Even at the tender age of 36, Paula Haase has already spent 19 years in the industry, her first foray into settlement services coming when she was still in high school.

Her first position was with Beneficial, where she learned the industry from the ground floor up starting with processing, booking loans, hand-typing mortgages, collection calls and developing a relationship with the borrowers, builders, vendors (i.e. brokers, title companies, survey companies, etc.)

Haase spent seven years in the mortgage industry before moving over to the title side.

Nominator Laura Hovater said Haase has worked hard climbing the ladder of success, learning everything from how to abstract a file the “old way” at county courthouses to working on a national level where she has overseen closings by the thousands.

“Paula can not only lead an organization through her positive leadership, but she genuinely shares her knowledge with her staff on a daily basis,” Hovater said. “I used to work for Paula as a member of her team and can say without hesitation that she is one of the best true leaders in this industry. She is committed to her field and rises above to not only assist in sales/marketing, but runs one excellent and operationally sound organization.”

I came into the title industry due to my own curiosity. I had worked for a few years on the lending side and really wanted to see how the properties were actually searched and examined. At the time I entered into title, items were still being reviewed in county courthouse books in good ole' Jackson County, Mo., and I got to learn firsthand what goes into a good search, how to microfilm documents and review abstracts. I came into the industry to get the “whole picture.”

The most satisfaction is teaching, teaching my staff/peers how to handle a situation, speaking with a borrower and getting satisfaction from their satisfaction and having clients increase their order volume with you due to having a good staff that has been taught well.

New state guidelines. I enjoyed learning as much as I could about the HB 4050 program in Chicago that was recently implemented; while the program was short-lived, it was great to be challenged with implementing new procedures to comply with the new county requirements for this program.

Never make an enemy in the industry! The industry is too small and you will need to lean on someone at someplace, sometime. Sometimes more money to move on is not in the best interest for a long term career in this industry. However, tenacity and staying true to your word are.

I came to Chicago Title back in the early 90’s to increase profitability in an office. I did increase overall profitability and expressed the desire to advance within the organization. I was given an assignment, and little did I know that it was a stepping stone to my future. I was asked to go to all of the offices in the region, spend some time, see how things operated, etc., and then to summarize my thoughts about the staff, the client base, location/presence, etc. Once I completed this project, I was promoted. However, my first assignment was to make the managerial moves I had suggested, staffing changes, office locations, etc., that were all in my report. I went from being a peer to being the main operational manager in addition to the one that changed so many lives. Overall, the experience was a blessing as I learned a lot about myself, about how well I can read people. Ultimately, I was thanked for several weeks down the road by the people I moved, as everyone was happier, creating increased profitability in several offices.

My father. He worked himself up from the ground floor in his industry and while he put in many long hours, he has ultimately been rewarded well through his client base, his company and having a daughter that looks up to him now just like I did when I was a little girl.



Tenacity. I never give up and am very strong-willed.



Zig Ziglar is always inspiring. He is a wealth of knowledge, very powerful and still maintains his spiritual beliefs.



Oprah. I think Oprah is strong, smart, independent and throughout all her success, she has still stayed grounded to what she believes in – family, her friends and her beliefs.



That I can sing just about any old song from the 70’s. We play this game at our house by playing a song, turning down the radio and I can sing the song in the same sequence that when the radio is turned back on I am in the same place as the singer is.



My favorite movie is “Steel Magnolias.” This movie touches on life, death, love and laughter.



A mix. My music is pop, country, oldies rock and a little jazz.



I take a class at the gym or dance.



I was involved in contributing to a local charity called the Dream Factory in Kansas City. We raised several thousands of dollars doing a silent auction and served lunch to the community (accepting donations for the food) which was also donated to the charity. This was gratifying to assist others and to know that we helped send a sick child to a place of their dreams.


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