PUBLISHER’ S NOTE
DEVELOPING OUR TEAMS TOGETHER written by Dave Hulcher
Please join me in welcoming our newest employee, Tony Elleman, who recently joined the team as our Agency Operations and Member Engagement Manager. We are excited to have Tony onboard and look forward to you meeting him.
KAIA has been fortunate to have a stable staff with very little turnover, so jumping back into the hiring process is a good reminder of the challenge our members continue to face in hiring, training, and retaining talent. The hiring process can feel overwhelming as you balance daily job duties with the time-consuming process of finalizing job postings, sourcing resumes, evaluating candidates, and on-boarding new employees.
Fortunately, KAIA and the Big“ I” have developed hiring and professional development resources to the assist our members with programs like InsurAcademy, Idealtraits and CareerPlug hiring platform, the Big“ I” Hiring Tool, the Agency Compensation 360 study, WAHVE staffing, Caliper assessment, etc. While we have more work to do, these resources were helpful on our hiring journey and hope they are in yours as well.
This edition of the magazine includes must-read content focused on the topics of recruiting strategies and professional development. A common theme throughout is the importance of having strong, defined, consistent operational workflows, an organizational alignment that moves the agency from busy to accountably efficient, and the importance of providing the tools and culture that allow employees to become high performers and future leaders.
Thanks for your continued membership in KAIA and don’ t hesitate to reach out on how we can support your agency in finding the next generation of talent.
Stay humble, kind, and thankful,
2 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER
KIA & B
JULY / AUGUST 2026 • VOLUME 31 No. 4
OFFICERS OF KAIA President: David Vogel | dvogel @ provalueins. com President-Elect: Brock Elliott | brock @ elliottinsurancegroup. com VP / Treasurer: Bryce Hundley | bryce @ hundleyinsurance. com Secretary / Assistant Treasurer: Scott Strickland | scotts @ cacu. com National Director: Jo Erin Stuteville | joerin @ elliottinsurancegroup. com Immediate Past President: Bryan Schmitz | bryanschmitz @ sbsins. com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Zone I Director: Cristi Werth | cwerth @ ruraltel. net Zone II Director: Chris Bohrer | cbohrer @ wic. insurance Director-at-Large: Rob Fisher | rfisher @ fumainsurance. com Director-at-Large: William Rowlen | bill @ fhins. com Director-at-Large: Russell Winn | russell @ winninsurance. com Director-at-Large: Christine Teagarden | christine @ trulyins. com Director-at-Large: Casey Williamson | casey. williamson @ hwins. com Young Agents Chair: Jordan Crow | jordan. crow @ ipfs. com
KAIA STAFF & CONSULTANTS Chief Executive Officer: Dave Hulcher COO / General Counsel: Beth Smoller Vice President of Finance: Shannon Bower E & O Program Administrator: Barb Wise AVP of Prof. Dev. & Marketing: Karlyn Raleigh Director of Marketing: Valerie Gardner Director of Business Development: Patrick McCoy Agency Ops & Member Engagement Mgr: Tony Elleman Office Coordinator: Barb Cobuluis Acct. Managers: Valerie Dunnam & Carolyn Rouse KAIA Lobbyist: Dan Murray