04/10/25

It’s time to focus the AmeriTitle branch spotlight on two wonderful Oregon communities: Albany and Lebanon. These great Willamette Valley towns are wonderful places to live and work, and the teams in these two AmeriTitle branches love working with customers.

“In the title and escrow world, every transaction is more than paperwork. It’s a milestone in someone’s journey,” said Sarah Steen, our Business Development Representative for the area. “What we love most about our customers isn’t just the business we share, but the trust they place in us, the relationships we build and the dreams we help bring to life.”

When providing title and escrow work, it’s important to go “above and beyond” regarding service and communication for our employees in both branches. “We explain the documents they’re signing – we’re not just point and sign – and we’re willing to sign in other locations such as another office, REALTOR® office, hospital, care home, etc,” said Nichole Kephart, the Branch Manager for the Lebanon branch.

This group of AmeriTitle professionals is respected for its work outside of the office, too. In fact, the Albany AmeriTitle branch has previously been recognized as the local Chamber of Commerce’s small business of the year. “We’re known to help with nonprofit organizations and are willing to put in money and, more importantly, time like volunteering on the weekends (and) after hours,” Steen said.

Other causes supported by the branches and our team members include CASA of Linn County, Habitat for Humanity, the United Way, the Rotary Club, the Albany Public Schools Foundation and so many more. Team members also lend a hand at multiple community festivals and events, including being the title sponsor of the Mid-Willamette Family YMCA’s Albany Community Carnival in May. We’re also proud of the Air Force here. Escrow Officer Leesa Johnson is a USAF veteran, and Steen currently serves in the Air Force and will be deployed soon.   

This experienced and beloved group has a variety of interests outside the office. Escrow Officer Donna Harrison quilts and recently took up golfing, an “expensive hobby” that she fully blames Steen for getting her into. Kephart is an expert crafter who loves making her colleagues custom holiday mugs, and Johnson takes pride in raising her two special-needs grandchildren and being a local advocate for such children and families. Escrow Assistant Marisol Ramirez crochets “like a machine” and loves to read. Steen says she loves to travel and tend to her garden, and Escrow Assistant Kristi Stutzman enjoys being a Sunday school teacher and loves to quilt, too.

No matter how often you’ve worked with AmeriTitle before, these two teams love working together to provide the best experience possible. They all aim to be the friendly faces everyone in their communities can count on for expert title, escrow work and much more.

“Whether it’s a first home, a new investment or a long-awaited closing, our customers make every day rewarding,” Steen said. “Thank you for choosing us to be part of your story!”     

As you can see, our AmeriTitle teams in Lebanon and Albany care as much about their local community – and your transactions – as you do! Count on them to provide title work you can trust and a recommendation for a great local festival or local hangout spot. What are some of their favorite upcoming events? River Rhythms in the Park, the Rotary Wine Walk in Albany this May, Lebanon’s 4^th of July Festival Celebration, Lebanon’s Strawberry Festival and the Northwest Art & Air Festival. If you already work with these two great AmeriTitle branches, give them a shout out on Facebook! They can’t wait to work with you again.