I sat down with Sonia Kuppert during her last day as President of the VLTA. Sonia held office for sixteen months and had the longest term for any VLTA President. We discussed the prior year and what she saw for the future.
Sonia put a great deal of effort into her role and it was a very impactful time in her life. She found that being President of VLTA was very humbling considering she was following in the footsteps of great Presidents and that she had an opportunity to serve the community she truly loves.
There is no question that President Kuppert accomplished a great deal during her time in office. We lost our Executive Director earlier this year and Sonia led the search and identification of a new Executive Director in Leigh Hubbard. Leigh and her team made an immediate impact on the Association, which is a credit to Sonia and her VLTA team. Sonia also worked hard to move the Association forward on issues like employee recruiting and retention, an idea that President Meloon will continue.
We also discussed the impact of technology on our industry. During her term, Sonia worked with other Board members to help the Association and its membership embrace technology and accept it as part of our daily routine. She helped push out information on issues such as e-recording and wire fraud so that the membership is better educated on how these things impact our work.
Sonia got her start on the Board as the Director of Membership. She has always felt that motivation starts at the top, whether as part of the Board, or in her own company. We have to continue to encourage participation by management and ownership, as well as by the employees in every organization. That is the only way to move the Association into the future.
We were lucky to have her as our President and wish her the best in her role as a Past President!
Donald W. Tomlinson currently serves on the VLTA Board of Directors as the Director/Editor of the Examiner Magazine. Don received his B.A/B.S degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and earned his J.D. law degree from George Mason University Scholl of Law. Don is Regional Vice President/Attorney for RGS Title in the northern Virginia area.
