In a world that is always changing and evolving, I realize I must do the same. Whenever there was a problem that others would share with me, I immediately found a way to help them resolve it by sharing a solution.
Growing up, I often defended others who were being bullied and spoke my truth, even if that got me into trouble with my parents and other adults that were responsible for my care. I have made my share of mistakes and have learned from them; I call them "teachable moments."
After graduating high school in 1993, I joined the Army the following December. I met my husband while serving, and we transitioned back to civilian life after our first child was one year old. I started out working for a temp agency and had the opportunity to work for the Department of Social Services for one of my assignments in 1998. During my time there, the company sent me to a notary public class so that I could notarize documents for customers who needed it when they visited the office. I'd maintained my commission by taking the exam and passing it before it expired.
Getting paid as a notary public isn't hard.
While working for a mortgage broker in 2005, I learned that I could make additional income as a certified notary signing agent. My first customer was the closing attorney that handled the loan closings for the company. This changed everything for me! I took my position as a notary more seriously and invested in everything I needed to be well equipped, reliable, and a knowledgeable certified notary signing agent in 2006. I had signed over 100 transactions in my first year! In 2007, I decided to add being a commissioned electronic notary to my services offered. This gave me more business when I hadn't performed any electronic notarizations.
I was found by a gentleman who asked me to do an interview with him about life as a notary public and notary signing agent in 2016. The YouTube interview video went viral, and I began to receive a flood of phone calls asking questions about how to become a signing agent and how to notarize particular documents from notaries all over North Carolina. One question stood out over the course of two years, "May I shadow you when you are scheduled to facilitate a signing?" Unfortunately, due to the Privacy Act, we cannot allow another notary to shadow us.
This was a problem. So I created a solution!
After mentoring many notaries, I decided to create an in-person training opportunity to teach notaries, who were certified notary signing agents, how to move forward with executing notarizations in that capacity. In May of 2018, "The Confident Training of NC Notary Signing Agents" was born. My very first class was in the public library, and I had five eager notary signing agents ready to learn more. I decided not to stop there and began offering live webinars for free as I worked on building my credibility with the notary community. That was one of the best decisions I could have made because other certified notaries began to notice what I was doing and began to refer me to others as well as give recommendations for me to also become an instructor. I became a certified adjunct notary public instructor for the State of North Carolina in September 2022. It's an honor to hold such a high title that I worked very hard to earn.
I teach hands on notary basics as a continuing education need.
Having observed the way the notary public class is set up, many notaries are still not moving forward in their full capacity. It will take ongoing study of the following: the North Carolina Notary Public Manual, the North Carolina General Statutes notary section, and the North Carolina Administrative Code, to become well informed on how to perform our position. Executing notarial acts is the key to improving our skills, and that is why I have ongoing group classes to help notaries learn how to notarize various documents and handle unique situations they may encounter along their journey.