Industry News

ALTA Announces Winners of 2022 ALTA Our Values Awards

October 27, 2022

ALTA announced the winners of the 2022 ALTA Our Values Awards during ALTA ONE, which was held Oct. 11-14 in San Diego.

The awards program showcases the title insurance industry’s Our Values initiative, which serves as a cultural compass and highlights core ideals ALTA members embrace. Each of the three individual awards represent one of the three values:

• We Lead: We are the authority in real estate transactions and innovate for our customers.
• We Deliver: Our customers trust us to do the right thing, the right way--before, during and after the transaction. We ensure land transfer is accurate, swift and secure.
• We Protect: We protect the property rights of those we serve.

The fourth award recognized an entire ALTA member office or operational team that demonstrate these ideals.

 “Congratulations to all of the ALTA Our Values Award winners,” said ALTA CEO Diane Tomb. “Not only are these ALTA members upholding Our Values, they are championing the title insurance industry and profession, growing their businesses and local communities and supporting the association. From education to training to growing communities—these issues strike at the heart of what we do. I am proud to have each of these people in the ALTA family.”

• Jonathan Holfinger OLTP, NTP, president of Northwest Title and Northwest Law, won the We Lead Award for leading the creation of the Ohio Land Title Association (OLTA) Academy to promote new standards of practice to the industry. The academy consists of three certifications with multiple online courses, corresponding certification guides and tests after every course. “It is quite the honor to be recognized by the American Land Title Association for my efforts in advancing our industry,” Holfinger said. “I started out in this business 20 years ago, just trying to figure things out as I went. There weren’t a lot of great resources at the time, and I can’t say that I had much in the way of mentorship. I’ve tried to find ways to lead and teach others, so that their path was easier than mine.  Whether through the OLTA Academy, my role as president of OLTA or through my responsibilities at Northwest, I have tried to embody our company’s philosophy of ‘constantly learning, growing, and improving, together.’”
• James Czapiga, president and CEO of CATIC, won the We Deliver Award for delivering a strong, positive environment for his team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Czapiga created an intern program at CATIC, continuing to grow the team during a time of uncertainty. CATIC’s intern program provides training and education to an average of 15 individuals per session, setting the stage for the next generation of title professionals. “I’m honored and humbled to receive the ALTA Our Values—We Deliver Award for 2022,” Czapiga said. “To be recognized by my industry peers this way is truly special. We all work very hard to deliver peace of mind in real estate transactions and build platforms of trust with all stakeholders. Delivering on that each day is what we do as an industry, and I am so proud to be a part of it. Throughout my career, I have learned so much from so many talented and wonderful people in our industry. For that, I am truly grateful.”
• Dan Buchanan, senior vice president and deputy chief title counsel of First American Title Insurance Co., won the We Protect Award for his leadership on the ALTA Forms Committee and working to develop the ALTA 47 Series Endorsements and Operative Law Addenda to address the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which raised potential jurisdictional questions regarding choice of law. “Learning of this award was a real surprise and quite an honor,” Buchanan said. “The work I do on behalf of the title industry, at both the national and state levels, is truly a labor of love. What we do as settlement and title professionals is really important to individual homeowners and to the nation’s economy, and I’m grateful that my company supports my participation in efforts to protect both our industry and our customers.”
• Association Online won the Collaboration Award for developing an environment that supports employee volunteerism and donating 10% of their profits to charity. “’Chokma’shki hotokot yuppa holitoplichi,’ which is Chickasaw for, ‘thank you for this honor,’ said Mike Schwab, president and CEO of Association Online. “My vision for our company is to ‘GIVE’: It exemplifies our heart for business, our customers, our employees, and our community, while at the same time being a road map for where our company is going. GIVE means: G – give back, give respect, give honor; I – interact with honesty and lawfulness; V – value the customer, your team and yourself; and E – excel in your work and your attitude. We are blessed to have a great team that has learned the value of giving and we look forward to giving back to the real estate industry.”

Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.