Wednesday, April 17, 2013

2013 April/May Professional Development


Professional Development.... so what have you done for yourself lately.  I'm always inviting you to do this and do that, but what are you doing?  If you are depending on newspaper articles or daily email digests, perhaps radio and television news to keep you informed, you are missing out.  If you are not a person that attends very many NAIFA meetings, only going to an occasional CE session, perhaps you need to discover NAIFA!  Your association has an amazing amount of opportunities just waiting for you to experience.  Let’s start with the Leadership Academy, here you will see more than the tip of the iceberg. 

Monday, April 15, 2013

2013 April/May IFAPAC Report

Volunteers are really the back bone of a society or association. Volunteers, like heroes, give of themselves freely for the comfort, safety and freedom of others. Volunteers are not made up of a certain class of people, a particular race, a level of wealth or lack thereof. Elizabeth Andrews said that, "Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart."


(l-R)Drew Hooper, James Scott,
Glenn Stocker, Ken Beers,
Richard Ek in D.C. representing
the 8th Congressional District 
There have been thousands of communities formed since the beginning of time and how civil they were might be determined by how they cared for each other; whether there was love and humanity there. Were there heroes and volunteers in their midst? Someone asked the anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978), "What is the first sign you look for, to tell you of an ancient civilization?" The interviewer had in mind a tool or other artifact. Ms. Mead surprised him by answering, “A healed femur. When someone breaks a femur bone, they can't survive to hunt, fish or escape enemies unless they have help from someone else. Thus, a healed femur indicates that someone else helped that person, rather than abandoning them and saving themselves." I would never have guessed that a healed femur was a sign of a civilized community and/or even a significant find for an Anthropologist.

2013 April/May APIC Report


A recent Wall Street Journal article chronicled the advocacy efforts of approximately 100 members of an industry group during a visit to the nation’s capitol, and how their lobbying activity was essential for maintaining a favorable business environment.  While I doubt we will garner WSJ coverage, 13 NAIFA-Washington members joined over 1000 NAIFA members nationwide for the Congressional Conference April 8-9, 2013.  Our primary purpose was to discuss tax reform policy with our legislators as it relates to our industry, products, and the clients we serve. 

Thursday, April 11, 2013

2013 April/May Membership Report

It has been a fairly active membership recruiting season for us.  As of today, April 8th, we are just 45 net new members from meeting our goal!  Each of the locals has their own personal goals as well, and several have attained them.  Congratulations to them, but we still have some effort to put forth over the next three months.

2013 April/May YAT Report

YAT started the year off strong on February 21st with a poker night at Wilde Rover in Kirkland.  We had 15 people in attendance including several new faces.  Started off the evening with drinks and yummy appetizers and watched a short video on member benefits before diving into a friendly game of poker!