Berrien County Register of Deeds, Lora Freehling was named Register of the Year at the Michigan Association of Registers of Deeds’ (MARD) 110th annual conference on Mackinac Island.
The office of Register of Deeds (ROD) was established for each county by Michigan’s first constitution written in 1835. The ROD is the official recording office for real estate related documents and is the custodian of all historical and current transactional property records.
Freehling was appointed Berrien County’s ROD in 2018 at the time of the passing of then Register Lori Jarvis. Freehling joined MARD in 2018 and has served as secretary of the association since 2022. She is currently a member of the MARD Publications Committee, Standardization and Review Committee, and the Legislative Committee.
Nominations for Register of the Year (ROY) are submitted by Registers and Clerk/Registers throughout the state. The ROY Committee, which is made up of previous ROY’s, brings the top nominations to MARD members on which to vote. This year’s submissions were nearly unanimous therefore, a membership vote was not necessary.
“It was a complete shock to hear my name called,” said Freehling. “I’m very honored to receive this prestigious award and humbled when I think of all the other deserving Registers. I enjoy serving, and will continue to serve the residents of Berrien County to my highest ability.”
The criteria to be named Register of the Year includes: five years as an elected official-dues paying member; active involvement on a MARD committee or serving as an officer or member of the MARD Board of Directors; status as an elected official who has made important contributions for the betterment of MARD.
Freehling is the third Berrien County ROD to receive this award. Bernice Trethaway was named MARD’s very first Register of the Year in 1991. Lori Jarvis was named ROY in 2009 and in 2016.
Freehling has family farming heritage in Weesaw and Lake Townships, and comes from a family line of public servants. The daughter of former State Representative Carl Gnodtke, she graduated from River valley High School and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Administration from Oakland University. She and husband Mike are members of Christ Lutheran Church in Stevensville. They enjoy traveling, golf and spending time with their rescue pets and adult son and daughter.
