at the Sheraton-O'Hare Motor Inn near Chicago. Congratulations to Kee and Bill McAuliffe on the arrival on March 2 of Peter Michael, their seventh child. c4m07S~ Don B. Nichols TITLE NEWS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN LAND TITLE ASSOCIATION EDITORIAL OFFICE: Premier Bldg., 1725 Eye St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006 296-3671 FEATURES How to work with the Press 2 First ALTA Management Seminar 10 A Backhanded Compliment 13 Speedy Take-off for Title Firm 15 Forgery on the Increase 20 DEPARTMENTS A Message from the President inside front cover State Association Corner 18 In the News 22 Meeting Timetable 36 ON THE COVER: the unsung heroes of the glamorous news paper wor!d arc the feature editors who go along day after day seeking truthful and newsworthy items. Such a man is VOLUME XLV Jack Willmann, Real Estate Editor of The Washington, D. C. Post. NUMBER 3 Jack frequently Rays that while other newspapers are interested in things his department is interested in peoplea The wisdom of this philosophy is evidenced by his recent election as Presi- 1966 dent of the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Our congratulations to this splendid newspaper man who has a word of advice !or ALTA members-see page 2. JAMES W. ROBINSON, Editor FRANK H. EBERSOLE, Assistant Editor and Manager of Advertising Page 1 A Top Newsman Gives Tips: HOW TO WORK WITH THE PRESS JohnB. Willmann, Real Estate Editor of THE WASHINGTON POST, New President Of The National Association Of Real Estate Editors, In An Interview With TITLE NEWS, Gives Some Challenging And Thought-Provoking Comments And Tips On Title Company-News paper Relations That You Won't Want To Miss. By D eane and David H eller ow well does your company John B. Willmann, Real Estate Edi work with the press? How tor of The Washington Post, and Pres H ident of the National Association of much do home buyers and poten Real Estate Editors, gives sound ad tial home buyers in your business vice on how title companies can work area know about title insurance? with the Press. Items on the Settlement Sheet? Abstracts of title? Closing costs? What is the public "image" of your company in your home town? Important questions. New busi ness, increased prestige, a better understanding on the part of the realty-buying public are the heady rewards for effective public rela tions where it helps most-in the individual title company's home town newspaper. ALT A's Public Relations Com mittee is firmly of the opinion that many of the industry's public relation's problems are the result of a lack of information on the Page 2 part of customers and potential news releases, advertisements, fea customers of the services per ture stories and magazine articles formed by titlemen. A classic to bring the facts about risks and example, of course, is the Reader's legal comp1exities to opinion-mold Digest article of a couple of years ers and the public. But there is an back. Undoubted1y without malice, important role for every title com the article circulated to an audi pany to play in its own com ence of millions a mishmash of munity. misconceptions, misdrawn conclu sions and misinformation highly Publicity Where It Helps unfair and damaging to the title In The Home Town Newspaper industry. On the state and local levels, a The Readers' Digest article was bit more "public relations con a shocker. But it did serve one sciousness" can pay real dividends good purpose. It alerted the title -both to the individual title com industry to the need for greater pany and to the industry as a effort in getting the truth and the whole. ALTA's Public Relations facts to the public. Committee be1ieves that if each On the national level, ALT A is company makes a bit more of an doing its utmost with a series of effort in its own area of opera- The increasing interest in real estate news, Editor Willmann declares, provides an excellent opportunity for title companies to work with real estate editors to tell factual stories about the title business to the public. 1 ~- Page 3 tions, the sum total of the efforts might the real estate editor be in will not be a little thing-but terested in? What are some "do's" rather a groundswell of favorable and "don't's" in dealing with the opinion that will have highly bene press? ficial results to the entire indus "Newspapermen are always in try. terested in N-E-W-S," Mr. Wi1l The power of the press is mann said. "And that can be in enormous. In a major city, even a terpreted broadly. For example, I short news story may be read by don't believe there's a real estate hundreds of thousands of persons. editor in the country who wouldn't It can affect the thinking of vast be interested in a really well-writ numbers in their attitude toward ten article on closing costs. The your company. It can win cus key to working successfully with tomers, influence people, and pro your local newspaper is to keep ject a favorable image needed by the need for news in mind." every company if it is to grow and A native of Williamsport, Pa., prosper. Jack graduated magna cum laude So great is the power of the in journa1ism from Notre Dame, press in influencing people that was a Navy officer on an attack no company can afford to ignore transport during World War II, it. Every tit1e executive will find and now heads the National As it worthwhile-whether his com sociation of Real Estate Editors, pany has a public relations staff or which has among its active mem not-to know something about this bers 82 editors from the nation's great new force in the 20th-cen top 'papers. tury business world. Fortunately, Jack frankly declares that many public relations and dealing with title companies lag behind other the press are fascinating, in segments of the real estate fra triguing subjects. ternity in their news conscious ness. "I don't think I get two tips Tips From An Expert a year for stories from title com In an effort to be helpful, pany executives," he says. "Al TITLE NEWS recently had an ex though, in many cases, it would clusive .interview with John B. be entirely possible and proper to Willmann, Real Estate Editor of work title companies into stories The Washington Post, and newly of new developments and other elected President of the National activities with news value." Association of Real Estate Ed Mr. Willmann noted the great itors. Jack, a husky six-footer who increase in the pub1ic's appetite once pitched a no-hit baseball game for news concerning home-build for Lycoming College, was asked to ing, housing and realty news. "It's comment frankly on practical steps grown up since the war," he said. that the local title company can "Only a few years ago, the Real take in dealing with the press. Estate Section in most papers con What kind of information do real sisted of a single page or part of estate editors want from title com a page. Today, however, many panies? What kind of photographs Real Estate Sections consist of 16 involving title company personnel to 18 pages almost every week. Page 4 The public's appetite for real es swer is anything but simple. tate news has grown enormously. "Most of the time, we use the Real Estate Sections vary widely, term to describe what newspaper of course, from city to city.