ALEXANDRIA, VA, February 4, 2021—Trusted Choice® presented Black Hills Insurance in Rapid City, South Dakota, with the 2020 Dan Fulwider Award for Community Service at the Big “I" virtual Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 29.
The Dan Fulwider Award for Community Service is named in memory of Dan Fulwider, an avid philanthropist and former government affairs coordinator and membership liaison for the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa. The award recognizes the Big “I" member who has gone above and beyond the call of service to truly make a lasting difference in their community over the past year.
Daniel P. Maguire, principal, accepted the award on behalf of the agency for his work with Wellspring Counseling Facility Inc, doing business as Wellfully, where he advocates for mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation services for children. As a result of the award, Wellfully will be the recipient of a $3,000 donation.
“Just as Dan Fulwider dedicated his time to his community and the causes he believed in, Trusted Choice awards this honor to an agent every year who has gone above the call of volunteering to leave a lasting and enthusiastic impact on their local community in a cause that is close to their heart," says Jon Jensen, Big “I" chairman and president & CEO of Correll Insurance Group in Spartanburg, South Carolina. “We are very proud to present the Dan Fulwider Award for Community Service to Black Hills Insurance Agency in South Dakota."
When he was 15 years old, Maguire lost his mother to cancer and fell into substance abuse and addiction to cope. His sister helped him enroll in River Park in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he received treatment. In 2006, he was asked to serve as a board member for Wellfully, where he currently serves and shares his experience with children to mentor them in breaking addiction. Additionally, he served as president from 2014 to 2019.
“It's certainly with a humble heart that I accept this award today," says Maguire. “I believe that the insurance industry has provided me with such great training experience to serve on a nonprofit board. As agents we do everything to protect our clients, and we do it because we deeply care about them. I think the same desire filters right through me to Wellfully."
“Someone was there for me 28 years ago when I needed help, and what I received I'll never be able to pay back in my lifetime," Maguire continues. “But I will continue to make good on that debt. To see the light come back into the eyes of these children, to see hope enter their hearts, is priceless."
Founded in 1896, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I") is the nation's oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing more than 25,000 agency locations united under the Trusted Choice® brand. Trusted Choice independent agents offer consumers all types of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products—from a variety of insurance companies.