• YAC – we have a successful Young Agents Committee that continues to grow and connects young agents throughout the state . The YAC provides direction for individuals that enter the insurance industry . They provide sales and educational training along with great networking opportunities while always having a good time . We need to continue to find ways to recruit and retain young talent to our industry .
• ADVOCACY – we have a strong Government Affairs team that monitors key issues while keeping our members well informed on state and national legislation . Will Larson and our lobbyist Dan Murray , spend countless hours at the Capital attending committee meetings , functions and legislative activities . They are always networking with our key legislators on the important issues that face our industry . It ’ s great to see Ken Selzer , Kansas Insurance Commissioner , attend many of our events and be involved with our association on many levels . During the session , KAIA hosts a weekly reception for our legislators that is always well attended . We have received great feedback from our legislators on how effective these receptions are , and this allows us valuable one-on-one time .
• COMMUNICATION – Keeping our members informed on industry related news , trends , upcoming events , continuing education and member benefits is an important function of KAIA . With three different publications - KIA & B magazine , Capitol Notes Newsletter and the Kansas Agent Newsletter , the association provides our members with both print and email material on important issues and information to benefit our agencies and industry .
• INDUSTRY PARNTERS – We have a valuable Industry Partnership Program with our companies . This partnership allows our companies to connect with our members by sponsoring and attending our events , functions and promotions . Having this support from our company partners enables KAIA to host our great events and conferences .
I also want to recognize and applaud the AScK staff and board that was challenged this year to expand market access programs . We recognized that many of our members struggle to place several lines of coverage . Having all the resources and capabilities already within AScK allowed this opportunity to get started for minimal costs and in a timely manner . Please consider using AScK for any of your difficult or hard to place risks .
I need to express much thanks to Joan Sutton , Shannon Bower and Bob Harris for their leadership during our transition process . The board and staff leaned heavily on this these three for their guidance and managing the day-to-day operations for the association . Thanks again to Joan , Shannon and Bob for stepping up !
I want to thank the KAIA Board of Directors and all those who have served on the various committees the past year . Your time and dedication to our association benefits all our members first and foremost . Having a diverse group of insurance professionals serving on our board allows us insight and understanding as to how the insurance industry affects all of us throughout the state . I appreciate your time away from the office and family and your commitment to the association . For those who have not served on a committee , I encourage you do so .
The Executive Committee was instrumental in the hiring of our new Executive Director , Dave Hulcher . We ’ ve spent hours in meetings , on conference calls and sending / reading emails . I cannot thank SueAnn Schultz , Cindy Hower , Lyle Davidson , Scott Strong and Lee Gleason enough for all their time and energy spent during the search process . Thank you all for making this a major success for the association . We had fun along the way , and I tried to keep everything under control . Going through the search process may have triggered my first few gray hairs !! KAIA was also very fortunate to have SueAnn serve on our board . She brought many great ideas , and her judgment and approach is always spot on .
Once the EC established the skills sets and key drivers needed for this position , it was our intention to find the best candidate to be the “ Face of KAIA .” We received numerous outstanding resumés , and almost all the candidates had previous ties with Larry Magill , even Dave did . This shows how well respected Larry was , and how he represented our association . The Exec . Committee quickly identified Dave as our top candidate . Dave had a strong skill set , a positive energy and twenty years of insurance experience . We had just one minor issue … he lived in Virginia . Dave and his wife Laura , were able to visit Kansas a couple times and see why we all make our homes here . We worked through the negotiations and were able to get Dave on board in early July . If you have not had a chance to meet or visit with Dave , please reach out to him . He will be a great leader , resource and asset for our association !
The association is in very good hands moving forward . My congratulations to Lyle Davidson as our new President for KAIA . Lyle will do a tremendous job guiding our association for the next year .
As Elvis said “ Thank you . Thank you very much ”
| September - October 2016 | KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER
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