Big “I” Convention in orlando TO KICK OFF IN Little more than a week
It’s Not Too Late to Register for the Big “I” Showcase Event
ALEXANDRIA, VA, Sept. 29—It’s not too late to register for what promises to be one of the most spectacular and meaningful Big “I” meetings on record as thousands of independent insurance agents and brokers and other industry professionals prepare to descend on Orlando, Fla., for the 2004 Big “I” Convention.
The convention, the showcase event of the Big “I,” will take place Oct. 9 through 12 in Orlando at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel.
Location! Education! Vocation! The 2004 Big “I” Convention delivers everything that’s important to independent agencies and brokerage firms. The event will feature new technology, markets news, sales training, continuing-education courses, agency branding tips, mergers and acquisitions counsel, updates on insurance regulation and tax issues, as well as agency management and personnel advice. The meeting also features the largest exhibit hall in the insurance industry with more than 120 exhibitors representing the industry’s leading insurance companies, automation providers, other technology firms and related insurance services providers.
Orlando is where agents and brokers need to be this October to get answers to their most pressing agency management, sales and marketing questions, says Big “I” CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt.
“This year’s Big ‘I’ Convention and related meetings are one of the most substantive gatherings we’ve ever put together. We’re offering the convention itself along with the Best Practices Business Symposium and the Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference,” says Rusbuldt. “Agents and brokers of different experience levels will find everything they need to increase their sales, revenues and employee goals as well as meet the best and the brightest leaders in the insurance industry at this exciting and innovative event.”
Independent agents and brokers can participate in a variety of activities designed to improve agency and brokerage performance as well as receive tools to take their businesses to the next level. Additionally, attendees will enjoy top-level networking opportunities at the industry’s largest trade show and exhibit hall and during many other Big “I” convention events including the opening party and closing-night event. Convention highlights include:
- Best Practices Business Symposium—This is an intensive program of group events, networking opportunities and informative workshops designed to give agency owners and their management staff the tools and expertise to attain their business and sales goals by learning the secrets of the most successful agencies.
- Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference—This meeting is the industry’s premier event for young agents. It promotes the building of leadership and sales skills as well as establishing networking contacts with other young agents who will become company leaders and comprise the future of the independent agency system.
- CEO Panel— Five well-respected insurance industry leaders will participate in a CEO panel discussion during the convention opening session. CEOs participating as panelists are Ramani Ayer, CEO, The Hartford; Bill Berkley, CEO, W.R. Berkley Corporation; Mike McGavick, CEO, Safeco; Greg Murphy, CEO, Selective; and Ron Pressman, CEO, General Electric (GE) Insurance Solutions. Rusbuldt will moderate the discussion, which will tackle major issues affecting the agency system and the insurance industry.
- Exciting Keynote Speaker—Saving the best for last, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw will use his considerable insight and characteristic humor to address the topics of mental toughness and peak performance with convention attendees at the closing session.
Because the meetings fall on the three-day Columbus Day holiday weekend, the Big “I” Convention, Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference, and Best Practices Business Symposium will give agents and brokers with pre-school and school-age children the opportunity to mix a little business with a fantastic mini-vacation that provides children of all ages exciting opportunities, family fun and relaxation. The convention hotel is located on the Disney World property and is minutes from Epcot Center, the Magic Kingdom, Disney golf courses and many other fabulous family attractions.
Additionally, the world-class Swan and Dolphin hotel offers an array of attractions that will appeal to many attendees: four heated pools, 17 restaurants and lounges, free transportation to all Disney parks, easy access to Disney’s Boardwalk, and a nightly fireworks show from Epcot Center and Walt Disney World-MGM Studios that is visible from most hotel rooms.
Hotel rooms are still available. To register for the Big “I” Convention and to find information about other events and programs, go to www.independentagent.com and select “Events and Conferences” or call the Big “I” Meetings Department at (800) 221-7917.
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life and health—as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address:
www.independentagent.com.
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