ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 10, 2011 – The National African-American Insurance Association (NAAIA) recently announced a collaboration effort with InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program.
“NAAIA’s commitment to our youth mirrors InVEST’s goals of bringing young people into the insurance industry,” says Don Davis, NAAIA board chairman and Allied Insurance territory sales manager. “By promoting InVEST to our chapters, we hope to encourage NAAIA members to become involved as volunteers in the classroom and gather support for our common mission to attract new talent to the insurance industry.”
The collaboration was recently announced at the NAAIA’s 13th National Conference & Empowerment Summit in Miami, Fla.
“This collaboration supports InVEST’s strategic goal to broaden the volunteer efforts to further fulfill our mission,” says Heather Minkler, InVEST board of directors chair and CEO of the Clark-Mortenson Agency, an insurance agency in Keene, N.H. “NAAIA opens up new possibilities for more insurance professionals to become involved with InVEST schools.”
InVEST promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and community colleges.
“This cornerstone collaboration reflects our shared commitment to impact industry diversity at its very talent source,” says Charles Hilson, NAAIA board liaison and CEO of GBG, Inc., an insurance agency in South Holland, Ill.
InVEST is also closely aligned with the Diversity Task Force of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”), a group dedicated to fostering a profitable independent agency force that reflects, represents and capitalizes on the opportunities of the diverse U.S. population. The task force’s goal is to help create an independent agency population, from ownership to all staffing levels, that mirror the nation’s diversity and enables both agencies and companies to achieve optimal growth and market penetration.
“The Big ‘I’s Diversity Task Force collaborates with other multicultural industry groups and we are excited to see that InVEST has also partnered with NAAIA to encourage their members to become involved in the classroom,” says Madelyn Flannagan, Big “I” vice president of agent development, education and research. “This joint effort will help bring awareness of opportunities for students with agencies and companies that support diversity initiatives.”
The Big “I” Diversity Task Force is a cooperative industry group comprised of Big “I” agents and brokers, members of groups representing Latin-American, African-American and Asian-American agents and nine leading insurance companies.
The National African-American Insurance Association (NAAIA), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to empowering African-American insurance professionals as well as increasing its numbers nationwide by sharing information for personal growth and professional development, while also providing opportunities for networking, continuing education, and building mutually beneficial partnerships. For more information, go to: www.naaia.org.
InVEST: As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, InVEST benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers and volunteers. The program provides the insurance industry with motivated, talented and intelligent professionals through a support structure of state associations, board members, national staff, teachers and the many industry professionals who work in the field as classroom liaisons. Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, Va., For more information, go to www.investprogram.org.
IIABA: 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, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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