The 2004 Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award winner Otmara Linares, of Summit Global Partners, Inc., of Florida, with (from left) President/CEO Jeff Haynes and COO Bruce Baker.
Otmara Linares receives this year’s honor
By Bob Bloss
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The 2004 Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award winner Otmara Linares, of Summit Global Partners, Inc., of Florida, with (from left) President/CEO Jeff Haynes and COO Bruce Baker. |
With the engraving of yet another distinguished name, the prestigious “Irma” award takes on added luster each year.
Otmara Linares of Coral Gables, Florida, is the 2004 honoree designated by the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) to receive the Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the fourth recipient of this citation that is named in honor of its initial winner, Irma Platt who, after more than four decades, continues to deliver sales and customer service as vice president, business manager, and administrative assistant at Hugh Cotton Insurance Agency, Inc., of Orlando, Florida.
In addition to Irma Platt, subsequent “Irma” winners have been Cindy Molnar (2002) and Marion Heaberlin (2003).
From among dozens of insurance professionals nominated for the 2004 spotlight, the FAIA concluded that Otmara Linares best personifies the qualities of character and professionalism embodied by Mrs. Platt. Irma Award qualifiers are the men and women who work—usually without widespread recognition—in support of their agencies’ principals and producers, and who have served over lengthy tenures.
This year’s award was presented to Linares at a particularly significant special event: the 100th anniversary convention of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents held near Orlando in June. A few days prior to the formal ceremony, “Ot” received official notice that she would receive the honor.
“I was totally shocked,” she says, relating details of the surprise presentation at the offices of her employer, the former Lon Worth Crow Insurance Group. In 1998 this successful Coral Gables agency became a subsidiary of Dallas-based Summit Global Partners, which maintains a second Florida location in Boca Raton.
“Tom Cotton [FAIA past chairman and founder of the Irma Award] came to our office a few days before the annual state convention. All of our employees were gathered together expecting Mr. Cotton to review industry matters of importance to Florida agencies. He started to cover some basic business but then turned his comments to the Irma Award and its background. He talked about Irma Platt whose career had been the inspiration for the award and then suddenly said, ‘. . . we have someone right here in this room who is this year’s Irma winner.’ When he indicated me it was a gigantic surprise. I didn’t have a clue.”
Twenty-five years earlier, as a high school student in Miami, Cuban-born Otmara, who had moved to the United States with her family when she was four years old, had no clue about insurance either. But that would soon change. She entered the business education co-op program InVEST (Insurance Vocational Education Student Training). Now in its 35th year, InVEST teaches insurance skills to high school and community college students. InVEST’s mission is the same as it was back when Otmara joined: to develop a pool of insurance professionals and informed consumers by educating them about careers in insurance, financial services, and risk management. More than 96,000 young men and women have studied InVEST curricula since 1970. The venture is endorsed and strongly promoted by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA). Recently scholarships totaling $30,000 were awarded to InVEST co-op students.
During the summer between Otmara Linares’s junior and senior high school years she got her first hands-on experience with the insurance business. She was impressed. So, too, was her employer. The InVEST program placed young Otmara with Lon Worth Crow where she interned as a part-time file clerk. A high school diploma, then college degrees, would follow. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Florida International University, then, in 1989, a master’s in public administration from Troy State University. All the while—except for two years in Madrid, Spain, while her husband, Luis, attended medical school—Otmara has been a valued member of the Lon Worth Crow/Summit organization. She, Luis—who’s now a busy physical therapist—and their two daughters—Jessica (age 13) and Jennifer (11)—live in Coral Gables, the community near which she resided most of her childhood and where her successful insurance career developed.
In saluting the company’s popular long-time employee, Bruce Baker, vice-president/chief operating officer at Summit in Coral Gables offered numerous examples of Otmara’s significant contributions to the agency.
“She came a long way quickly,” said Baker, “from file clerk in her high school days to running our finance department and administrative services. Ot was instrumental in automating the agency and is now in charge of human resources here at the local level where we have 35 employees on our rolls. She exudes a truly wonderful, positive attitude in helping and supporting our staff members personally and professionally.”
Vice-president Karen Lieux, a 12-year agency veteran, also described Otmara’s strengths. “It’s hard to put into words what someone like Ot means to an organization. With her positive attitude and pleasant demeanor she continuously does what’s right for the company. And she constantly works hard for the rights of our employees. Bruce and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Haynes have the greatest confidence in Ot’s ability to handle details efficiently and effectively so that they can concentrate on production and their other management details.”
As human resources manager and with her two dozen years of experience, her knowledge of virtually all aspects of the agency’s business, and her clearly exhibited concern for staff members, Otmara is credited with having played a vital role in the firm’s high level of employee retention over the years.
The popular 2004 Irma Award recipient was recently asked to describe her typical day at Summit Global Partners of Florida, Inc.
“Today,” she responded, “I’ve dealt with some payroll computations, engaged in a number of phone calls, updated personnel schedules, and have been working with customer service representatives on several matters—especially accounting issues.”
She paused for a moment, smiled, and said, “You know, thinking about that and the other things that I’m involved with day after day, I really enjoy coming to work here.” *
T he Irma Award
Since the 2001 introduction of the Irma Award, Rough Notes magazine has been honored to spotlight the annual winners. Our hearty congratulations this year to Otmara Linares. We applaud the Florida Association of Insurance Agents for creating this overdue accolade that emphasizes the important role played by insurance professionals who, usually from behind-the-scenes, effectively assist their agencies’ producers and customers. FAIA official Tom Cotton, the Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award founder, encourages insurance industry members to nominate worthy candidates for future Irma Award consideration. Nominees need not be employed by Florida agencies. Recommendations from throughout the United States are welcomed by the FAIA and are received annually. For further information, and to obtain nominating forms, contact Cotton at tcotton@hughcotton.com. |
The author
Bob Bloss is a freelance writer based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.