JANUARY / F E B R UARY 2 0 1 4 57 In an industry visited by regulation, recession and corporate takeovers, completing one’s 50th year in business is something worth celebrating; First American Title Company of Napa has just wrapped up its 50th year in business. The company prides itself on being a part of our Napa community and on maintaining a family atmosphere with its employees. As Napa County’s leading title and escrow company, First American Title Company of Napa has been an integral part of our local real estate community for more than half a century. Founded in 1963 by Lyle Axel as an agent of Stewart Title, the company has seen its fair share of change, good times, and difficult times. It was in 1966 that the company undertook a change that would define the next forty-seven years: the company changed its name to First American Title Company of Napa. Two years later the company’s future owner, the late Ivan Hartzell, joined the company. Ivan assumed majority ownership in 1984, the same year his daughter Andrea Schrader started with the company as an escrow officer. Upon Mr. Hartzell’s retirement in 1997, Andrea assumed the reins as president. “We are proud to still be one of the few family-owned title and escrow businesses left,” said Schrader. Ms. Schrader is modest about her accomplishments and is quick to point out that First American Title Company of Napa’s success has been a team effort. “We have a very strong, loyal team,” she said. “I am just one of the team. I also believe that one of the keys to our success is that our employees care about our community and each other.” Looking back over the years, Schrader said there are many remarkable memories. “Our strong commitment to the community continues to be extremely important to us and our employees.” That is evident in the charity and community events that First American Title of Napa has spearheaded or participated in, including Rotary’s Duck Races and Cycle for Sight, the Napa Valley Opera House, Hands Across the Valley, and the Queen of the Valley Hospital, to name a few of many. “Having our name out there and being part of Napa is a responsibility of a good company,” said Schrader. “There are so many employees of First American Title Company of Napa who contributed their personal time and energy toward these charitable causes.” First American Title Company of Napa is a place that values commitment, quality and excellence, some of the very same attributes the company strives to engender in the services they provide. The company takes great pride in the fact that so many of its employees have spent the majority of their careers at the company. The team can boast of having more than 300 years of collective Napa Valley Title and Escrow expertise, along with the county’s only in-house title plant. They work hard to keep a tradition of success and community involvement going. As the company closes one chapter and starts the next, Ms. Schrader is succeeded as president of the company by Larry Frattini. Mr. Frattini, a Napa native, is a widely respected member of the local real estate community and has been with the company for thirty-eight years, having had personal relationships with many of the company’s founding members. He therefore has a personal sense for the vision that his predecessors had. Taking a moment to reflect, Larry said, “Succeeding is a team effort, and that’s how we approach it, like we’re all a team.” Larry is not alone in his commitment to the company. Mitchell Glotzer, an avid photographer and the company’s Chief Administrative Officer, utilizes his background in law and title coupled with past success as a small business owner in Napa, to help lead the company into the future. Sharon Aaron, the company’s Chief Title Officer, has been working in title for over forty years and is managing a title plant fifty years in the making. Lani Burguin, the company’s Marketing Director, has been with First American Title Company of Napa for more than thirty years and summed it up perfectly when she said, “We protect home ownership, and we know Napa Valley the best.” Jonny Karpuk, a First American Title of Napa newcomer as Chief Operating Officer, is Andrea’s nephew and a grandson of Ivan Hartzell. “It’s an exciting time to be part of the company,” said Karpuk. “Andrea saw the company through its greatest growth and helped it survive during the recent recession; we look forward to building on that success and continuing to grow and succeed in the Napa Valley.” It is not everyday that a small business celebrates its 50th year; but as First American Title Company of Napa closes the books on the “big five-o,” it’s clear they are determined to continue providing premier service and expertise, keeping their founder’s vision alive and contributing to the wellbeing of our community for another half century. Andrea Schrader (previous president and current owner) and her father Ivan Hartzell (Andrea’s predecessor as president and owner). Current President Larry Frattini advertorial feat ure
NVLife_Feb_2014
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