From Your Interim Executive Director What Did We Ever Do to 2020? "Who am I? Why am I here?" - Admiral James Stockdale, in his opening remarks at the 1992 Vice Presidential debate. By now we should probably all just get used to the may twists and turns of the year 2020, but that is easier said than done. In spite of all that had been happening, our Association was off to a strong start in the first half of this year – and then change struck again. On June 30, Ashley Gold resigned and I was asked to fill this role in the interim.
Who Am I? For over 13 years, I have filled various roles for the Association, and I am no stranger to taking on new challenges for this organization. One of my first tasks as a staff-member was driving the Insurors van filled with golfers to a local board outing in Memphis. We got pulled over leaving the office on the on-ramp to 440, and there was no insurance card in the van. A strong start! My first Insurors Convention happened 90 days into my new role. I attempted to learn the names of hundreds of new (to me) people, help implement the events and even coordinate a volleyball match between Titans players, cheerleaders and our attendees. I still remember getting yelled at about not giving someone an extra beach towel! Those seem like distant memories now, but as the years went by, I began to know the real people of this Association – the members. These are good people who work hard for their communities and help a lot of their fellow citizens when trouble strikes. I was very humbled by the many calls and texts I received after the announcement that I had been appointed to this role. It just shows you that the relationships you build in this industry really matter. I think that one area where Insurors really excels is providing those relationship building opportunities, and I am hopeful we can continue that in-person again soon. I have become friends with many of you over these years, and I will work hard to keep us moving in the right direction. The Tennessee Insuror
What Direction is That? We've implemented some changes in the last year and a half at Insurors that I am very proud of. We have a focus on new members and have added over 30 since last year's Convention. We have developed a new onboarding process, continued to grow our E&O program, added events and participation numbers on our Young Agents program and had amazing numbers for our Women in Insurance events. We transitioned our Agency Growth Conference to a virtual event and had our largest registration ever. We have amazing improvements to our website and social media, the highest InsurPACTN giving on record and our Partners Program continues to grow year-over-year. All those things have been possible because your Insurors staff works together to fulfill the strategy given to us by the Board. None of that will change. The Board and staff are committed to helping as many independent agents succeed in this state as possible.
What Now? We have a lot of work to do, I am not going to kid myself there. There is a skillset that I did not fully have that is required to succeed in this role, and I will commit to developing that. We still have a virtual Convention planned this year on October 13, and I am glad we have at least that opporunity for our members.
“...I a m n o s tr an g e r to taking on new challenges f o r t h i s organization. ”
Generally in these situations, I imagine people ask for patience and support. While I would appreciate both of those, I want to take a little different tact. Let me know the things that I and we can do to improve. If it is something I can work on – I'll work on it. The only way to improve on what we do is to learn from our members and set new goals. Other than that, my role will be to fulfill a promise: Insurors of Tennessee Educates, Protects and Supports independent agents – and we'll continue to do that. Please let me know any other ways that we can. u
Daniel Smith, CAE 25
