President's Message

ENVISIONING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

I had the honor of meeting and speaking with the Young Agent Award winners highlighted in this month’s magazine. As I often say – the future is very bright in our industry. To that point, it is critical that IA&B evolves and adapts along with the industry, so that we remain a trusted resource for all the young professionals currently coming up through the ranks.

The boards of directors of IA&B have recognized this need and have undertaken a key initiative to assist both them and the IA&B staff with setting our future direction. We have secured the services of Minding Your Business, Inc. (MYB), a Chicagobased firm that works exclusively with associations to help them plan for the future, with the singular goal of ensuring that these associations remain relevant to their members.

This project is comprehensive. MYB has been conducting months of discovery work – studying the current structure of IA&B, interviewing IA&B staff and board members, as well as member agencies of all demographics. They have conducted focus group meetings with small agencies, large agencies, and young insurance professionals. And they have completed a full-membership survey to get even more input. MYB will then leverage the insights from this research to envision a sustainable future vision for IA&B.

At the end of this year, IA&B will have a new strategic plan, a refreshed vision statement, and a strategy map. This will guide our direction both in the short- and long-term future and will ensure that we remain the go-to resource for independent agents in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. This is an investment into the future of IA&B – but just as important, in the future of our member agencies.

Let me conclude by again congratulating the Young Agent Award winners, and to sincerely thank the company sponsors of this award.

Best,

Jason F. Ernest, IA&B President & CEO