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Official Publication of Metro Alliance of Independent Insurance Agents November/December 2011
INSIDE THIS ISSUE President’s Message by Rob Townley, President
We are entering the third month of our Association’s calendar year
President’s Message 1
and are very excited for the current path we are on. After brushing up on
Calendar of Events 1 Ethics and Cyber Liability at our kickoff meeting we had an exceptional
program in October. Several MAIIA members learned more about the
MAIIA Remembers Will Weston 2 hot Cyber Liability topic in a morning CE session with Dorothea Westin
Big I Fall Conference 2
of CSR. Our luncheon speaker, Workers Compensation Attorney Ben
Leonard, was at the club for an hour after the program was over fielding questions from
December Holiday Luncheon 3 the membership. This kind of interactive experience and learning exemplifies our
mission of bringing top quality education to the association and we look forward to
MAIIA Featured in Dec Pages 3
continuing this trend in the months to come.
MAIIA Board of Directors 4 October was also a time of mourning and reflection on the life of Past IIAG
President Will Weston. Will was beloved by all who knew him and brought so much to
MARK YOUR the insurance community in Georgia. He was instrumental in growing the support for
CALENDAR! the Georgia Meth Project among many other charitable endeavors to which he so
graciously contributed his time and efforts. Our thoughts remain with his family and his
December 14, 2011 contributions to our community will continue well after his passing.
Holiday Luncheon In November, MAIIA partnered with the IIAG Fall Conference, Working Smarter
11:15 am — 1:00 pm in 2012, in lieu of holding our usual luncheon meeting at the country club. We were
thrilled to have several MAIIA members join us to hear Governor Nathan Deal and
LOOKING AHEAD… UGA legend Vince Dooley speak, as well as valuable continuing education classes and
the MAIIA booth in the exhibit hall.
January 18, 2012
Please remember to give us your suggestions on program or CE ideas that you feel
February 15 will help improve the MAIIA (see www.maiia.org for a link to our member survey). We
March 21 are here for you, please don’t be shy in sharing your opinions! Thank you for the
Full Day CE & Luncheon support and we look forward to seeing everyone at the annual holiday luncheon!
with the Big I
Members in Action . . . Recent MAIIA CE and Luncheons
April 18
Legislative Luncheon
May 18
Member Appreciation, Golf
Tourney and Tennis!
Heritage Golf Links & Lucky
Shoals Park, Tucker
Unless otherwise noted, MAIIA
meets every third Wednesday at:
Dunwoody Country Club
1600 Dunwoody Club Drive
Atlanta, GA 30350
Visit www.maiia.org
for more information on
upcoming events!
Page 2
Industry Remembers Will Weston, MAIIA Seeks to “celebrate his life and achievements”
Will Weston, IV, passed away October 7th while
dining with friends on Sea Island. Will is survived by his
dear wife Elaine and children Elizabeth and William.
Will was Vice President and Account Executive of
Blanchard and Calhoun Insurance in Augusta. A Past
President of Independent Insurance Agents of GA (IIAG),
he was a very dedicated member and leader in the indus-
try, his community and association. He was a recipient of
the IIAG’s Edgar Dunlap award, which recognizes
outstanding contributions and service to the community.
Under his leadership in 2009-10, Will urged the Board
of Directors to adopt a plan to support the Georgia Meth
Project (http://georgia.methproject.org). He was instru- MAIIA Board members Judy Jordan, Carie’ Cato, Kevin Jackson,
mental in raising significant awareness and funds for the Rob Townley, Wendi White and Buddy Whitaker present a check for
Project and was later appointed to its Board of Directors. $500 to the GA Meth Project in honor and memory of Will Weston.
MAIIA Participates in 2011 IIAG Fall Conference by Carie’ Cato, Vice President/Programs
The Big I’s Fall Conference & Trade Show, held the other expenses (excluding taxes paid and licensing fees),
second week in November at the Atlanta CNN Center, was including agent’s commissions. He indicated that he has
a great success with over 20 affiliate and vendor booths set accepted HHS’s counter offer, which is good news for
up for agents to visit, a beautiful venue and informative Georgia agents. Stay tuned as we learn more on this topic.
and entertaining speakers. MAIIA even had a booth! On Friday, former
On Thursday, after several songs by the children’s UGA head football Coach
choir from the Atlanta International School, we listened to Vince Dooley spoke about
Governor Deal discuss the current state of Georgia’s the University and the
economy as well as the future of the Patient Protective and DAWGS football program,
Affordable Care Act as well as what he has been
(PPACA) and what its doing since his retirement,
passage means to Georgia’s including writing many
businesses and constituents. books for adults and
He pointed out that the children. He was kind
appeal filed on Georgia’s enough to autograph copies
behalf to lower the newly of the many books that he had for sale after his speech.
required Medical Loss A total of six CE hours were available over the two
Ratio (MLR) for small days. The topics for the courses ranged from workers
group health insurance from comp and risk management to using media for better
80% to 65% had been met marketing opportunities. If you were unable to attend this
with a counter offer of 70% from Health and Human year, the MAIIA and Big I board members hope that you
Services. This ratio is the percentage of the premiums can attend the 115th Annual IIAG Convention and 44th
collected that must be spent on medical services and YAC Annual Conference at the Omni Amelia Island
quality improvement expenses, leaving just 20% for all Resort June 7-9, 2012 … details to follow!
Mark Your Calendars for MAIIA Member Appreciation May 18, 2012!
The annual Member Appreciation Luncheon and Golf Tournament will be held again this year at the
Heritage Golf Links in Tucker. The fine folks at Heritage are so accommodating and offer us the best
course and food for such an exceptional value, we are happy to host our big event there once again.
NEW! This year we are adding a tennis competition to coincide with the golf. A
round-robin will be held at Lucky Shoals Park (Gwinnett County) adjacent to the golf course.
Prizes for both golf and tennis will be awarded afterward. We will be looking for sponsors for this
event, and will be handing out door prizes during the luncheon. Please be thinking of bringing your
foursome for golf, your tennis players and all your staff for this festive year-end occasion!
Page 3
MAIIA Holiday Luncheon December 14th MAIIA Membership: What’s in it for you?
Join us December 14th at the Dunwoody Country Being a member of MAIIA provides a number of
Club for the annual MAIIA Holiday Luncheon. benefits to insurance professionals:
Networking Reception, 11:15am-12pm FREE monthly reception and luncheon featuring
Visit all of our current affiliate sponsors at the dedi- an industry expert or relevant community speaker
cated Sponsor Marketplace. These MAIIA sup-
Valuable networking time with agents, industry
porters enable us to offer high quality meetings and
affiliate companies and vendors each month
events as well as keep members apprised of all the
latest industry resources available. 15 hours of FREE continuing education to keep
you up to date in your profession
Monthly Luncheon, 12-1pm
After a welcome, brief association and industry up- Involvement with state and national professional
date and introductions of our sponsors, this month insurance associations
will feature a panel of members from different Access to and participation in important legislative
companies to provide varying perspectives on the developments that affect our industry
latest in their respective categories.
Opportunity to “give back” through philanthropic
Holiday Attire Competition and Door Prizes! efforts with GA Meth and Habitat for Humanity
As we used to do but are now saving for just the
holiday and member appreciation meetings, affiliate Get involved today! Contact Membership Director
members will get the holiday spirit going with door Kevin Jackson at kjackson@wtm-insurance.com to see
prizes to give away. And be ready with your holi- how MAIIA membership can benefit your professional
day finery for the sweater and tie competition! career, or visit www.maiia.org for more information.
Metro Alliance Featured in IIAG’s Dec Pages Online Reprint
Since the merger of the Atlanta and Networking opportunities between carriers and agents
DeKalb Insurance Associations in Setting up scholarship funds for member agents
2002, the Metro Alliance of Indepen- Serving our community through philanthropic
dent Insurance Agents (MAIIA) has commitments, like the Georgia Meth Project and
met the professional needs of Indepen- Habitat for Humanity
dent Agents throughout DeKalb and The 2011-12 MAIIA Board of Directors is looking
Fulton counties. The MAIIA continues to provide valu- forward to another successful year and welcomes Agent
able services to our membership through a variety of Members, Company and Vendor Affiliates and Associate
avenues including: Members to join us as we continue to strengthen the
Featuring quality speakers and programming Atlanta insurance community. Please visit our website at
Providing outstanding continuing education www.maiia.org for information on membership and
Being an active voice in both the Georgia association upcoming events.
and state legislation
Coming Up and Looking Ahead with MAIIA by Carie’ Cato, Vice President/Programs
After a break in November to participate in the Kevin Jackson at (770) 492-8811 or email him at
Big I’s Fall Conference at the CNN Center Atlanta, kjackson@wtm-insurance.com.
we look forward to our annual Holiday Luncheon, Looking ahead to 2012, MAIIA continues to pro-
closing 2011 with a celebration of the past year, and vide members with valuable continuing education,
looking ahead to an exciting new year in 2012! We networking and industry involvement by offering a
will give away door prizes and host a lively Sponsor case-study format CE class in January focusing on
Marketplace thanks to our generous affiliate spon- the garage/automotive risks area. The MAIIA board
sors, accompanied by an open bar and the hotly con- is working to set up a panel of key industry organi-
tested annual Holiday Sweater & Tie Competition. zations to focus on key target industry areas in Febru-
We encourage any affiliates not yet signed up as ary, and March brings the annual full-day CE event
sponsors to do so soon to participate in this highly co-hosted with the Big I featuring Mike Jones as the
anticipated and festive networking event. For more luncheon speaker on current and hot topics in the in-
information about sponsorship opportunities, call dustry. See www.maiia.org for more details!
Metro Alliance of Independent Insurance Agents
3227 S. Cherokee Lane, Ste. 1320
Woodstock, GA 30188
p: (770) 517-2616
f: (770) 516-0236
admin@maiia.org
www.maiia.org
Thank you MAIIA
Diamond Sponsors MAIIA Board of Directors
2011—2012 OFFICERS: 2011—2012 DIRECTORS:
(770) 337-0589
Rob Townley, President Kevin Jackson, Membership
www.amtrustgroup.com
rstownley@townley-kenton.com kjackson@wtm-insurance.com
Carie’ Cato, Vice President Buddy Whitaker, Continuing Education
(770) 232-9797 ccato@wtm-insurance.com buddy@hains.com
www.fullcirclerestoration.com
Platinum Sponsors Wendi White, Secretary/Treasurer Charlie Williams, Special Events
wendi@hains.com chaswilliams@bellsouth.net
Judy Jordan, Immediate Past President Brian Coffsky, Senior Director
(678) 836-4164 jjordan@wtm-insurance.com brianc@manning-nozick.com
www.belforusa.com
(678) 481-3292
www.disasterone.com
Disclaimer:
The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in the letters and articles published herein are those of the
authors and not necessarily those of the editors or governing officials of the Metro Alliance of Independent
Insurance Agents. Their publication should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the views, opinions,
and conclusions contained in them by the editors or governing officials of the Metro Alliance of Independent
(770) 246-9943 Insurance Agents or as confirmation by those editors or governing officials of the accuracy of any facts
alleged in them.
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