From Your President

From Your President A Bright Future on the Horizon

Well, this is time where we typically discuss the upcoming convention, and all the great opportunities that would be waiting for us in Nashville… and there were to be many. However, this was a very different year, and your Board of Directors – in the interest of health and safety – felt it best to host our convention virtually this year. After all, we are in the business of risk management!

So hopefully as you're reading this, you have just recently attended our virtual 127th Annual Convention, and it was of value to you and your agency. Daniel and our Insurors staff – along with some assistance from our Partners and the Big "I" – worked hard to convert this to an online event and provide it for free to our members.

We may all be getting weary of virtual events, but I think it was important to continue the tradition of our Annual Convention – and I hope you feel the same way.

I also want to take a moment to personally thank the entire staff of our Association. They have stepped up and gone above and beyond in what has been a very challenging year. We are very fortunate to have the dedicated staff that we have, and I appreciate each and every one of them.

Update on Our Search Committee

Some of you may be wondering about our progress in identifying our next Executive Director for the Association. The Search Committee continues to make progress and has submitted a slate of individuals to your Executive Committee to begin the interview process.

While we certainly will not rush any decision on who our next CEO will be, I am hopeful that in the coming weeks we may be able to share some exciting news about our future leadership. I would like to thank the Search Committee volunteers, chaired by Cindi Gresham, and including; Brad Smith of Smith-Berclair Insurance in Memphis; Walt Bradshaw of Bradshaw Insurors in Dyersburg, Dave Porch of Porch-Stribling-Webb in Waverly, Eddie Miller of Miller Loughry and Beach Insurance in Murfreesboro, Tom Strate of Strate Insurance Group in Morristown and Scott Ferguson of McGriff Insurance in Chattanooga. They have spent countless hours together discussing the needs of our association and the characteristics the next CEO should possess. If you have an opportunity, please let them know how much you appreciate their continued contributions to our Association.

It’s hard for me to express to you in writing how excited I am about the future of our Association. That’s one reason I’m so disappointed that we will not be getting together in person this year.

A Look Ahead to 2021

Next year promises to be better than ever. Our Women in Insurance (WINS) events will continue but, will return to in-person gatherings in 2021. We just received an Excellence in Education award from Big "I" National, and we are reviewing our offerings to make sure we deliver them in a way that is preferable and meaningful to our members. Our Young Agents program continues to evolve, and we just received a National award for that program's community service involvement with Kids' Chance of Tennessee. We expect some more great things from the group in 2021 as well, including more in-person local events.

Our 2020 Agency Growth Conference is being planned now for March 23-24, and we hope to welcome you back to in-person events at this function at the Marriott Cool Springs in Franklin. We're already lining up some great speakers and sessions for you.

Our 128th Annual Convention is headed to the great state of Alabama next year, to be held at the beautiful Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa. This event promises to be a memorable one, and we're working on some great functions for attendees. So, mark your calendars for October 16-19, 2021, and make plans to attend.

I hope each of you stay healthy and safe and I look forward to seeing you soon. u

“We may all be getting weary of virtual events, but I think it was important to continue the tradition of our Annual Convention...”