Chapter 9 : 2000s
The decade was littered with recessions , stock market crashes , financial scandals , antitrust cases , and flatout disasters all around . But the 2000s were also a decade of tremendous change for the IT industry , with disruptive technologies , market-altering mergers , and trailblazing products that transformed the economic landscape forever and drastically changed the way we live . From the Y2K bug and the HP-Compaq merger , to Apple ' s rebound and an insider trading scandal , the decade saw a wealth of historic events .
• Effective January 1 , 2000 , as stated in the Kansas State Law 40-3014 , to register a vehicle in Kansas , proof of insurance must be provided .
• The National Legislative Conference was held on May 1-3 , 2000 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington , D . C . President Bill Clinton addressed the attendees . Representing Kansas were Greg Renn , Tom Murry and Al Shank . The Kansas delegates met with Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback and Congressmen Jerry Moran , Dennis Moore , and Jim Ryun . They discussed the proposed OSHA regulations , the Homeowners Availability Act , and crop insurance subsidies .
• Leroy Brungardt , Director of the Kansas Insurance Department Agents and Brokers Division , attended the June board meeting to discuss the Producers Licensing Model Act . He stated that there were 52,000 licensed agents in Kansas . Of those , 48 % were Kansas residence , and the other 52 % were non-resident .
• Larry Magill returned to KAIA in July 2000 as the Executive Vice President . Before that , he served KAIA from 1980 to 1995 , when he accepted a position with the IIAA to serve as vice president of member products and markets . He was then hired by AMS Users Group as chief operating officer and promoted to chief executive officer . Larry ’ s and KAIA ’ s paths crossed around the time of the executive director vacancy . Larry stated : “ It ’ s great to come back home . I ’ m looking forward to seeing all my friends and for the chance to impact our industry in Kansas positively ”.
• The Winning Survivors was the 80th Annual Convention ’ s theme . It was in Kansas City at the Doubletree , October 8-10 , 2000 . The format and the name of the convention changed to the Management & Leadership Conference . The new improvements and focus to the conference necessitated the new name .
A new award was started that year . It was called the “ Agent of Merit Award .” The award would be given at the Management & Leadership Conference . It was hoped that the award would encourage agents to be more involved in local civic activities and improve public relations efforts and recognize agents for their services .
A by-law change was made at the Annual Business Meeting . It eliminated the treasurer positions from the Board of Directors by merging them as part of the vice president ( vice president / treasurer ) and the assistant treasurer as part of the secretary position ( secretary / assistant treasurer ).
Kathleen Sebelius , Kansas Insurance Commissioner , addressed the members during the closing lunch ceremonies . She spoke about the impact the 9-11 terrorist attacks would have on the insurance industry , assuring us that it was being closely monitored for solvency issues with the companies most severely affected .
• KAIA announced a new company sponsorship program in February 2001 . It allowed companies to sponsor activities on a once-a-year commitment . The program was called Industry Partners .
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