2023 Maryland Notary Public Day Conference Summary

The Friday evening “virtual” session kicked off with a dynamic notary panel who shared their general notary public expertise, experiences, and other opportunities available for notaries such as wedding officiant, election judge, title insurance producer independent contractor (TIPIC) aka notary signing agent, and apostille agent. This panel was moderated by Daniel Lewis, 2010 NNA Notary of the Year. Guest speakers included Marcy Tiberio, President, Professional Notary Services Inc. (Rochester, NY), Brendon Weiss, CEO and Co-Founder, EscrowTab, Inc. (Tempe, AZ), and Bill Anderson, Vice President, Government Affairs, National Notary Association (Chatsworth, CA). The speakers provided current and future aspects of the housing market, the future of in-person electronic notarization (IPEN), and the top 10 projections from the remote online notarization (RON) crystal ball. The evening concluded with demonstrations of business tools of the trade. Sue Hope, Co-Owner, NotaryAssist (Orange County, CA), demonstrated today’s most advanced, intuitive, all-in-one accounting/bookkeeping and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing software designed specifically to meet the needs of Notary Professionals nationwide. Jennifer Lomahan, CEO and Founder, PageSeparator, LLC, demonstrated how a single-tray printer can be used to print both legal and letter-size documents for loan signings and how to prevent unauthorized access to documents by applying a password.

Dr. Falecia D. Williams, President, Prince George's Community College

It was an honor to have the PGCC President, Dr. Falecia D. Williams, open the Saturday Morning General Session with a special video welcome presentation to all Notaries Public. Click here to view Dr. Williams' presentation.

Distinguished officials and representatives from the Maryland Secretary of State, the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, and the National Notary Association were in attendance. Michael Schlein, Maryland Division Administrator (Notaries), Charities & Legal Services Division, updated Maryland notaries on the “Implementation of New Maryland Notary Public Regulations and Administrative Changes”. Judi Gold, Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Director, Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications, presented information on the “Implementation of In-Person Electronic Notarization (IPEN) in the District of Columbia”. Nicola Jackson, Director, Training and Education, National Notary Association (NNA), a leading authority on the American Notary Public office, presented the benefits of being a member of the organization. 

The keynote speaker, Bill Anderson, Vice President, Government Affairs, National Notary Association (Chatsworth, CA) delivered a powerful message to all Notaries on “Safeguarding Signatures in the Digital Notary Fraud Arms Race”. He spoke about impersonation deed fraud - the latest criminal exploit making the news, early remote online notarization legal cases involving fraud, and how Notaries performing remote online notarizations (RONs) can protect remotely located principals and parties relying on RONs, and themselves. He also spoke about the ‘mobile driver's license’, a more trustworthy and reliable identification credential, that is available now in Maryland and other states.

The Afternoon Session consisted of eighteen (18) workshops on running an effective business, notarizing documents properly, teamwork and collaboration to build a successful notary business, five (5) important steps in conducting a remote online notarization, and a variety of other topics that enhance the notary profession. View several clips from the workshops presented.  

The Evening General Session featured Frederick Smalls, Assistant Secretary of State, Administration and Finance, Office of the Maryland Secretary of State. Mr. Smalls spoke on the Apostille process in Maryland. While the Notary Public is not responsible for obtaining an apostille, signers often request notaries to perform non-notarial activities to facilitate the apostille process. This session provided Notaries Public with a clear understanding of the notarial responsibilities and supplemental services relating to the apostille process. The Q & A session was lively and informative.