Mid-Year Reflections and Looking Ahead

By Jake Smith, Director of Operations, Insurors of Tennessee

It is hard to believe that July is just around the corner. Summertime seems to come and go so quickly as we enjoy the many activities that fill our weekends on these long, hot summer days. For myself, I always try to take advantage of a long day by spending time in quiet reflection of the year that has been.

This year, we have been celebrating 130 years of the Insurors of Tennessee. A history that spans generations, our membership has shown such tremendous support for the mission of this association and its future. Our office lobby features a photograph of the Annual Convention that took place in 1922 – over 100 years ago! It is hard not to look at that photo and wonder “What would these agents think about the association today?” If I had the chance, I’d bend their ears with all of the current developments that we have seen amongst this tridecacentennial anniversary. (Who knew it had a name?)

This year our association has been able to utilize new technology to expand our education opportunities beyond what we have seen in the past. Late last fall, our classroom received a hefty technological upgrade with respect to our educational operation. If you’ve attended a class in person at our office this year, you may have noticed that our allotment of students spans beyond the four walls of the classroom. With a mounted PTZ camera, omni-directional microphone, and hidden control center, we are able to broadcast high-definition continuing education classes to attendees all over the country. In this new era of education, our association has received extremely positive feedback from many agents watching online. This new avenue allows for unlimited educational offerings in the future.

Along with our upgrades in education, we have been active with a variety of events this year. In February, the Insurance Industry Legislative Reception kicked off the year as we were able to gather up other industry personnel together with members of the Tennessee General Assembly to connect and advocate for our industry. In March, we hosted our Annual Agency Growth Conference with great success in Chattanooga where we saw agency members from across the state join in for an opportunity to connect, learn, and engage with our association. In April, our association sent a collective of members and staff to Washington DC for the annual Big I Legislative Conference. This was my first visit to our nations capitol. It was a great learning experience for myself to see how much work is being done and how our representatives made time to meet with our group to discuss the current issues pertaining to our industry.

The month of May allowed us to shift our focus on final preparations for Insurefest 2023 as we led up to the opening of registration. We cannot wait to see everyone for our crown jewel event in Knoxville! In the meantime, we will be working diligently to build upon the 130-year legacy of this association. Our staff, Board of Directors, committees and partners are always discussing new ideas and improvements that can be implemented as we pave the way towards the next 130 years of this association. We have committed ourselves to see beyond today and plan for tomorrow with new ideas regarding membership development, events, Young Agents, WINS, Technology, and education.

We will be promoting many opportunities to members in the back half of the calendar. I encourage you to stay tuned for upcoming information about Young Agents, WINS, an exclusive new education program and member events. u