Thinking continued from page 10
And, being “back” seemed to signal that it was the right time to pursue a dream—pandemic or no pandemic—to have her own business doing something she liked. Stephanie explains that she had worked for other notaries/ PennDOT agents in the area before she had relocated south, was a notary in North Carolina, and wanted to get back at it again. “We looked at this building (26 Tioga Street/Route 287, Tioga, formerly a State Farm Insurance office) before COVID hit,” she says. She and her husband ultimately made the decision to purchase it and the adjacent lot (ideas for that space are percolating, so stay tuned), and then the planning began. “All last year I was really just trying to focus on my plan of how to do this,” Stephanie says. After the initial COVID lockdown in the spring, two area notaries retired. She then spoke with a few others, who helped her determine there was indeed a need, then “started my checklist and started checking those little boxes off.” It was somewhat daunting at times. “So many of the people I had to go through were working remotely,” she says, and, as anyone who had business to conduct with a state or federal agency during that time knows, some offices were not open at all. “There’s lots you have to do to become an agent for PennDOT. Someone has to come out to inspect your building.” She sighs a little but is still smiling. “They don’t make it easy,” she continues, but adds that she understands why—all those license plates and all that official paperwork needs to be secure. As for how a regular person becomes a notary person, Stephanie explains that in Pennsylvania there are specific courses to take, and then a test (she took hers in Port Allegheny) at a “proctored location,” meaning the test-taker is in a room, alone, but observed on closedcircuit television. She confesses modestly that she is a good test-taker, and didn’t find it particularly difficult. Her notary term is good for four years, and she’ll have to take a renewal course when it’s time to re-up. Stephanie had planned to open See Thinking on page 17
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