--- title: "Notes From Jerome: January 2021" description: One of the foundational principals of CSS is searching for and implementing leading software that accelerates our ability to compete and service the ... image: https://blog.visitcss.com/hubfs/LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2020-0-0-0-0#main-content) [![](https://blog.visitcss.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/css_202104_theme/images/CSS-header-logo.svg)](https://visitcss.com) [![Contact Us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2907556/728febd9-0165-4532-a7d4-844954edc6af.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2907556/728febd9-0165-4532-a7d4-844954edc6af) ![](https://blog.visitcss.com/hubfs/LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg) # Notes From Jerome: January 2021 by [Jerome Jelinek | CEO and President](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/author/jerome-jelinek-ceo) December 14, 2020 [Share](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.visitcss.com%2Femployee-newsletter%2Fexecutive-update-2020-0-0-0-0&title=Notes+From+Jerome%3A+January+2021) [Tweet](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.visitcss.com%2Femployee-newsletter%2Fexecutive-update-2020-0-0-0-0&text=Notes+From+Jerome%3A+January+2021) Print ![LogoArtboard 1-100](https://blog.visitcss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg?width=900&name=LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg) ### New Year Update Happy New Year to everyone! We are excited about the opportunities 2021 presents for our collective growth. We will take a look back at 2020 once the final results are calculated. While it was an incredibly difficult year for many, from strictly a company performance perspective, we did well last year. Given the pandemic and a unique set of circumstances, housing was one area of the economy that prospered. And, we were well-positioned to share in that prosperity. Our focus in 2021 continues to be providing exceptional results for our customers and continuous learning, so we are prepared to offer the best solutions for our customers’ challenges. We strive to provide all of you with continuous learning opportunities throughout the year, so we all become better at what we do. We start the year with some exciting news about a change in the business structure of CSS. As many of you know, Isabella Bank Corporation (“IBC”) has been an investor and partner in the ownership of CSS for the past 12 years. On New Year’s Eve, we completed the buyout of IBC’s ownership interest. We have been working hard toward that result for the past 18 months. That transition leaves the ownership of CSS vested solely in the Jelinek family and Debbie Bartlett. Most importantly, it means we, as a company, move past the restrictions and limitations associated with a corporate investor. As a result, we will collectively have more freedom to create, innovate and produce growth for all those who work at CSS! We look forward to working together to do exactly that in 2021 and beyond! [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2907556/514a436f-82ea-4fc1-8967-62e07f54da1e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2907556/514a436f-82ea-4fc1-8967-62e07f54da1e) --- ![](https://blog.visitcss.com/hubfs/Jerome-2.png) ### Jerome Jelinek | CEO and President Jerome was the founder of CSS in 1992, and has been its CEO and General Counsel since that time. Prior to CSS, Jerome was in private practice in southeastern Michigan, concentrating in real estate law and commercial litigation. [More by this author](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/author/jerome-jelinek-ceo) --- CSS has been on the forefront of utilizing full digitization of real estate transactions. It has been closing transactions for several years using electronic and remote online notarization technology, being one of the first and only title companies to embrace the paperless process. --- ## Related Articles [![](https://blog.visitcss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg?width=352&name=LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg)](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2020-0-0-0) ### [Notes From Jerome: October 2020](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2020-0-0-0) ### Performance Enhancing Software [Read More](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2020-0-0-0) [![Artboard 1NTFLX](https://blog.visitcss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Artboard%201NTFLX.jpg?width=352&name=Artboard%201NTFLX.jpg)](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2019-0-0-0-0-1) ### [Notes From Jerome: December, 2019](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2019-0-0-0-0-1) [Read More](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2019-0-0-0-0-1) [![](https://blog.visitcss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg?width=352&name=LogoArtboard%201-100.jpg)](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2019-0-0-0-0-1-0) ### [Notes From Jerome: January, 2020](https://blog.visitcss.com/employee-newsletter/executive-update-2019-0-0-0-0-1-0) ### CSS Charitable Giving for 2019: Each year we try to allocate 1% of our profits for charitable... 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