PUBLISHER ’ S NOTE
KIA & B
Kansas Insurance Agent & Broker
January / February 2021 • Vol . 26 , No . 1
We recently lost a sports legend with the passing of Henry “ Hank ” Aaron . He played 23 seasons in major league baseball and hit 755 career home runs , breaking Babe Ruth ’ s longstanding record in 1974 . While I didn ’ t get to see Hank play , I was always drawn to his pleasant smile , calm , thoughtful demeanor , and positive approach to sports and life . I watched an interview with him where he was asked what he was most proud of when he looked back at his career . His very humble response was “ consistency .” A fitting response from the only player in baseball history to have at least 20 home runs over 20 consecutive seasons . To me , consistency is such an essential trait to becoming the best you can be as a person and organization .
KAIA is celebrating 100 years of serving members , and consistency has been at the organization ’ s core in achieving this milestone . For 40 of those years , Will Larson has served as General Counsel for KAIA and been the model of consistency in serving our members . 2021 marks his retirement from the association . In this edition , I interviewed Will about his career , the insurance industry , and some of his favorite memories from working with members .
While Will is retiring , he has agreed to support us as we transition many of the legal services questions to Beth Smoller . She has already taken a more active role in responding to member inquiries over the past year . We are all thankful for the opportunity to work with Will and for the vast knowledge that he shared throughout the years . I ’ m sure that he is proud of his consistency , and I would certainly call him a KAIA legend .
Stay humble , kind , and thankful ,
OFFICERS OF KAIA President : Doug Smart | doug @ smart-ins . com President-Elect : JoErin Stuteville | joerin @ elliottinsurancegroup . com VP / Treasurer : Lucas Raleigh | lucas @ releighinsurance . biz Secretary / Assistant Treasurer : Josh Goodman | josh . goodman @ hwins . com National Director : Cindy Hower | chower @ kellermaninsurance . com Immediate Past President : Kristy Wilson | kwilson @ kellermaninsurance . com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Zone I Director : Shawn Myers | Smyers @ kellerlleopold . com Zone II Director : Bryan Schmitz | bryanschmitz @ sbsins . com Director-at-Large : Brock Elliott | Brock @ elliottinsurancegroup . com Director-at-Large : David Vogel | dvogel @ provalueins . com Director-at-Large : Kevin Campbell | kcampbell @ unitedagencyks . com Director-at-Large David Sanders | Dave . Sanders @ imacorp . com Young Agents Chair : Bryce Hundley | bryce @ hundleyinsurance . com
KAIA STAFF & CONSULTANTS Executive Director : Dave Hulcher Vice President of Finance : Shannon Bower Vice President of Member Experience : Joan Sutton Vice President of Agency Services : Elizabeth Smoller Legal Counsel : Will Larson & Elizabeth Smoller E & O Program Administrator : Barb Wise Marketing & Communication Manager : Chrissey Breault Prof Development & Events Manager : Karlyn Judd Office Coordinator : Barb Cobuluis Account Managers : Valerie Dunnam & Carolyn Rouse KAIA Lobbyist : Dan Murray
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