Alexandria, VA – September 19, 2018 – InVEST has awarded the 2018 InVEST Teacher of the Year Award to Linda Bruno, a business teacher at Dryden High School in upstate New York and the 2018 InVEST Volunteer of the Year award to John Scheck, a claims representative at Insurance Planning Inc. in Hays, Kansas.
Founded in 1970, the InVEST program offers free online insurance education, lesson plans and activities to teachers and insurance professional volunteers nationwide. Currently there are 890 InVEST programs throughout the United States with over 31,000 students participating in the insurance education program. InVEST is a key driver in attracting new talent into the insurance industry which is estimated to have 400,000 open positions in the next decade.
The annual awards honor an InVEST teacher and an InVEST volunteer who have made substantial contributions to their students by teaching them about insurance through the InVEST online curriculum. Teachers and volunteers also work to highlight the diverse career options in the insurance industry by bringing professionals to speak in their classrooms and arrange field trips to insurance agencies and companies.
"Dedicated teachers and volunteers like Linda and John are key to the success of the InVEST program which provides much needed financial literacy education," says Lindsey Shank, InVEST board chair and vice president at McGriff Insurance Services in St. Petersburg, Florida. " InVEST is proud to have stellar instructors like Linda and John as part of our program."
InVEST teachers educate their students about insurance through an interactive and engaging curriculum. Bruno's students enjoy field trips to local insurance agencies where they can job shadow insurance professionals. They also role play with agents who visit their classroom in scenarios like buying auto or homeowners insurance or even starting their own (simulated) insurance agency.
“I'm so proud when InVEST graduates return to my class as active workers in the insurance industry to give presentations to my current students," Bruno says.
As an InVEST volunteer, John Scheck has made a significant contribution in fostering the growth and development of young people in the insurance industry. Scheck currently champions the InVEST program in a local public school and is introducing the program to several other central Kansas high schools.
A strong advocate for inviting insurance representatives to get in front of students and share their experiences and expertise, Scheck even encourages his students to attend local conferences or seminars to learn even more about the industry.
“InVEST has given me the opportunity to give back to my community," Scheck says. “I see the program helping to create a youth movement to develop new talent for the insurance industry."
Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, Virginia, InVEST promotes insurance education 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 colleges. As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, InVEST benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers and volunteers.
The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I") was founded in 1896 and is the nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million 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.
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