BIG “I” ANNOUNCES 2004-2005 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Grau Becomes 100th President; Daniel Elected Newest At-Large Member
ORLANDO, Oct. 11—Thomas Grau, CPCU, today was inaugurated as the new president of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and J. David Daniel was elected an at-large member to the association’s Executive Committee.
Grau, who became the 100th Big “I” president, was sworn in at today’s closing session of the Big “I” Convention in Orlando. Louise “BeBe” Canter, CPCU, ARM, senior vice president of Patterson//Smith Associates in Falls Church, Va., remains on the Executive Committee as immediate past president.
Meanwhile, Daniel was elected to the Executive Committee by the Big “I” National Board of State Directors during its meeting held immediately prior to the convention. Daniel is president of Daniel and Eustis Insurance in Baton Rouge, La. He served on the Board of Directors of the Independent Insurance Agents of Louisiana for eight years and become its president in 1997. Daniel currently serves as Louisiana’s state national director, a position he has held since 1998. On the national level, he has served on the Big “I” Technical Affairs Committee and was chairman of the Governance and Communication Task Force.
William G. Stiglitz III, an account executive with Louisville, Ky.-based Hyland, Block & Hyland, assumed his new post within the association’s volunteer leadership today when he was sworn in as president-elect.
Alex Soto, president of Miami, Fla.-based InSource, Inc., became IIABA’s new vice president.
IIABA’s National Board of State Directors confirmed Stiglitz and Soto to their new positions at its mid-year meeting in April 2004. Stiglitz will become the association’s 101st president at the 2005 Big “I” Convention in New York City.
The Big “I” Convention is taking place in Orlando through tomorrow. The event features a compelling company CEO panel discussion; several prominent guest speakers; a variety of innovative continuing-education (CE) classes and other cutting-edge workshops; the largest exhibit hall in the insurance industry; numerous networking opportunities; and many other exciting events.
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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2004-2005 Big “I” Executive Committee Member Profiles
President Thomas A. Grau, CPCU
Grau, a sales executive with the Cogswell Agency in Great Falls, Mont., served as chairman of the Association’s Finance Committee immediately prior to his election to the Executive Committee in September 1999. He also has served on the Audit, Direction, and Resources Committees. His considerable service on the local and state levels includes terms as president and state national director of the Independent Insurance Agents of Montana, state association Technical Affairs Committee chairman, and three terms as local association president.
President-elect William G. Stiglitz III
Stiglitz, of Louisville, Ky.-based Hyland, Block & Hyland, Inc., served as the Kentucky representative to the Big “I” Board of State National Directors immediately prior to his election to the Executive Committee. He is a past state president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky. He was the planning liaison to the national board and serves on Kentucky’s government affairs committee. Stiglitz has been an independent insurance agent for 30 years, joining his uncle’s insurance agency, Miller & Scholtz, in 1970, which merged with his current firm in 1992.
Vice President Alex Soto, CPCU, ARM
Executive Committee Member Robert E. Fulwider
Fulwider is principal and executive vice president of the Ray Wuestenberg Agency, Inc., of West Liberty, Iowa, and principal and executive vice president of the Fulwider Agency, Inc., of West Branch, Iowa. He also is president of Bob Fulwider and Associates, a life and health financial planning agency in Eastern Iowa. Mr. Fulwider served as chairman of the Big “I” Government Affairs Committee before being elected to the Executive Committee in 2002. Mr. Fulwider is a past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa (IIAI) and serves on the state association’s Insurance Education Faculty. He was named IIAI Agent of the Year in 1990 and again in 1993, making him the first honoree in the Iowa association’s history to be twice honored.
Executive Committee Member C. Brett Nilsson, CIC
Nilsson is vice president of operations for Acordia Mountain West in Ogden, Utah. Prior to being elected to the Executive Committee in 2003, he served as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Utah from 1992 to 1993 and as the state’s representative to the national board for nine years. On the national level, Nilsson has served on the Big “I” Communications Committee and Finance Committee, which he chaired from 1999 to 2003. Nilsson is on the agent advisory councils of several insurance companies. He is a past recipient of Utah’s Agent of the Year and Young Agent of the Year awards, and he received a Big “I” Presidential Citation in 2001.
Executive Committee Member J. David Daniel
Daniel is president of Daniel and Eustis Insurance in Baton Rouge, La. Daniel was elected as Louisiana’s State National Director in 1998 and previously served as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Louisiana (IIAL). On the national level, Daniel has served on the Big “I” Technical Affairs Committee and served as chairman of the Governance and Communication Task Force. Past honors for Daniel include the IIAL Lifetime Achievement Award and the Outstanding Committee Chairman Award as well as the Capital City Kiwanis Club’s George R. Hixson Award for community service.
Immediate Past President Louise “BeBe” Canter, CPCU, ARM
Canter, a senior vice president at Patterson//Smith Associates in Falls Church, Va., has been active in the Metropolitan Washington Association of Independent Insurance Agents (MWAIIA) in many capacities, including president, state national director and young agent chairman. In 1991, she was chosen as the MWAIIA Agent of the Year. She also served as chairman of the Southern Agents Conference in 1994. On the national level, Canter was a member of the Big “I” Large Agents Committee and served as MWAIIA’s representative to the Big “I” National Board of State Directors for six years. In September 1998, Ms. Canter became the first woman in Big “I” history elected to the Association’s Executive Committee.
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