Congratulations to the Winners of the 2015
eRecording All-Star Awards!

CSC congratulates the winners of its 2015 eRecording All-Star Awards. The eRecording All-Star Awards recognize those in our industry both government offices and document submitters who have implemented and promoted the use of electronic document recording technology.

The 2015 winners are:

Winners – Recorders

Rookie of the Year Sharon Bock	Trailblazer Joseph J. Szafran, Jr.	Model County John Warren	Leader of the Pack Bill Garrett

Rookie of the Year- Palm Beach County, Florida

The Rookie of the Year Award recognizes a recording office that has made tremendous advancements in implementing eRecording technology within a short timeframe.

The Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller’s Office implemented eRecording in October 18, 2014. Now, less than a year later, the office electronically processes 50% of all documents it receives from submitters and internal sources (court departments). Under the leadership of Clerk & Comptroller Sharon R. Bock, the office eRecorded nearly 50,000 documents between January and June of this year.

Moreover, the office has partnered with submitters to spread the word about eRecording through workshops, email advisories, banners, brochures, and flyers with the slogan Point, Click & eRecord. We’ve partnered with the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches to promote eRecording in Palm Beach County, and we send email blasts and alerts to real estate attorneys, title companies, and mortgage providers throughout south Florida, said Tracy Rudnick, communications liaison with the Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller’s Office.

Trailblazer Bucks County, Pennsylvania

The Trailblazer Award recognizes a recording office that has led its state in implementing or further developing eRecording technology.

On February 1, 2015, Bucks County became the first county in Pennsylvania to implement eRecording for subdivision plans and exhibits. Additionally, the county is leading the charge through the Pennsylvania Recorders of Deeds Association to make eRecording mandatory for all counties in the Keystone State. Bucks County first implemented eRecording in 2007, and in 2014 recorded 61% of all real estate documents electronically.

Model County Dallas County, Texas

The Model County Award recognizes a recording office that has a long and established history of eRecording documents and serving as a model for other offices.

The Dallas County Clerk’s Office first implemented eRecording in 2005. In 2014, under the leadership of Dallas County Clerk John Warren, the office recorded nearly 180,000 documents electronically. From the clerk’s side, the eRecording advantage is easy, said Yvonne White, manager. It comes down to efficiency. eRecording ensures direct filing without waiting in lines and ensures that your record is made available online faster, with no last-minute rush to the Clerk’s Office.

Reduced costs for paper and postage, safer transmittal of documents, elimination of check writing, and transparency are other benefits White mentioned. With eRecording, the Clerk’s Office becomes transparent and the submitter knows exactly when the document is submitted and filed, she said.

Leader of the Pack Award Davidson County, Tennessee

The Leader of the Pack Award recognizes a recording office that is recording the majority of its real estate documents electronically and is encouraging submitters to adopt eRecording processes.

In 2003, Davidson County, with Nashville as its county seat, became the first Tennessee county to adopt eRecording. Today it uses the technology to record all document types. We have been an advocate for eRecording in our county and our state, said Davidson County Register of Deeds Bill Garrett. The second-most populous county in Tennessee, Davidson County in 2014 electronically recorded 32,315 documents.

Winners – Submitters

Pioneer Award	Advocate Award	Green Award	Efficiency Award

Pioneer Award National Granite Title Insurance Agency

The Pioneer Award recognizes a submitter who has championed legislation or technology to help implement eRecording.

In 2012, National Granite Title Insurance Agency became the first company in New York to eRecord. From day one, our company embraced the idea of eRecording, said Denise Graziano, recording officer. We never once wavered from going full ahead. While allowing that it took a little time for National Granite Title to optimize the efficiency of its eRecording process, Graziano said there’s no going back to old ways for the company. We’re excited about the technology and await the day that all counties and states adopt eRecording to its fullest extent.

Advocate Award BMO Harris Bank N.A.

The Advocate Award recognizes a submitter who has not only embraced electronic recording, but has encouraged other submitters to adopt eRecording processes as well

I’ve been a champion of eRecording for years, said Matthew Plotz, manager at Brookfield, Wisconsin-based BMO Harris Bank. We started with Ingeo back in the day and the joke used to be that I should be on Ingeo’s payroll because of all the banks I talked to on their behalf about the merits of using eRecording. (CSC acquired Ingeo in 2012.) We eRecord as many documents as possible to expedite servicing as well as reduce our carbon footprint, Plotz said.

Green Award Acquest Title Services

The Green Award recognizes a submitter who has implemented eRecording technology as part of a larger green initiative to reduce paper consumption.

Noreen Burgeson, chief financial officer at Acquest Title Services, said credit for eRecording at the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company should go to Acquest’s recording manager, Diana Kruse. Diana embraced our initial efforts to go paperless beginning in 2011 when we started using Greenfolders, Burgeson said.

While Kruse was nervous about the change initially, she soon became the company’s chief advocate for eRecording. When we implemented eRecording, all Diana needed to do was move the documents from Greenfolders into CSC. It not only decreased turnaround times but also cut down on errors and rejections.

Diana says that if you took away our paperless system Greenfolders and CSC’she would have to resign, said Burgeson. Without Diana’s willingness to adapt and learn new technology, we would not be able to eRecord.

Efficiency Award Spano Abstract Service Corporation

The Efficiency Award recognizes a submitter who has decreased turnaround times, reduced errors, or cut down on rejections through eRecording.

Spano Abstract Service Corporation, a Garden City, New York-based full-service title insurance agency, has worked with CSC to perfect their eRecording process for optimum efficiency. Our recording turnaround times have been significantly reduced through eRecording, said Vivian De Risi, office manager at Spano. We have also reduced our paper consumption by a significant amount and decreased the cost necessary for postage to return documents. In 2014, Spano submitted 50% of its documents via eRecording.