Dakota Advisor
Summer 2008
 Presidents Message
by Ted Haugan, CFP, LUTCF
As I begin my year
as your state president, I feel blessed to have an outstanding
Executive Board, including Nancy Buechler, Harlynn Bjerke, David
Klemisch, Keith Phillips, Jeff Case and Pat Saltsman.
I thank the following leaders
for stepping up to serve our team as state committee
chairpersons this year, AHIA-Pat Saltsman; Federal APIC-David
Middaugh; State APIC-Jim Simons; IFAPAC-Jay Burgard;
Awards-Kevin Vistad; Freedom Builders-David Falk;
Legislation-Norbert Mayer; Professional Development-David
Bjornson; Membership - Jason Middaugh assisted by Bonnie Baglien
and Todd Otto. The YAT chair is still available if someone would
like to volunteer.
We thank Keith Phillips for
starting & moderating the first three LILI classes in North
Dakota and welcome Jason Middaugh as class moderator for the
2008-2009 class and Jeff Case as LILI chair.
As we begin our year, let me
remind you that our National Convention will be held September
6-10 in San Diego and our State Convention is scheduled for
February 2-4 2009, at the Radisson in Bismarck including the
legislative reception. This will be our first state convention
where we incorporate the legislative reception into our
convention so we need all of our members to attend and help our
state convention co chairs, Al Fabricus and Keith Phillips.
This year happens to be an
election year and much of our IFAPAC distributions have been
delivered to friends of our industry. However many of our
“friends” will need additional support to get elected and
reelected. Please make the time to meet and get to know your
respective legislative representatives and support them as you
can. We thank Representative Jim Kasper, a NAIFA member, for his
past service to our industry and look forward to working with
him again in this legislature.
September
is “Life Insurance Awareness Month” again this year. Their
website is “lifehappens.org” and has a great deal of information
available to all members to help us increase our life insurance
sales throughout the coming year.
Our
congratulations go to the entire Fargo association for
recruiting 64 new members last year. Membership recruitment and
retention must become a priority of every member if our
association is to remain the premiere association of the
financial advisor profession. It is my hope to develop more
scripts to help our members, recruit new members throughout this
year membership recruitment and retention is the key to our
future.
Additional
goals for this year include more advocacy for our clients in the
legislature and congress. Increased membership and involvement
in IFAPAC and Freedom Builder Fund. Continued and increased
usage of our LILI program throughout our local associations and
better communications on every level of our associations.
In
closing, it is my opinion that we need quality leadership now
and in the future, more than ever before. I ask each of you to
consider becoming part of the leadership teams in the future. It
is a known fact that leaders always get more from their
leadership roles than they gave.
Please
feel free to call me at 701-839-3351 or email me at
thaugan@srt.com with
your questions or suggestions, if I can help you in any way.
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[Sponsor]
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National Committee Person
Report
David Klemisch, LUTCF
2008 is coming to an end. There are two
things that our membership needs to be aware of - #1, in the
next few days our delegates are traveling to San Diego for the
National Convention. ND gets 2 delegates from the state
association and each of the 7 local associations has 2
delegates for a total of 16. As of this article we have only 10
delegates attending the convention. We need to address this for
2009. At this convention, a resolution regarding support for the
Optional Federal Charter will be voted on and not all of our
locals will have a vote.
The other item is, 2009 is a legislative
year. Issues are already coming to the plate. I am asking all
members to be active, reading the ND website and responding to
the alerts sent out by the state. I urge you to contact your
local NAIFA leadership or the state leadership. Your input is
NEEDED, WANTED, and APPRECIATED!
NAIFA-ND State Convention Update
One of the many highlights of the 2008
State Convention came during the banquet when
when members in attendance were so moved by the presentation
showing Camp Eggers Volunteer Committee Relations to the
orphanages and refugee camps around Kabul, Afghanistan that
nearly $14, 000 was raised by the banquet attendees. Members
contributed $50 to $5,000 to enable deployed military members
the humanitarian relief supplies needed for the orphanages and
refugee camps. The first shipment was sent in July.
Afghanistan Relief Fund
Dear NAIFA
members,
Let me
start by saying what a privilege it has been to organize the
Afghanistan Project. The time has come to share exciting news
about our project. We have shipped our first thirty boxes filled
with clothing, coats, blankets and towels just in time for the
winter season. I currently have over two hundreds notebooks and
other school supplies ready for packing and shipping with more
on their way! The start of this project has been slow, but
summer is a time of great transition and change on a military
base. I have currently been in contact with the new leaders of
our organizations and they are planning projects to support us.
The Airman’s Attic (an Air Forces equivalent of a
thrift/donation store) has been gracious host to us by allowing
us to use there storage space and tables. In addition, I am able
to have any items they do not keep for their store. Unused items
are given to an organization that ships them to Africa or sends
them to a recycling center. We have become a part of true green
global economy. In addition, many individuals have been
collecting and donating items for our cause. Recently I
collected items from a Parshall, North Dakota resident who had
read our newspaper article. She and her neighbors had been
gathering clothing all summer along (they also made a monetary
donation for school supplies!). This is exactly the type of
involvement that warms my heart. Now that the kids have
returned to school and the weather is cooling my volunteers will
be abundant. I am so excited about what has yet to come.
I have
been keeping in touch with both Major Jay Block and his wife
Kelli through emails and phone calls. They have been enjoying
the strange and unusual life on an island -Ascension Island.
While they are far away, they have not forgotten your generous
contribution. Kelli constantly checks in on the progress of the
project. I know she wishes she could be working here with me and
the other volunteers. Jay and Kelli have still been contributing
by providing me with helpful hints and moral support. I know it
was difficult for them leave the project. I cannot express
enough how much they were touched by your actions.
The project
has been very personal to me not only because I am close friends
with the Blocks, but because my husband is currently deployed in
Afghanistan. He has recently visited the VCR program that sorts and distributes donated items. I have marked all our
shipments with matching stickers with hopes he can be there on a
day when our actual items arrive. Please take some time to
Google the VCR program at Camp Eggers. There are many
pictures to explore as well as the sites of other charity groups
similar to ours. By searching these sites I recently learned
that the children really enjoy blowing bubbles – something new
to add to my donation list!
Your
support of this projects helps to build bridges between the
people of Afghanistan and our military. Each bridge gets us
closer to a safer and kinder world. Your generosity is paving
the way for a worthwhile cause. It only takes one act of
kindness to turn into a million. Your spirit has opened the
hearts of so many others.
Sincerely,
Cindi
Bair, Coordinator
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Local Association Reports
NAIFA -
Fargo Moorhead
Traver Silbernagel, President
The
Fargo/Moorhead association finished #1 in the country for
membership growth in 07/08. This is a tribute to our Membership
chair David Middaugh and the association as a whole for the
collective effort in not only recruitment but retention of
current members. We are stepping up and outside "the box" in a
couple of areas this year. We are going out and getting sponsors
for our luncheons and findings sponsors for the Code Writer
program that we estimate will allow us to save anywhere from
$4000 to $7000 per year. The other thing that we are
aggressively involved in is getting new members active;
understanding that if people see value in their association they
are likely to remain members and in time take on leadership
roles. I feel that anyone who has been around for a while sees
this industry as an ageing group and as a result it is of
paramount importance that we continue to bring in new
members and that they get involved and take ownership in our
industry.
Have a
great 08/09 year.
NAIFA-Minot Report
By Rick Wallace, President
NAIFA-Minot is looking forward
to a tremendous 2008-2009 year. We started our year with
training for each of the committee chairs and discussed their
responsibilities for the upcoming year. Currently, committee
chairs are working on completing the Local's Plan of Activities
and this should be completed by September 1st.
We will be focusing our
attention in two main areas this year; membership recruitment
and retention and advocacy. As we do every year, October is
designated for our local political leader's forum. During this
meeting, the local legislators share with us their thoughts for
the upcoming legislative year and we in turn discuss with them
issues regarding legislative issues that may affect insurance
and finance.
Membership will be our top
priority for the year. We have a capable leader in Elaine
Schilla leading us this year with Alan Vandelinder and Lyle
Kraft assisting in recruitment and retention. Our local has
created a "Sales Presentation" booklet that will be unveiled at
our September board meeting along with training that will be
used for recruiting new members. This should prove to be a
great enhancement to increasing membership and educating
potential members on the value of NAIFA. These resources will
also be available on our website at
www.minot-advisors.com.
Finally, I wish to thank all of
my committee chairs, executive members, and the board for their
commitment to our local NAIFA here in Minot. Their dedication
is greatly appreciated and I look forward to working with each
and every person on our team.
NAIFA -
Roughrider
by LeeAnn Galster,
President
Roughrider NIAFA, let’s get ready, set, go! We are going to get
ready for new members through recruitment, new continuing
education hours and new motivation through NAIFA networking and
community involvement.
We have
a great group of current members and my goal is to increase that
by 10%. In order to do that we will need to use new approaches,
creativity, be focused and market the great assets of NAIFA. I
know as a team effort we can meet our goal in 2008.
Our
local association has always provided us with 9 CE hours each
year; I plan to continue and enhance that benefit. We will focus
on the LTC Partnership this fall, to really solidify its place
in our industry and in our everyday business.
We plan
to do some volunteer work to benefit the community – such as
sponsoring a meal at the Soup Kitchen and sponsoring a Toys for
Tots Event.
I really
look forward to the year ahead as a great chance to meet new
people and make new friends.
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Political
Involvement Committee
by Jim Simons, Chair
Greetings from your new State APIC Chair.
I am Jim Simons from NAIFA-Minot. This is my first time working
with APIC. For those of you not familiar with APIC, it stands
for Advisors Political Involvement Committee. Our mission is
twofold. First – to actively promote the involvement of agents
and advisors in the election of candidates for local, state and
national office, consistent with the legislative interests of
the NAIFA federation. Second - to identify and foster the
creation of significant insurance agent and financial advisor
relationships with elected officials. How do we plan to
accomplish this? I ask each Local President, if not already
accomplished, to appoint a local APIC Chair. I know that means
some people will be double/triple hatted. I plan to hold a
conference call in the near future with these volunteers,
explaining our responsibilities. One thing that the local APIC
Chairs can do in advance is make a list of all the ND State
Senators and Representatives in your area and find a member who
would like to be the liaison to that office from the local.
It’s recommended, although not required that the member live in
the legislator’s district. I will provide a format to the
Chairs so that we have a semblance of uniformity. I ask that
these lists have the email address and phone # of our members
included, as these lists will be provided to our State
Government Relations Chair, Norbert Mayer so that he can contact
these NAIFA-ND members quickly without having to look up their
names each time. The idea is that when legislation is pending,
Norbert can quickly contact the correct members to contact their
legislators. I will need the completed lists in early November
after the elections. I look forward to serving NAIFA-ND this
next year as your APIC Chair.
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IFAPAC
The
Insurance and Financial Advisors Political Action Committee
(IFAPAC) is a term used to describe collectively the PAC
sponsored by NAIFA at the federal level and the PACs sponsored
by each state association. Each PAC is a fund that supports the
campaigns of candidates for public office who understand issues
important to insurance agents and financial advisors. IFAPAC’s
goal is to help the associations advance the legislative and
regulatory interests of the members of NAIFA. While any U.S.
citizen can contribute to IFAPAC, only members of local NAIFA
associations may be solicited to do so. Contributions must be
voluntary. Contributions are not tax deductible for federal
income tax purposes. Of approximately 3,700 political action
committees registered with the Federal Election Commission,
IFAPAC ranks in the top 1 percent. IFAPAC is the largest
insurance PAC in the country. In the last election cycle, the
national IFAPAC and the 50 state IFAPACs contributed
approximately $2.5 million to federal and state candidates and
committees.
The
IFAPAC network is needed even in years when there aren't federal
elections. The candidate evaluation and support processes go on
all the time. PACs that have the resources to make contributions
when candidates need them most are highly visible in the
political arena. IFAPAC occasionally makes debt-retirement
contributions following elections and some states hold elections
in odd-numbered years.
On the
national level, a panel of ten NAIFA members, appointed by the
Executive Committee of NAIFA, determines which candidates for
federal office will receive PAC contributions. This group is
called the Candidate Selection Group. On the state level,
contributions to candidates are made via a similar process
through our State IFAPAC board. Input from state and local
association officers and current contributors is vital to the
ability of state and national selection committees to make
informed decisions regarding which candidates to support. IFAPAC
encourages contributors to provide factual information on
candidates. If you would like to make a contribution or obtain
more information on becoming a contributor, please contact our
state office at 701.258.9525 or email:
info@ndaifa.org
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AHIA
- NAIFA
Health & Employee Benefits
Advocacy – There are
over 600 bills addressing health insurance in the 110th
Congress. With legislative days numbered, only a few health
reform proposals are still in play. They include:
Currently, sick student coverage, health
information technology and mental health parity bills seem to
have reasonable odds for moving further through the legislative
process this year. And it remains possible that the Senate will
take up the IRS debt collection bill, and if it does, that means
the HSA documentation and substantiation provision will once
again be a live issue.
AHIA continues to stress the important role
of the agent as Congress begins setting the stage for health
care reform in the 111th Congress.
Coalition
Efforts –AHIA remains
active in several legislative coalitions including efforts to
enhance cafeteria plans for small businesses, to enact favorable
health care reform and LTC legislation, and Coverage that Works.
Regulatory
Outreach –AHIA continues its communication with CMS and
the AoA to distribute information regarding the Medicare Part D
as well as the government’s long term care awareness campaign.
Online Forums –AHIA is
looking forward to another year of partnership Employee Benefit
Adviser to offer free online forums.
AHIA Steering Council –
Members continue to receive
weekly issues of “Inside Scoop” providing them with regular
legislative updates.
·
Communication
– In addition to its regular communication with members and
leadership, AHIA Board members continue to spread the AHIA
message through appearances in various press and industry
magazines as well as participation in state and local NAIFA
chapter meetings, and various conferences and forums.
Member Benefits – AHIA has partnered with
Employee Benefit Adviser (EBA) to once again offer an AHIA
member discount to the Employee Benefit Summit. The next show
will take place in Washington, DC on September 22nd. In
addition, EBA has agreed to add the AHIA logo to their promo
material.
In an effort to meet our goals for the
2008-2009 membership year we have refined our focus on advocacy.
As part of this refining process we streamlined our committee
structure and shifted the Member Benefits committee to an ad hoc
committee. This committee will continue to review all vendor
agreements, evaluate current programs, products, and services.
Currently the committee is reviewing three vendor agreements to
enhance membership.
Membership – AHIA
currently has 3,006 members. The membership committee is
finishing up the 2007-08 committee term by working with the
state and local health chairs and execs to contact approximately
300 lapsed members before the end of the fiscal year on August
31st. The committee has also identified over four
thousand NAIFA members who deal with health and employee
benefits products, but who are not current AHIA members. The
committee is working on contacting these prospects with
information on AHIA membership.
The committee continues to work to spread
awareness of the combined dues application, where a new member
can join both AHIA and NAIFA for $525. Committee members
utilize this application when recruiting new members who are not
current NAIFA members in order to simplify the initial
application process. NAIFA national, state and local dues are
applied with the remainder serving as a full year’s membership
for AHIA.
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Rules for Effective E-Communications
Careful communication applies to e-mail.
While e-mail enhances business communication, it carries many
risks. E-mail is not considered private, and should not be used
to communicate sensitive information. Business owners typically
reserve the right to monitor any system for compliance with
policy and applicable laws.
Careless e-mails can result in legal repercussions.
Defamation, fraud and harassment claims have resulted from
e-mail communication that didn't receive careful consideration.
Be sure your communications never implicate or run afoul of
antitrust and insider trading laws.
Communications can reach unintended audiences.
You should always assume that any message you write could get
into the wrong hands. Technically adept individuals can
intercept communication, or even modify and forward an e-mail. A
good guideline is to avoid sending an e-mail message that you
would feel uncomfortable reading in the newspapers.
E-mail is never really gone.
While paper documents can be shredded and discarded, your
deleted e-mail may still exist somewhere else on a server, a
tape backup, or a printout. Never assume an e-mail is fully
erased, even after you empty your recycle bin.
Send only "need-to-know" information in your e-mails.
When you send someone information, send only the necessary
information, not an entire database or a whole file, even if it
would be more convenient. Restricting access to those who need
to know, will help prevent unauthorized modification and
minimize mistakes made by users.
E-mails should only contain information relevant to the subject
you're discussing.
While e-mail communication lends itself to a "less formal" form
of communication, the information in your e-mail should remain
factual. If it's not, you should clearly state that it's an
opinion, prediction, or speculation.
Avoid making generalizations or exaggerations in your e-mail.
Generalizations ("our products always work") and exaggerations
("I left you a hundred messages") can lend themselves to
misinterpretation. Beware of using inclusive terms, such as
"all" and "always" or exclusive terms, such as "none" and
"never."
Proofread all e-mail communication.
Review what you've written for typos and grammar mistakes. You
should also review the tone of your message and consider whether
or not you've unintentionally included information that can
confuse, offend or convey information that shouldn't be
conveyed.
Check the names of the people listed in the "Send To" line.
Make certain you have not inadvertently included names of
persons who should not receive the communication.
Always verify the sender before opening attached files or
visiting a specified web site.
Don't open any documents or execute programs or scripts from
unverified sources. Whenever possible, delete e-mails from
unknown sources before opening.
Be careful of e-mails from known users.
Keep in mind that a friend or co-worker could inadvertently send
a virus. Question whether it makes sense that the sender would
have sent the particular e-mail, document or file extension.
*This information is not and not meant to be legal advice,
and any issues regarding the scope, type and content of e-mail
communications should be referred to competent legal counsel.
The NAIFA Professional Liability Insurance Program is
administered by Affinity Insurance Services, Inc.; in CA, MN and
OK, AIS Insurance Agency, Inc. (CA Insurance License #0795465)
and in NY, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency. X-6769-808
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Click
HERE to view the text of the Proclamation
LILI
LILI 2008 Graduating Class
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NAIFA-North Dakota - 1811 East Thayer Avenue - PO Box 5010 -
Bismarck, ND 58502 (701) 258-9525 info@naifa-nd.org
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