Opening Music Plays
HOST: Welcome to the NAIFA Advocacy Podcast. I’m Andy Moyer, Communications Producer for NAIFA and I’m speaking to you from the Senate Office Buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
MINDY REYEZ: Hi. I’m Mindy Reyes with NAIFA Scottsdale, Local President. I work for Country Insurance and Financial Services as an agent. This is my first time at the convention and just having a great time.
HOST: Mindy is one of over 1200 members of NAIFA here on the Hill today who are meeting with their congressmen to advocate for the insurance and financial industries on behalf of all NAIFA members.
MINDY REYEZ: This has been a blast. We had the opportunity to meet with John Kyles' staff. She was very informative and kind and answered all our questions and spent as much time as we wanted. Our next appointment was to be with Senator McCain. He wasn’t available but as we were walking in the hall we happened to see him and got the opportunity to chat with him as we told him we were constituents of Arizona. So he took time to stop and shake our hands and listen to what we had to say and we were able to drop off our packets to his office. So it’s been fun.
HOST: Because the NAIFA convention was held in Washington, D.C. this year, members who attended the meeting were prepped by NAIFA staff and afforded the opportunity to meet with their congressmen. Along with Mindy we spoke with other NAIFA members who participated in this historic day on the Hill experience. Let’s listen to what a few of the other NAIFA members had to say about their meetings throughout the day.
SCOTT SURNETT: My name is Scott Surnett. I’m with NAIFA Cedar Valley in Iowa and I’m a financial advisor. I am a member of YAT. In fact, I’m privileged to serve as the YAT National Chair this year as the incoming Chair. And so far the convention has been fantastic and I’ve met with three offices now, two senators and a House of Representative member. And we’ve had great meetings and it’s really a unique opportunity to have a chance to meet with our members of congress.
And I would just encourage people who have not had a chance to do that to do it. It’s really a neat opportunity and something I think everyone should at least be able to do once in their lifetime. NAIFA staff was fantastic in making sure we understood what the issues are, what the areas that we want to advocate are and they trained us well with respect to speakers in the morning sessions as well as print materials. So we felt we had a concise agenda to go in with and I think they heard our messages.
I think the best message I can take back and share with folks in my local or in the state is that if we’re not advocating for our beliefs, by default someone else is advocating against us. And that’s why I think it’s really important that we stand up for the things that we want to fight for our clients for and it’s really important to do so. If we don’t, again, we’re going to be advocated against and we certainly don’t want that.
BARRY JOHNSON: I am Barry Johnson and I am from Wellman, Iowa, and I’m a Past President of the Iowa City Association and I’m a Financial Advisor Registered Representative with Inner Securities. We talked about the four basic issues – the Pay-Go tax incentives, the 12B1 Fees, the repeal of the McCarran–Ferguson Act and Life Insurance Awareness Month. So it went very well. You see the senators on television, you hear them on the radio, but there’s nothing like being here in person. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.
NICK STOSIK: I’m Nick Stosik from Reno, Nevada, in the northern Nevada chapter, and I am a Multi-Line Agent but also I am a CFP so I also focus on financial services and financial planning. I’ve been the State PAC Chairman for many years, the State PIC Chairman for many years, and so I’ve always been very involved in the issues of insurance and how they impact the legislation and those sort of things. We got to meet with four members of the Senator staff and the meeting went well.
We had a lot of people in there and a lot of ideas and a lot of discussions. Senator Reid, being the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, obviously it was important for us to be able to get NAIFA’s positions to as many people in his staff as possible. So I think we were successful in doing that. But the NAIFA website is absolutely invaluable in telling you what are the major issues that our association is facing, not only in national issues but as well as state issues.
They even have different issues that states are going to be voting on or looking at. And so if you go to the website, you’ve got a wealth of information to find out what those issues are, what NAIFA’s positions are, the history, the background. And really, if you have those summarizations, it’s all you need to be prepared.
HOST: One of the advantages for the people who participated in this event was that they received firsthand instruction from NAIFA’s legislative staff prior to their meetings. Nick makes a valid point in that even if you didn’t attend the convention or have the opportunity to prepare with NAIFA staff on site, you can always access NAIFA’s website for up-to-date information on important legislative issues. This will help your grass roots efforts, a very important element for an advocacy program to be successful.
TERRY KULTIMBAH: Terry Kultimbah. I’m with the San Diego Association. I’m a Past Local and State President of NAIFA California. I’m a Wealth Management Consultant with Phoenix Life and we have just finished a meeting with Ahmad Thomas, one of the legislative staff members of Senator Feinstein’s office. I’ve been fortunate enough to be back here multiple times in the last five or six years and this is the third or fourth time I’ve met with Ahmad. It’s critical that we build those kind of long-term relationships with members of congress cause it’s only through that grass roots effort that we really at crunch time are we able to deliver on our real issues.
And without that relationship we’re just another constituent out there. So it’s absolutely critical that we build those grass roots relationships from day one.
HOST: For information on the NAIFA Advocacy Program or how you can get involved at the grass roots level go to www.naifa.org/advocacy. We end this podcast with some observations from a NAIFA convention first-timer, our recently instated NAIFA CEO John Healy.
JOHN HEALY: I’ve done this for over 25 years and the meetings that we’ve had so far throughout the day I have been so impressed and so proud of the way that NAIFA members from across the country, in each and every one of the meetings that I’ve been in, the message that they bring to their congressmen and senators. Every one of them have been interested in hearing that message.
The points that they’ve made, the stories that they’ve brought to back up the points, whether it’s talking about the importance of the senator or congressman supporting LIAM, the Life Insurance Awareness Month, and the reason that they need to step forward to help to continue to encourage families to make investments in our industry’s products coming forward, the impact and the knowledge that our members bring to their jobs, it’s obvious that their passion for what we do just comes through as they talk.
Because many of the congressman and senators ask, you know, "Why do you do this for a living? What is it that your industry really provides"? Even though they may think they know about the insurance industry, they obviously don’t understand the important role that we play in American families’ financial security and freedom.
HOST: Thanks to the efforts of NAIFA members during the "Day on the Hill" campaign and the weeks that follow the NAIFA convention, the House and Senate officially declared September "Life Insurance Awareness Month".
Membership in NAIFA is all about your success. We give you the tools you need to grow your business and propel your career as an insurance or financial advisor. Learn more about becoming a NAIFA member and join today at www.naifa.org/join.
[This 2007 podcast is a copyrighted production of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. All rights are reserved.]
Closing Music Plays.
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