ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 13, 2010 – The InVEST program awarded Lindsey Shank, CIC, with the Dach Award. The Dach Award honors an insurance industry volunteer who has made tremendous contributions in fostering the growth and development of InVEST.
Shank is assistant agency manager and assistant vice president of the BB&T Insurance agency in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was an active and top InVEST student her junior and senior years at St. Petersburg Catholic High School. The school’s popular InVEST program is hailed as one of the top in the country.
“Lindsey brings a unique personal success story, experience, professionalism, passion and enthusiasm for the InVEST program,” says Diane Mattis, Big “I” associate vice president, professional development & online resources and InVEST executive director. “Lindsey’s journey from a high school junior to a national and state InVEST program leader and role model exemplifies the program’s mission and we are proud to announce that she is the 2010 Dach Award recipient.”
Shank is a 1999 graduate of St. Petersburg Catholic High School where she won InVEST local, state and national scholarships. She earned her bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of South Florida College of Business. Shank earned her 220 insurance license in 2004 and obtained a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 2006.
Shank started as a part time employee at the Iler Wall & Shonter Insurance agency in 1999 and worked there through college. The agency has since been acquired by BB&T Insurance. She has risen through the ranks and currently serves as assistant agency manager and assistant vice president.
Shank is the InVEST State Champion for Florida and has served as the local co-chair of the InVEST Program at her alma mater, St. Petersburg’s Catholic High School, for the past eight years. She has also served as the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) InVEST task force chair for the last five years.
“I firmly believe that the future of our industry depends on attracting new talent,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “We need InVEST graduates like Lindsey to step up as the next generation of industry leaders.”
Gary Preston, the 2000 InVEST Teacher of the Year and who taught Shank, and Mattis presented the award at the St. Petersburg Catholic High School annual InVEST awards breakfast.
The Dach award is named in memory of the program’s founder, Stephen Dach, and the honoree receives a $1,000 cash prize to be used in his or her InVEST classroom.
As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, InVEST benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers and volunteers. The program provides the insurance industry with motivated, talented and intelligent professionals through a support structure of state associations, board members, national staff, teachers and the many industry professionals who work in the field as classroom liaisons.
Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, Va., InVEST promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and community colleges. The high school curriculum is a business-education program that utilizes a hands-on approach which simulates an insurance agency and company operations to prepare students for various business careers and create more knowledgeable insurance consumers. At the college level, InVEST is an information-intensive curriculum of risk management and financial services. These courses provide students with a working knowledge of the basics needed to pursue careers in the insurance industry. For more information, go to www.investprogram.org.
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” 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, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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