It’s never too early to start celebrating Notary Public Day, Nov. 7.    

That’s what Kathleen Butler, executive director of the American Society of Notaries (ASN) and Marc L. Aronson, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Notaries (PAN) thought in June. The pair teamed up to create a Notary Public Day media kit for distribution at the 2009 National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Conference in July.

This specially-designed media kit contained Notary Public Day logo art, sample commentaries ghostwritten in the “voice” of the secretary of state or other notary regulator for distribution to various media outlets, sample press releases, proclamations designating Nov. 7 as Notary Public Day, public service announcements for radio, and promotional ideas for use on the Web. Each kit also contained a “Celebrate Notaries!” lapel pin.

Notary Public Administrators (NPAs) who attended the NASS conference each received a kit. Media kits were also mailed to those NPAs who couldn’t attend the conference.

The first Notary Public Day was created by ASN and celebrated on Nov. 7, 1975, to recognize notaries for their public service and their contributions to national and international commerce.

There are nearly 93,000 Pennsylvania notaries and about 4.5 million notaries in the United States working in a variety of positions in public and private sectors and in government. As trusted public officials, notaries serve as impartial witnesses who deter fraud and promote the integrity and reliability of document transactions.

This year marks the first time the two notary associations collaborated on a joint Notary Public Day celebration.

“It’s been a pleasure working with PAN on the Notary Public Day media kit project. We put our heads and talents together to produce a project promoting ALL notaries, for use in all states, with no worries whatsoever about organizational affiliations or competitive interests,” said Butler. “We now have a joint project we’re proud of and solid respect for each other’s daily efforts to support and advance the office of notary public.”

Aronson said an event like Notary Public Day raises the public’s awareness of notaries as commissioned state officials.

“They take their jobs seriously and must be well-trained to provide important services to the general public. We’re proud to join our friends at ASN in celebrating Notary Public Day,” Aronson concluded.

To celebrate Notary Public Day, PAN is offering FREE shipping on all products purchased Nov. 6-8.