The InVEST® program awarded Michael-Charles Hilson, vice president of GBG Inc., a Trusted Choice® independent insurance agency in South Holland, Illinois, with the Dach Award, which honors an insurance industry volunteer who has made tremendous contributions in fostering the growth and development of InVEST.
In addition to his leadership role at the agency, Hilson is active at the state and national association levels and an active member of the Chicago-area chapter of the National African-American Insurance Association (NAAIA). He serves on the board of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois (IIAI) as regional director, as well as the board of IIAI’s Young Agents Committee.
“InVEST is a group effort with great mentors and volunteers like Mike Hilson, who are the backbone of this program which is so critical for the success of the industry and financial literacy for our high school and college students,” says Cindy Hower, InVEST board chair and president of Kellerman Insurance, an independent agency in Holton, Kansas. “Mike has been the state champion for Illinois for several years and has been instrumental to the success of the InVEST program not only in Illinois but on a national level as well. We are excited and proud to present the Dach Award to Mike Hilson for his countless contributions and dedication.”
For the past five years, Hilson has hosted a Chicago fundraiser for InVEST that has served as an opportunity to engage new volunteers and network with teachers in the area. Together, the event has raised almost $6,000 for InVEST scholarships and created opportunities for more than 70 insurance professionals and teachers each year to learn more about InVEST and gain new tools to help their programs.
Hilson also coordinates with each InVEST teacher in the Chicago Public School system to gain the volunteers necessary for executing the extensive six-week schedule filled with many guest speakers. For the last two years, Hilson has worked with the Katie School of Insurance at Illinois State University to execute a field trip for Chicago-area InVEST students so they may attend the university for a day and learn more about insurance.
Hilson, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sports management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also coordinates another fundraiser in partnership with the Chicago Bulls, where a portion of ticket sales is donated to
InVEST. He also personally purchases tickets so some of the teachers and students may attend the game.
Created in 1989, the Dach Award honors the memory of Stephen Dach, who founded InVEST when he had a vision in 1970 to capture the attention of students at an early age to reveal the vast opportunities available to them in the insurance industry.