This is my favorite time of year. The air is crisp and cool. The trees are displaying their creative side, the beautiful foliage that pops full of color. This arboreal canvass is rich with browns, yellows, reds, oranges and greens. Homes around my block are decorated with yellowed corn stalks, bales of hay and the traditional fruit this time of year, the pumpkin. They signal that our home will soon be visited by family, and perhaps friends, to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast. As I walk the block in my neighborhood, the quiet air is punctuated with the crush of the dried leaves beneath my feet. And the nation’s farms have gathered in their crops. Small and big towns alike are hosting local farmers’ markets filled with the fruits of their labor – fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers, home-baked pies, and apple strudels – all sorts of goodies that appear this time of year. It’s harvest time.

When I see these images, it takes me back to the spring and early summer when each year my family and I drive back to New York to visit family and friends. We drive past the flat fields in Indiana and Ohio that are a simple picture of dirt revealing nothing of the life that grows beneath it. Every now and then we see a farmer out on his tractor tilling the soil and dropping seeds, seeds of which he will take great pains to cultivate all summer long. He will spend his time sowing and watering and tilling his fields in hopes that they yield a bountiful harvest, a harvest that will feed his family as well as many other families. It’s hard work, but well worth it.

One can only imagine the incredible pride a farmer must feel knowing that, not only will his efforts provide him his livelihood, but also help feed a nation and perhaps a world. It’s the kind of pride one can only feel knowing that through his/her direct efforts, something good results for the benefit of others. It’s the kind of pride felt by those who give back, who spend some time sowing seeds to help others and, in doing so, help themselves.

All of us enjoy different benefits as members of the title insurance industry. Whether it is simply just receiving a paycheck or providing a thing of value to a grateful customer, each of us reaps what we sow. The question is do you sow your seeds beyond your own garden? Do you want to feel the pride of helping a much larger “farm” and help the industry grow and prosper?

If the answer is yes, one opportunity to give back is to join the Illinois Land Title Association and become an active committee member. There are many different committees to join from the Legislative Committee to the Membership Committee to the Communications Committee just to name a few. But what committee is right for you? Go to the ILTA website, www.illinoislandtitle.org, which contains concise descriptions of all of the committees that comprise the ILTA. Through a brief statement of purpose, you will learn why each committee exists. Hopefully, you will find one or two that might interest you and then choose to become an active member.

Those of us who already participate are ready to welcome you to our “community farm” – the community farm of the Illinois Land Title Association. Come help us sow the seeds that keep this farm growing. Help us work to constantly revitalize its soil so future generations can continue to reap the benefits of our efforts, the benefits of realizing the American Dream, the dream of homeownership