118th Annual Convention report
IIABSC's 2017 Board of Directors were installed at the 118th Annual Convention held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.
Scott Moseley of Irmo Insurance in Irmo was re-elected Chairman of the Board by the general membership during the annual meeting. Thomas M. "Tom" Bates, Jr. of Herlong Bates Burnett in Greenville was re-elected Chairman-Elect and Treasurer of the Board of Directors, and Jules Anderson, AAI of Anderson Insurance Associates in Charleston, SC, was re-elected National Director.
Two new directors and one returning director were elected to three-year terms on the Board of Directors beginning Jan. 1, 2017. Benjamin C. Myers of Russell Massey & Co. Inc. in Columbia, SC, and Matthew B. Wiseman, CIC, CISR, of Peoples Underwriters in Conway, SC, are the two new directors. Rob W. Hammett, AIP of CWS Insurance in Spartanburg was re-elected to the board after filling the remaining year of Board Secretary Jay Taylor's term.
Retiring directors Angus M. "Gus" Brabham, IV, CIC of Regions Insurance in Columbia, SC and James B. "Ben" Galloway, CPCU, CIC, CRM, AAI of Peoples First Insurance in Rock Hill were recognized for their service and dedication to the association.
John T. "Tommy" Cook, CIC of John T. Cook & Associates in Myrtle Beach delivered the oath of office.
Agent of the Year
W. Ashley Brady, CIC of First Charter Company Inc in Marion, SC was named the Hayne P. Glover, Jr. Agent of the Year in recognition for outstanding community service and contributing to the betterment of the insurance industry.
Ashley has been active in the association for many years, including serving on the Board of Directors and as Past Chairman from 2012-13. He has been chair of the Young Agents, InsurPac and Annual Convention committees and served three years on the National IIABA Young Agents Committee.
He was previously recognized with the AAMGA Achievement Award in 2002 and 2004 for his work with the Young Agents Committee and was named SC Young Agent of the Year in 2003.
Locally he is a community leader as well, where he is active in his church and the Boy Scout Troop. He is also on the economic development board for Marion County. After Hurricane Matthew's impact he has really proven what independent agents are all about in service to their communities. In fact he regretfully missed his own party because the needs of his clients, his community and the agency had to come first, preventing him from accepting his award in person.
The Agent of the Year is named for Hayne P. Glover, Jr. to honor his many years of dedicated service to the Big "I" state and national associations. Glover was from Greenville and is the only South Carolinian so far to serve as the national association president. Glover was an outstanding example of service to his community as well as the industry, which are the criteria used to evaluate nominees for this award. The award has been sponsored by AFCO/Prime Rate Premium Finance in Florence for the past twenty years.
Young Agent of the Year
Andrew E. Muller, CIC, AAI, CWCC, PRIS of Mappus Insurance Agency, Inc in Mount Pleasant, SC has been named the IIABSC Young Agent of the Year.
Andrew is the new President of Mappus Insurance Agency in Mount Pleasant. A native of Louisville, Ky., with a B.S. in Business Administration from the Collage of Charleston, he has had positions in claims for a national company and sales positions in both national and regional brokerage firms.
Andrew is currently serving on the IIABSC Board of Directors and helps chair the Young Agents Committee. He is developing himself as a media resource by frequently appearing in local TV and radio to discuss insurance issues.
Locally, he is the co-chair of the American Red Cross Heroes Program Charleston Chapter as well as a Board member for the Charelston World Heritage coalition. He is also active with the Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church and the College of Charleston Alumni Association.
The Young Agent of the Year is given to an independent insurance agent age 40 or younger for outstanding service to his or her community outside the field of insurance and has contributed to the betterment of the industry. It has been sponsored by AFCO/Prime Rate Premium Finance in Florence for the past twenty years.
Industry Person of the Year
Gary D. Cornell of AFCO/Prime Rate Premium Finance in Lexington, SC was named the IIABSC Industry Person of the Year. The award recognizes industry representatives other than independent insurance agents who have contributed greatly to the insurance industry in South Carolina.
Gary's entire nearly 40-year insurance career has been on the premium finance side of the industry, 30 years of which have been as the company representative of Prime Rate Premium Finance in Florence (now co-branded with AFCO). He has always put independent insurance agents first and has built a long and dedicated career of helping agents be better at serving their customers. He was recognized with a Chairman's Citation for service to the association in 2013.
Outstanding CSR of the Year
Karen D. Fenters, CISR, of Strovis Insurance Agency in Georgetown, SC was recognized as the SC Outstanding CSR of the Year. The award recognizes those who demonstrate exceptional customer service on a daily basis.
Nominations are submitted to use early in the year, an nominees are then asked to submit materials to show their commitment to the industry through education, involvement and peer recommendations in addition to writing an essay in response to a relevant issue for our industry.
A supervisor said this about her: "Karen quickly became someone that our customers wanted to work with when they walked in the door of our agency. They felt safe with her, and she made them feel that their policy, no matter how big or how small, truly mattered to her.
Karen is consistently making sure all agents and CSRs are up to date on industry changes, keeps her eyes open for continued education and training that will equip the other CSRs in the agency to have the tools they need to perform to the best of their ability.
That's exactly what customer service, and being an independent agent, is all about.
InsurPac fundraisers
There were two separate InsurPac fundraisers going on at convention. The first of which was a drawing for a drone. Those who contributed $100 or more leading up or onsite at the convention were eligible. The drawing was held at the Monday evening awards banquet. Winners were Tonya Thomason and Nathan Riedel. Since Nathan Riedel is the InsurPac Treasurer, he submitted the prize back up for auction, accumulating another $600 to the total raised.
The other fundraiser was the return of our Dancing with the Stars spoof during the Sunday night opening reception, where four agents were paired with local professional dancers from Asheville Ballroom & Dance Center and performed a simple choreographed routine for attendees at the reception. Attendees voted for their favorites by making a contribution to InsurPac. Agent participants were Cooper Carter of Pinkney-Carter Company in Charleston, Carrie Johnson of Carrie Johnson Insurance in Murrell's Inlet, Ben Galloway of People's First Insurance in Rock Hill and Cary Pardue of Upchurch & Jowers Insurance Agency in Camden.
The votes were tallied, and Cooper Carter was named the reigning star.
Henry G. Turner Golf tournament
The Henry G. Turner Golf tournament was held at the Grove Park Inn Course. Cash prizes were awarded to the winners, who were as follows:
Champions: Ryan Brown, Harold Herlong, Jeff Horton, Gary Morin
Second place team: Tom Bates, Lee Ellis, Jeff Prendergast, Stephen Wickliffe
Third place team: Anna Catherine Belk, Dawn Korzen, Henry Korzen, Christopher Wentzell
Long-drive winner: Anna Catherine Belk
Closest to the pin: Jay Lannin
Best booth exhibitor award
SC Wind & Hail Underwriters Association won "Elly Packy Derm" the Golden Elephant, awarded to our exhibitor named "Best Booth" overall by a panel of judges during our trade show.