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124th Annual Convention report
IIABSC's 2023 Board of Directors were installed at the 124th Annual Convention held Oct. 9-11 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Greenville, SC.
Tonya S. Thomason, CIC of
David A. Crotts & Associates, Inc. in Greenwood was elected Chair of the Board by the general membership during the annual meeting.
Robert "Robbie" Nalley of
Creech Roddey Watson Insurance in Sumter was elected Chairman-Elect and Treasurer of the Board of Directors. Both are one-year terms.
Angus M. "Gus" Brabham, IV, CIC of
Brabham Griffin Insurance in Columbia was elected Board Secretary, a two-year term.
James G. Taylor, Jr., CIC of
Kinghorn Insurance of Beaufort moved to the position of Immediate Past Chair.
Three new directors,
Shane F. Lynn, CIC, AIC, of
Owens Insurance Agency Inc in Greer, SC,
William M. "Matt" Hamer, AAI, of
Frank L. Siau Agency Inc in Georgetown/Johnsonville and
John R. Spence, CIC of
Anderson Insurance Associates Inc in Charleston, SC, were elected to three-year terms on the Board of Directors beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
Retiring directors
Brian W. Eanes, CIC, CLCS of
Eanes Insurance Group in Mount Pleasant, SC, and
Ben Myers, AIP, of
Russell Massey & Company Inc in Columbia, SC, and
Julie B. Turner, CIC, of
The Turner Agency Inc. in Greenville, SC were recognized for their service and dedication to the association.
IIABA Chair of the Board
John R. Costello, CIC, CRIS, and
Kathy D. McKay, CPIW, CIC, CRM of
McKay Insurance Inc in Mount Pleasant each delivered oaths of office.
Agent of the Year - Renado Robinson of Fort Mill, SC
Renado Robinson of
Crosswinds Insurance Agency in Fort Mill/Rock Hill, 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.
Renado began his insurance career with the Charlotte office of Travelers Insurance Company in 1997. After eighteen years working his way up to becoming one of the leading authorities in boat and ocean marine coverages, Renado ventured out on his own and started Crosswinds Insurance Agency from scratch. His primary marketing strategy was cold calling. Today, his multi-line seven-year-old agency has three locations in Fort Mill, Rock Hill and Charlotte.
Just three years after starting his agency, Renado was nominated to join the Big I South Carolina Board of Directors where he continues to serve today. He was featured in the May 2019 edition of IA Magazine – the national Big I publication.
Renado serves his community by supporting and sponsoring local PTAs and youth teams. He is also a member of 100 Black Men of Charlotte – the largest network of African-American male mentors in the nation who are influencing and transforming the lives of underrepresented and disenfranchised youth, with a focus on African-American youth.
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 first from South Carolina 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 Credit Corporation in Florence for 26 years.
Young Agent of the Year - Jack Griffith of Summerville
E. "Jack" Griffith, CBIA, of
TWIA Insurance Agency in Summerville, SC has been named the IIABSC Young Agent of the Year.
Jack is a native of Beaufort and a business school graduate from the University of South Carolina. He is affiliated with the TWIA Insurance Agency in Summerville and holds the Certified Builders Insurance Agent designation. Jack has been an active leader with Big I Young Agents Committee as well as several community and business organizations the Chamber of Commerce, BNI, and the Summerville Exchange Club.
When Jack is not working with his clients, community or the Big I, he enjoys watching Gamecock athletics, spending time on the grill and in the kitchen, golfing, jogging, and spending time outside in the Lowcountry with his wife Katie and young daughter Gisele.
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.
The award has been sponsored by AFCO Credit Corporation in Florence for twenty-six years.
Industry Person of the Year - Pam L. Shealy of Jencap
Pam L. Shealy of
Jencap 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.
Pam’s insurance career began in 2004 as an independent life insurance agent and later connected with Northwestern Mutual where she achieved the Pacesetter 40 Award in her first year. Pam then moved to InSite Support Services, a national customer service call center for the insurance industry, where she was the marketing manager responsible for promotion, new sales, company revenue and growth and insurance industry interactions. In 2013, she started as the marketing representative for Strickland Insurance Brokers and later became the South Carolina marketing rep for Genesee General, which is now JenCap.
Pam is involved with the Big I SC as well as the local associations in Spartanburg, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach. She also is involved with the International Association of Insurance Professionals where she was recognized as the Rookie of the Year for the Insurance Professionals of SC in 2017, their Insurance Professional of the Year in 2021 and earlier this year, Pam was named the Insurance Professional of the Year for Region 3 Insurance Professionals, which encompasses multi-states.
Throughout her career, Pam Shealy has always been a partner that independent agents could rely on and trust – serving agents with a smile – and with Wayne never too far away!
Outstanding CSR of the Year - Jen Ridgill of Columbia
Jen Ridgill, CISR, of
McGriff Insurance Services in Columbia, 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 us early in the year, and 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.
All throughout the nominating materials, it mentions the contributions Jen made in the development of her agency’s training program and what a great mentor she is to her colleagues – whether they are new to the industry or simply transitioning from another department.
Jen says in her essay:
“In a world full of chaos and competition, I strive to motivate, encourage, inspire, and enable others to succeed in whatever path they desire to be on. There is enough success out there for everyone, and I hope to anyone that I’ve inspired, that I can merely be a part of your success story.”
This spirit of teamwork and sharing found keys to success is exactly what association membership is all about.
Chairman Citation
IIABA President & CEO
Bob Rusbuldt was recognized for his more than 30 years' service to the Big I with a Citation from Board Chair Jay Taylor.
NATIONAL CITATION
IIABSC President G. Frank Sheppard, AAI, CAE, was recognized for outstanding leadership and service to the Big I with a National Citation from IIABA President & CEO Bob Rusbuldt.
InsurPac fundraiser
As always, there was an InusrPAC fundraiser going on during the annual convention. Those who made contributions leading up to the conference and onsite were entered in a drawing to win an oyster cooker, one chance for every $100 contributed. All who contributed $1,000 dollars or more within the entire year were entered in a drawing to win a Louis Vuitton bag or a Benelli 20-gauge SB3 shotgun. Winners did not have to be present to win.
Overall, InsurPac raised more than $52,000 leading up to and during the annual convention, the most any state has ever raised in a single event.
The winner of the oyster cooker was
Kelly Frontroth of Aiken. The winner of the Louis Vuitton bag was
Jay Taylor of Beaufort, and the winner of the shotgun was
Tonya Thomason of Greenwood.
Prizes were sponsored by Imperial PFS - Premium Financing, Jencap and the IIABSC Agency.