The Trusted Choice Relief Fund has a new name. It is now called the Bobby Salmon Big “I" Relief Fund, honoring the memory of the late Executive Committee member, Bobby Salmon of North Carolina, who served in that position from September 2023 until his untimely death in March 2024.
The name change came as a recommendation from the Big “I" Board of Directors based on Salmon's efforts after the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian in 2022, when he challenged every state to raise money for the fund. That work resulted in nearly $200,000 being added to the fund which provides financial assistance to insurance industry personnel impacted by catastrophes not covered by their own insurance or other grants and funding sources.
Big “I" Chairman Todd Jackson announced the new name at the recent Board meeting in Austin after it received a unanimous vote of the Executive Committee.
“Bobby's actions after Ian inspired others to follow suit this past year after two more hurricanes hit the Southeast, including Bobby's home state. Anyone who knew Bobby was moved by his spirit of generosity and community. That spirit embodied what Bobby was all about, and it lives on at the Big 'I,'" Jackson said. “The new name for our Relief Fund is the perfect tribute to him and the fund's success in helping members of the independent agent channel."
Before his Executive Committee tenure, Salmon had served as a national Board and Government Affairs Committee member for four years. He was also on the Professional Liability Committee, Board Steering Committee and the InsurPac Board of Directors, which he also chaired. He was one of the most dedicated and longtime volunteer leaders at the state association level as well. An industry veteran with more than three decades of service, Salmon was a producer and manager at INSURE, a division of Correll Insurance Group, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Donations and grant applications to the Bobby Salmon Big “I" Relief Fund are accepted online anytime.