Meridian Title expands to Mount Vernon

This month marked the launch for a pair of new offices for Springfield-based Meridian Title Co., including its first in Mount Vernon.

Dee Wilson, chief sales officer for the title company, said Aug. 1 was the opening date for its Mount Vernon office at 209 S. Main St. She said the building near the town square formerly housed a pawnshop and video game store.

Meridian Title owner Jeremy Burcham said startup costs were around $60,000, though he declined to disclose the five-year lease rate he signed with building owners Jason and Tara Prater.

“Mount Vernon being the county seat, it just made sense to enter the market,” Burcham said, adding Meridian Title also has Lawrence County offices in Aurora and Monett. “This was an area that we looked at previously.”

The roughly 1,000-square-foot office is currently staffed by a single employee, but he said the company does centralized work out of the county and will rotate staff from Aurora and Monett when needs arise.

Aside from Mount Vernon, the title company also opened its second office in Arkansas this month. While the Rogers, Arkansas, office launched at the start of the month, Burcham said an Aug. 22 grand opening for the facility is planned. The company expanded its footprint to the Natural State last year, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

Meridian Title ranked No. 1 on SBJ’s list last year of the area’s largest title companies, with 36 offices and 175 local employees.

Burcham said the company’s location count has since grown to around 40.

“We’re actively looking at other locations but nothing I want to outright say at this time,” he said, adding that search includes areas beyond its current three-state footprint of Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas.