ALTA Presents Three Honorary Memberships
October 21, 2014
The American Land Title Association is proud to announce its Board of Governors awarded Honorary Memberships to Rande Yeager, Herschel Beard and Cliff Morgan.
Honorary Membership is bestowed by ALTA’s Board of Governors for performance of distinguished and meritorious service to the association or to the land title industry. ALTA presented the Honorary Memberships during its 2014 Annual Convention in Seattle. ALTA has previously awarded 60 other honorary memberships.
Rande Yeager
Yeager, an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, is president and chief executive officer of Old Republic National Title Insurance Co. He served as ALTA’s 2005-06 president. ALTA was in the midst of a public awareness campaign during his tenure. Yeager’s leadership was critical in establishing the importance of such a campaign and encouraging ALTA members to educate consumers and promote the value of title insurance.
“Rande continues to be a strong voice for doing the right thing and for recognizing the impact of customer perceptions of the industry,” said Rob Chapman, ALTA’s immediate past president. “Given the current regulatory climate, his voice and leadership still strike the right chord.”
Also during his presidency, Yeager testified on behalf of the industry. The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee held hearings on the Title Insurance Marketplace following the release of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) study. Yeager provided ALTA’s perspective on the perceived need to create more competition in the industry and increased efficiency for consumers.
Click here to watch a video tribute for Yeager.
Herschel Beard
Beard has been involved with ALTA since joining the Education Committee in 1991. He continues to serve the committee he chaired from 1997 through 2002. During his time on the committee, Beard helped develop, review and edit education coursed provided by LTI and assisted in the development of the team building board game Title Triumph: The Game of Land Title Knowledge.
“Herschel has been a strong leader and contributor to ALTA for more than 20 years and has been an integral part of creating some of the most important products offered by ALTA and its Land Title Institute,” Chapman said. “As a member of the ALTA Board of Governors from 2009 to 2013, Herschel was part of another herculean effort – this time to create ALTA's Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices. His perspective and advice to fellow agents was crucial.”
Additionally, Beard served on the Abstracters and Title Agents Section Executive Committee (2002-2013) and was an inaugural member of the National Title Professional (NTP) Council, having served on the subcommittee of the ALTA Education Committee that developed the professional designation program. He continues to serve on the NTP Council.
Click here for a video tribute for Beard.
Cliff Morgan
Morgan spent more than 40 years with First American, serving as a special member to ALTA’s Forms Committee from 1984-87 when ALTA and the California and New York state associations formed a joint task force to create what became the 1987 ALTA Policy. He then served on the Forms Committee for 13 years and chaired the committee for five years before leaving the post in the fall of 2008.
“Cliff is eminently qualified for this honor,” said Michelle Korsmo, ALTA’s chief executive officer. “He spent his entire career in service to the land title insurance industry. He is widely respected as one of the finest underwriting minds the industry has ever known.”
Click here for a video tribute for Morgan.
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].