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Fellow Escrow Humans,

Welcome to the holiday season! Just a few more weeks before Thanksgiving and before you know it, it will be Christmas and New Year! I hope you are planning for the New Year, including signing up for your 2020 OCEA membership. There are lots of changes in the air, and you want to stay in the know. The easiest way to do that is to be an OCEA member and come to our general meetings! The deadline for paying next year’s dues without penalty is November 30, so don’t delay.

Last month we had another amazing CEA Conference. For those who did not attend, you definitely missed out! We had two full days of great speakers with interesting and timely topics. Perhaps the hottest one that we all need to embrace and understand very quickly is that for the first time in many years, the Franchise Tax Board has dramatically changed its CalFIRPTA forms.  Instead of four separate forms, they’ve rolled them all into ONE, AND they will now require reporting on every sale valued at more than $100,000.00, whether or not withholding is required.  That means you’ll need to start using the new form NOW for any files closing after January 1, 2020.  CEA is presenting a Lunch and Learn Webinar from 12-1PM on December 10, with three speakers from the FTB.  You can’t afford to miss it!  You can find the link to register here. If you missed the CEA Conference, be sure to join us on November 20th at our last 2019 General Membership Meeting for the highlights on CEA Conference.

 Mickey Vandenberg

OCEA has conducted its annual elections, and I am honored to continue to serve you as President for 2020. I also want to congratulate our incoming Board of Directors for 2020:

Robin Alvarez, CEO, CSEO - Vice President
Joanna Belanger, CEO, CSEO, CEI, SASIP - Treasurer
Debi Peters, CEO, CSEO - Secretary

Directors:
Dane McClain
Debbi Faber, CEO, CBSS, CMHS, CEI
Margie Coenraad-Martinez
Jennifer Van Oel
Sammy Simpson, CSEO
Charlene Lopez
Jessie Bullis
Ray Moody

I so appreciate being surrounded by such a knowledgeable and dedicated team of professionals. I know we will continue to bring you great topics of education next year!

Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for education, camaraderie and escrow chicken at our last 2019 General Membership Meeting on Wednesday November 20, where we will present highlights from CEA Conference, and Lisa Tyler will entertain and educate us.

Watch your email for our meeting notices and reservation information -- and bring a colleague or client with you! Also consider bringing your assistant! We look forward to seeing you then! 

If you haven’t already done so, please “like” us on FaceBook, and visit the OCEA website  where, among other useful bits of information, there’s a list of all of our 2019 Silver Sponsors. All sponsor logos link to their websites. Without the support of our generous sponsors, we would not be able to provide you the educational opportunities we bring throughout the year. We so appreciate you!

I thank you for the opportunity to represent you as OCEA’s 2019 president and look forward to seeing you at our November 2019 meeting! I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

Sincerely,

Mickey Vandenberg
2019 OCEA President