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Young agents recognized New Big "I" conference features awards for accomplishments as well as time to help others At last September’s inaugural Young Agents Leadership Institute, attendees helped others in addition to furthering their own careers. The three-day Institute took place during the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) Fall Leadership Conference held in New Orleans. “Helping others” meant working to repair and rebuild hurricane-damaged homes in New Orleans through Habitat for Humanity. young agents as well as seasoned agents in town for the Leadership Conference rolled up their sleeves to help in a variety of ways. Keith Riley, National Young Agents Committee Chairperson said, “Many of us have given financial support but it was an honor for young agents to be in New Orleans and have the opportunity to give ‘hands on’ help to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.” The first annual Institute also provided plenty of career-furthering opportunities, through networking with fellow agents; motivational and informational general sessions; and a practical track of presentations covering young agent communica-tion, political involvement, and membership development. “It is important for us to provide attendees opportunities to grow personally as well as professionally,” Keith continues. “This growth benefits attendees, their agencies, their customers and their communities.” Previously this meeting had been held as a conference during the IIABA annual convention, which was held each fall. Beginning this year, the Big “I” annual convention was conducted at the National Legislative Conference in Washington D.C., in April. Ken White, National Young Agents Committee member, observes: “We were faced with a big change since the Young Agent Leadership Institute was not held in conjunction with the IIABA Convention. However, we are very pleased that we were able to continue the long history of providing a great deal of value to our attendees.” A highlight of the Leadership Institute was the annual awards presentation to outstanding young agent committees for accomplishments in several areas. There were more submissions for the 2006 awards than in any of the past 10 years, according to the IIABA. Young agent groups from 20 states sent in submissions: Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. Following are the winning states and their accomplishments. 2006 Outstanding Young Agents Committee of the Year The Young Agents Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC), received this highest award “in recognition of the outstanding efforts of their state Young Agents Committee to foster association growth and secure the future of the independent agency system,” according the IIABA. In 2005-06, the IIANC Young Agents Committee (YAC) accomplished all of its goals while continuing to push and raise expectations for next year. Besides meeting its InsurPAC goal again this year, the YAC’s donation of $25,574.50 led the nation among young agents in funds raised for InsurPAC. The YAC’s new project last year was raising $54,515 to fund insurance scholarships for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. On the state level, the YAC hosted its annual Young Agents Conference, and helped run regional qualifying tournaments and the state Big “I” Trusted Choice Junior Golf Classic. On the national level, the young agents increased attendance at the IIABA’s Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference, as well the National Legislative Conference, and continued to expand participation in the InVEST program. 2006 Outstanding Young Agents Committee Runner-up In 2005-06, the Young Brokers and Agents Committee (YBAC) of the Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West (IBA West) continued its 31-year-old tradition of excellence—increasing the number of young agent attendees at its local and statewide events by 23% and its number of company sponsor attendees by 18%. YBAC raised $138,450 in company sponsorships to help offset the cost of their annual conference and foster local association young agents programs in California. Activities included the annual conference, which was well attended by young agents from across the state; local association Industry Days to recruit new young agents; and support for local association activities where young agents can expand their insurance knowledge, refine their skills in communications and service, and enjoy the fellowship of their peers. 2006 Outstanding Membership Development Award The Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois (PIIAI) Young Agents Committee’s database has grown from 200 members four years ago to 900-plus members. An estimated 100 names were added this past year. The committee uses networking events around the state to get young agents acquainted with and interested in the YAC. In 2005-06, the committee offered five events for young agents to attend. Besides successfully growing its database, in the last year the YAC has increased participation in association activities and continues to promote the importance of young agents throughout the state. 2006 Outstanding State Committee Project Award A goal of the Young Agents Committee of the Maine Insurance Agents Association is to develop a broad-based group of volunteers, including agency and company personnel, to be actively involved in the Maine Winter Special Olympics. The Committee has coordinated the volunteer efforts of the insurance industry since the 1997 winter Olympics. Responsibilities include coordinating and managing the award stand at the Special Olympics, as well as announcing winners’ names and how they placed in their event. 2006 Outstanding Political Involvement Award The Kentucky Young Insurance Professionals (KYIP) of the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky, Inc., uses every opportunity to educate young agents about political involvement. At their two annual major functions—the KYIP Sales and Leadership Conference and Kentucky Young Insurance Professionals Day—the KYIP Governmental Affairs subcommittee chairperson speaks directly to KYIP membership and discusses the importance and impact of its political action committees—KAPAC on the state level and InsurPAC at the national level. This provides a forum for young agents to hear about such hot-bed issues as producer compensation laws and the push by some to federalize the insurance industry. The captive audiences at these two events get to hear and discuss the short-term and long-term impact that these issues will have on their careers and futures. 2006 Outstanding Communications Award The Young Agents Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia, Inc., uses a variety of tools to effectively communicate with members. Being increasingly aware of the need to identify evolving communication preferences and respond to them prompted the committee to come up with alternatives to having flooded e-mail in-boxes. This year the YAC started a phone-tree program, which began with YAC leadership and spread via personal telephone or eye-to-eye contact to all 840 young agents in Georgia. This program was active throughout the year, with extra emphasis and activity leading up to their three major events—Carleton Sales Symposium in the fall, Charity Golf Tournament in the spring and the YAC Annual Conference in the summer. 2006 Outstanding Young Agents Meeting Award With a “spring training” theme, this year’s Michigan Association of Insurance Agents Young Agents Council’s annual conference increased the number of CE credits offered from seven hours in 2005 to 16 hours in 2006, while only reducing the sales courses from six hours to four. This change attracted agencies that have not been involved for several years. Company partners and vendors gave $83,000 for sponsorships, allowing the YAC to underwrite quality speakers and providing the opportunity for 274 to attend. To complement the conference theme, sports memorabilia were auctioned off to raise more than $1,300 for Habitat for Humanity. *
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