The National Notary Association (NNA) is proud to announce JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the 2014 recipient of its March Fong Eu Achievement Award. The firm is being honored for launching its One Chase Notary Program, taking on the challenge of standardizing Notary Public procedures throughout the firm nationwide, and implementing Notary best practices across all of its business divisions.
The National Notary Association chose to honor JPMorgan Chase because of its groundbreaking program and its recognition of the vital role trusted notarizations play in building consumer confidence. JPMorgan Chase is the first company to receive the coveted annual award, which for more than three decades has been presented to an individual.
The scope of the One Chase Notary Program is vast: The Company employs more than 24,000 Notaries at thousands of branch locations, offices and service centers in 36 states. The One Chase Notary Program is designed to help the firm’s Notaries uphold state laws — which vary by state — and comply with numerous regulatory and corporate legal requirements. In turn, this ensures a more positive customer service experience, and a higher level of consumer protection.
“We created the right standard for our company across the country by sitting down and looking at how we could be more consistent for both our customers and our colleagues,” said Tracey Gilliam, the JPMorgan Chase associate general counsel who led the program’s design and development.
“The One Chase Notary program underscores the valuable role Notaries play in consumer protection,” said Tom Heymann, President and CEO of the National Notary Association. “Notaries add trust to a transaction by affirming a signer’s identity and confirming their understanding and intent to sign a document.”
With Chase’s support, the NNA extended its Hotline services to accommodate the needs of branch Notaries who often have customers at their desks and must respond to a variety of questions quickly and confidently. The NNA Hotline fielded more than 131,000 calls in 2013, including 1,500 each month from Chase Notaries.
The Award is named for its first recipient — former California Secretary of State March Fong Eu — who spearheaded progressive Notary reform legislation despite opposition from powerful lobbies. The Award is presented annually to individuals whose efforts elevate the excellence and professionalism of the Notary Public office. Since 1979, the Award honorees have included secretaries of state, legislators, governors, state Notary program administrators, attorneys general, scholars and judges. The Award will be presented to JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the NNA 2014 Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, June 1-4.
About the National Notary Association
Established in 1957, the National Notary Association (NNA) is the leading professional authority on the American Notary office and is dedicated to educating, serving and advocating for the nation’s 4.4 million Notaries. It published the Model Notary Act to help lawmakers enact effective legislation and created The Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility — a standard for best practices and professional conduct. To learn more, visit NationalNotary.org.
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