| TRUSTED CHOICE COMMITTEE |
Community-minded
Independent agents and their association
are driven to serve others
KRISTY WILSON
Trusted Choice Committee Chair
I
can’t believe we are half way through the year,
the 4th of July has been celebrated and kids
are headed back to school. Yuck!! Where does
the time go? I know we are all busy in our
daily routine with work, family, ballgames, hopefully
some R&R in there – and of course volunteering at
various levels in our communities.
It seems like insurance agents just naturally gravitate
toward being involved and are invested in their
communities. This is a great way to meet new people
and have them learn about who you are as a person
outside of the “dreaded” insurance office that they
sometimes have to visit for not-so-fun-things like paying
bills or filing claims. Not only do we get involved but
also our state and national associations get involved
in various ways on our behalf, helping to promote the
community-mindedness of independent agents.
make-a-wish partnership
A few years ago, Trusted Choice teamed up with the
Make-A-Wish Foundation. You may remember the
Trusted Choice chopper that was at Rural & Small
Agents Conference two years ago. The bike was built
by Orange County Choppers and then auctioned off.
The money from the motorcycle went toward this great
foundation that gives kids – who are faced with some
horrific challenges in their lives – some really amazing
opportunities. This year, Trusted Choice and Kansas
agents helped grant two wishes in our state.
KAIA sponsored the first wish for a little boy in Abilene.
Ethan, who is 8 and has been diagnosed with a rare
childhood brain tumor, said: “I wish to be a Train
Conductor.” Ethan traveled to the West Coast in July
10
where he helped conduct an Amtrak train and celebrated
his birthday aboard the train. On July 28, we joined local
agents in Dickinson County to throw a welcome home
party for Ethan and his family aboard the Smoky Valley
Railroad. The second Kansas wish – which was funded
by the Big “I”’s national Facebook campaign – was for
Daniel, a three-year-old boy who lives near Topeka. Agents
helped fund construction of an electric train with tracks
in his backyard. The train was unveiled for him in July.
Trains seem to be a theme for these brave kiddos!
trusted Choice junior golf
Another community-driven activity KAIA helps put on
each year is the Trusted Choice Junior Golf Qualifier.
This is a huge opportunity for high school golfers in our
own communities to compete for a chance to play in the
National Big “I” Golf Championship – an pro-style event
that boasts former champions like Tiger Woods.
This year, we had the chance to take our service one step
farther by hosting the national championship right here
in Kansas. This event drew hundreds of players, their
families and independent agents from across the country
to Hutchinson. And, to top it all off, we had a Kansas
golfer win the national title!
As we hustle through our daily lives, remember that giving
a little back to the community – on any level – is never a
bad thing. The icing on the cake with these associationsponsored volunteer opportunities is that we get to spread
the Trusted Choice brand to many people who may not
yet be using an independent agent. Through this kind of
local and statewide exposure, more people will find out
just how simply amazing we are!
KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER |July-August 2015|