Posts Tagged ‘Southeast Region’

Tia Hall - Meet Your Advantage Tam member spotlight graphic

Your Advantage: It’s All About Community for Alliant National’s Tia Hall

In a varied career split between law enforcement, real estate and title insurance, Tia Hall has been driven by a desire to provide support to her community.

For nearly 25 years, Tia Hall has remained steadfastly committed to her community. From her early career in criminal justice to her current responsibilities at Alliant National, she has long been motivated by helping others. Well-versed in making departments and organizations operate more effectively, Hall’s work at Alliant National is invaluable to its Southeast operations.

Hall’s career path wasn’t a straight line, but rather a winding journey that brought together seemingly disparate fields in a harmonious blend. For well over a decade, Hall served as a criminal justice specialist for Cobb County in Georgia. However, one of Hall’s main responsibilities during these years would prove advantageous to her later career. Hall’s focus in criminal justice often revolved around community outreach and enabling officers to engage more productively with vulnerable populations. “Working within law enforcement is very strenuous work,” Hall said, reflecting on why such work is critical. “You are dealing with a lot of people from different walks of life.”

As fate would have it, Hall would come to interact with a group of people immersed in real estate. “I often interacted with lawyers and others in real estate,” she stated, “especially when I was working on real estate code enforcement.”

While she was forming these connections, Hall was taking other steps that would eventually pave the way toward her joining the title insurance industry. Building from a foundation in criminal justice and psychology, Hall began studying real estate and became a notary public , working as a loan signing and closing agent. Throughout all these professional moves, Hall’s motivation remained the same: “I wanted more community connections.”

In 2022, Hall made the leap into the career she has today, joining the Alliant National team as the Southeast Support Administrator. At Alliant National, Hall works with every department – from HR to continuing education to accounting – to ensure that agents are empowered to execute on behalf of their clients. Calling upon her long history of driving growth, as well as diverse skill sets in administration, resource management, data protection, team building and more, she acts as a one-stop shop for agents and employees throughout the Southeast.

One important aspect of Hall’s day-to-day work is protecting the large quantities of personal information that are part and parcel with the title insurance profession. This is another area where she is well-served by her previous experiences in law enforcement. When working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI), for instance, Hall developed an acute appreciation for data protection. “There is a huge paper trail in this work,” she said, emphasizing that the failure to protect such data could quite literally ruin lives.

Now settled into her new career, Hall had several things to say when asked to sum up her experience, as well as the connection between her current responsibilities and yesterday’s roles. For her, helping the community is at the heart of both professions: “I love people. I love communicating. And I love to be a help for those in need.”

However, it’s in title insurance that Hall has found an ideal platform to pursue this passion, even more so than in law enforcement. “This industry is more close-knit,” she said, before noting how new employees can benefit from leveraging the field’s strong sense of community. When asked about what younger or less experienced workers should know, she remarked, “Employees need a strong foundation, as well as support to not get lost.”

For Hall, that communal support was what helped her as she made her initial foray into the business. It is also what continues to fuel her today as she works to deliver results for Alliant National’s agents. “At Alliant National, it is always easy to reach out if you need something. We’re always there for each other.”

With community-minded employees like Tia Hall amongst its ranks, Alliant National’s agents can rest assured that someone will always be there for them too.

#AllNatAdvantage Team graphic featuring Micah Owen

Your Advantage Team: Micah Owen

From the gym to the title agency, Micah Owen maintains her rock-solid commitment to improvement and excellence.

Micah Owen has always loved being physically active while striving for excellence through hard work and dedication. Growing up, she was highly active in sports, becoming particularly passionate about strength training while playing on her high school basketball team.

Once she entered college, Micah became even more serious about sports and exercise, immersing herself in resistance training, anatomy and physiology. She eventually gained her degree in exercise science before moving into a career as a personal trainer. These educational and professional experiences have continued to define her working life to the present day.

“I have always enjoyed spending quality time getting to know someone and then figuring out what I can do to help them better themselves,” Micah said when reflecting on the experience. “That’s what my time as a personal trainer consisted of, and that is the strategy I still use every day as an agency manager.”

Since entering the title insurance field, Micah has found ample opportunities to continue helping people become their best selves. As Alliant National’s South Carolina Agency Manager, she frequently makes decisions that deliver tangible benefits to both Alliant National and its policy-issuing agents. She is most proud of how she has helped Alliant National deliver greater business value to agents, including the time she produced more than 500 critical title documents from scratch and made them available for client use. 

For Micah, successfully occupying a role like hers entails finding joy in being customer focused.

“To me, it means that whether I am in their office or behind my computer, agents are my top priority. I prioritize every one of them to the best of my ability. It also means constantly communicating with the Alliant National home office to streamline processes that may be hindering our agents.”

Even while improving the experience of the independent agents Alliant National serves, Micah continues to find time to cultivate her own physical, emotional and mental wellness. “The scientific effect that movement can have on your emotions, health and wellbeing is truly incredible,” she said. With such a holistic view of wellness, it is no wonder Micah can continually strive for excellence and improvement – both in herself and others. It comes as no surprise that she has found a home at Alliant National, where our commitment, like Micah’s, remains steadfastly focused on putting agents first.

Bravo Patrick Hagler

Alliant National Announces the Promotion of Patrick Hagler to Regional Counsel – Southeast  

Longmont, Colo. – (November 30, 2021) – Alliant National Title Insurance Company, a unique title insurance underwriter that partners with independent agents to improve their competitive position, announces the promotion of Patrick Hagler to Regional Counsel – Southeast.

For the past five years, Hagler has served as State Counsel-Georgia and South Carolina. From reviewing and approving transactions to supporting the company’s network of independent agents, Patrick has applied his vast industry knowledge and versatile skill set for the betterment of the organization and its agents.

In his new position as Regional Counsel, Hagler will expand his purview to cover the entirety of the Southeast region, working to find creative solutions to title issues and helping Alliant National’s agents and their clients successfully get to the closing table. He will also assist in developing Alliant National’s market opportunities in the Southeast.

“I am honored and excited to expand my position with Alliant National and take on a leadership role in the Southeast region. Growing our Georgia operations for the past five years has been challenging and rewarding,” said Hagler. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with Tracey Webb and our entire Southeast team to further expand Alliant National’s footprint and grow our network of independent agents in the area. Furthermore, I welcome the chance to work with Jeff Stein, Chief Underwriting Counsel; our Southeast legal team; and the entire legal department. We have some of the best in the business, and I’m continually learning and growing by working alongside our knowledgeable team.”

“Patrick has been critical to our company and the growth of our business in Georgia,” said Jeff Stein, Chief Underwriting Counsel and Senior Vice President for Alliant National. “He has also been an invaluable help to me in assisting our counsel and agents in the Southeast states in which we do business. I am thrilled for what lies ahead. I know that with his leadership, our team of Southeast attorneys will do great things and provide extraordinary support to our independent title agents.”

Hagler received his J.D. from St. Mary’s University. He previously obtained his B.S. from Texas A&M University. He is a member of SLTA and ALTA, and lives in North Georgia.

Alliant National distinguishes itself from competitors by combining strong underwriting capability with independent agents’ in-depth knowledge of local markets. The result is a nationwide network with deep roots in local communities, and a wealth of expertise that is flexible, nuanced and continuously growing.

Visit alliantnational.com for additional information.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Cathie Beck
Capital City Public Relations
e: cathie@capitalcitypr.com
p: 303-241-0805

ABOUT ALLIANT NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY

The Independent Underwriter for The Independent AgentSM – Alliant National believes in empowering people to thrive.

The company protects the dreams of property owners with secure title insurance and partners with 600+ trusted independent title agents as a licensed underwriter in 30
states and the District of Columbia.

Graphic with Micah Owen's picture welcoming her as the South Carolina Agency Manager at Alliant National

Alliant National Announces the Hiring of Micah Owen as South Carolina Agency Manager

Longmont, Colo. – (September 13, 2021) – Alliant National Title Insurance Company, a unique title insurance underwriter that partners with independent agents to improve their competitive position, announces the hiring of Micah Owen as South Carolina Agency Manager.

In addition to leading Alliant National’s operations in South Carolina, Owen will be an active member of the Southeast Region’s staff. She will contribute to the development of Alliant National as both a strong regional player and national underwriter. Her day-to-day responsibilities will include signing, developing, marketing and managing Alliant National’s policy issuing agents in South Carolina. She is most looking forward to fostering new connections in her beautiful home state.

“I am blessed to begin my career with Alliant National at such a young age,” said Owen. “My co-workers have already made me feel like family. They have all been exceptionally welcoming, and it means a lot to see how excited they are for me to start.”

“When you find and hire a professional like Micah, it isn’t difficult to get excited,” said Tracey Webb, Senior Vice President and Southeast Region Agency Manager. “In meeting her, I was immediately struck by her versatile abilities, strong industry knowledge and her interest in and dedication to the agents we serve and support. We are lucky and thrilled to have her in this important role.”

Having worked for years in the fitness industry before moving to the title insurance field in 2017, Owen brings a commitment to excellence and a knack for relationship building that will be an important asset to Alliant National’s work in the region.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Owen is a fitness guru in her personal life. She is most happy when spending time with her family, exploring South Carolina’s Lake Murray and playing kickball with her team of five years.

Alliant National distinguishes itself from competitors by combining strong underwriting capability with independent agents’ in-depth knowledge of local markets. The result is a nationwide network with deep roots in local communities, and a wealth of expertise that is flexible, nuanced and continuously growing.

Visit alliantnational.com for additional information.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Cathie Beck
Capital City Public Relation
e: cathie@capitalcitypr.com
p: 303-241-0805

ABOUT ALLIANT NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY

The Independent Underwriter for The Independent AgentSM – Alliant National believes in empowering people to thrive.

The company protects the dreams of property owners with secure title insurance and partners with 600+ trusted independent title agents as a licensed underwriter in 30 states and the District of Columbia.

An older couple sitting on a couch at home both looking at a tablet and waving.

The Challenges and Opportunities of Pandemic-era Connection

In the COVID era, the only certainty is that nothing is certain.

Forming and maintaining authentic connections, for instance, has taken on new meaning. As we pass the one-year mark of the pandemic, I want to reflect for a moment on how things have changed and grapple with what staying connected has meant during an unforgettable 12 months.

One of the most vivid ways the pandemic has complicated our connections is through the disruptions it introduced to home life. Schedules had to adapt to accommodate online schooling. More adults also now work at home. Even when these potential distractions are overcome, there is still Zoom to contend with, which presents its own challenges regarding connection and collaboration.

“Zoom fatigue” is a real thing. It is far more difficult to develop an emotional connection with fellow meeting participants through a computer screen. It can be incredibly challenging to simply stay in the moment and not get distracted by what is going on in the virtual environment.

The disconnection of working remotely has even, at times, been a source of stress, which is why it has been important for companies to prioritize self-care and the emotional and mental well-being of their employees. One of the many things that I appreciate about Alliant National is that, from the first day of my employment, I have felt as if they cared about me as a person – not just as a professional.

A silver lining of the pandemic, however, is its universality, which I suppose, in a way, is its own form of connection: a connection built around shared experience. Whether it be the lack of communication or struggling with technical difficulties, we have all been required to adapt to a new way of working. I mean, at this point, who isn’t familiar with the pain of a disruption in video or sound on a communication platform?

The new world created by the pandemic has also had an impact on the nature of connection as it exists in my job. In sales, more than anything else you are selling trust. Pushing a product during a time when many people are under immense strain can feel a little callous. But helping your clients adapt to a virtual world builds trust and helps them protect their business. I have also found that making yourself available outside of traditional working hours and through a wider array of communication platforms (such as social media) can be enormously beneficial for these relationships. In the COVID era, we need to be collaborating and not merely pitching our clients.

COVID has had other positive impacts on connection, particularly when it comes to technology and family life. Older generations have been pushed to embrace technological solutions to stay in contact with their personal and professional networks. Our family interactions have become less scheduled, with real, genuine moments of spontaneity now being possible with children and spouses. I feel that this dynamic with our loved ones has become somewhat of a rarity. For all the destruction the virus has caused, reconnecting with friends and family in a deeper and more protracted way has been a true blessing of the past year.

Nearly everyone had to get creative to connect with clients, extended families and to fill time. Many turned to home renovation and improvements. DIY is at an all-time high, and people want to change their interior space to make it more conducive to family rooms that really function for families. They have added home offices or updated kitchens that are really being cooked in now.

Personal hobbies have skyrocket. Cooking classes, exercise forums, online knitting groups, even virtual interior design classes have sprung up to take the place of in-person site visits. The innovation of the pandemic is truly inspiring. While we still crave the personal interaction of experiences, the option of a virtual experience opens up opportunities for all of life’s challenges outside of a pandemic.

Flash forward to today, and we are now potentially at a turning point in the story of the virus. I am looking forward to a return to the office, as I feel it is healthy and necessary to communicate in a live environment as opposed to solely a virtual one. Spending this year largely separate from my colleagues has confirmed what I already suspected: as a salesperson, I need the type of face-to-face interactions that a computer simply cannot replicate.

Still, it is important to recognize that some things have probably changed for good. Full-blown office environments are likely going to be a thing of the past. Companies have invested heavily in equipping their employees with solutions to facilitate remote work. They have also realized that their work-forces are capable of being productive while off site. Whatever the future holds, there is no doubt that the coronavirus has taught us many lessons about the nature of connection – both personal and professional, good and bad. We should carry these lessons with us long after the pandemic ends.

Let's Connect

Discover more stories and conversations on our social media networks,
or drop us a line on our contact page.


The Independent Underwriter for
the Independent AgentSM