NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 22 William B. Greenwood today received the most distinguished honor the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) bestows upon an individual when he was presented with the Woodworth Memorial Award during the opening general session of the Association’s New Orleans InfoXchange.
Greenwood is president of Lawton Insurance in Central City, Ky., and a past president of the IIABA (1998).
“Bill Greenwood has been a champion of independent agents and brokers for 20 years,” said IIABA President Thomas B. Ahart, CPCU, AAI, during the presentation. “We are fortunate to have such an esteemed individual advocating on behalf of all independent agents and brokers. Bill’s exceptional and meritorious service on behalf of the Independent Agency System has earned him a well-deserved place on this Hall of Fame list of accomplished and respected IIABA leaders.”
The Woodworth Award was established in 1925 in memory of C.H. Woodworth of Buffalo, N.Y., the second president of the Association. It is awarded annually to the IIABA member who best demonstrates outstanding service benefiting independent insurance agents and the entire insurance industry.
Greenwood began his long-lasting commitment to the independent agency system as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky and went on to become its representative to IIABA’s National Board of State Directors. Greenwood was a member and chairman of several national committees, including the Communications Committee, before he was elected to the IIABA’s top leadership panel, the Executive Committee, and ascended to the Association’s presidency.
While serving on the Executive Committee, Greenwood focused on the development of a long-range strategic plan for IIABA that to this day serves as the cornerstone for many of the association’s successes.
Greenwood also was instrumental in the creation of InsurBanc and currently is a member of the bank’s board. He possesses a particular passion for technology and was instrumental in the creation of the Agents Council for Technology, a group that he served as its first chairman.
Ahart called Greenwood “the father of branding” as he presented the award before the 2,000 InfoXchange attendees. “Bill had a vision of a marketplace where consumers rely on independent insurance agents for their insurance needs and launched the branding initiative during his presidency,” Ahart noted. “Today, that initiative has blossomed into the highly successful Trusted ChoiceSM branding program.”
The New Orleans InfoXchange, IIABA’s showcase meeting, features an exclusive reception and lunch for Trusted ChoiceSM agencies and company/strategic partners; a compelling company CEO panel; a wide variety of innovative continuing-education (CE) classes offering 19 CE credits; several prominent guest speakers; one of the largest exhibit halls in the insurance industry; numerous networking opportunities; and many other exciting events. The event runs through Tuesday.
Founded in 1896, IIABA is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life and health—as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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