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May 2016 Meeting Registration 

Spring has sprung! April has had its share of showers. The late April thunderstorm with weather warnings across the Midwest was a sign the storm season is upon us. I pray “Mayday” is not the distress signal we will think of this storm season.

Ted Lussem, Jeff Jeffus, Kevin Seward and I recently went to Algona to see our fellow CPCUs and new designees in the North Central Iowa sub-chapter, which will celebrate their 10 year anniversary in 2017. I haven’t heard the words “Mayday, Mayday” in a long time but when I heard Lisa Molsberry, Vice President of the sub-chapter, use this, I enjoyed their creativity and desire to promote education in their workplace. They will be promoting continuing education for all staff with the theme Mayday! The North Central sub-chapter, although small, also continues to support their community by Adopting a Highway.

2016 is the largest new designee class we have ever had in the Iowa chapter, including 5 new designees in the North Central sub-chapter and 2 new designees in the Grinnell sub-chapter for an Iowa total of 125. The last window for test taking ends June 15 and the number of new designees keeps increasing daily. Get ready to see Out of Office Messages from many of our fellow new designees in September as we head to Honolulu, Hawaii for the annual conferment ceremony.

The Iowa Chapter anticipates honoring our new designees many times throughout this year. Later this summer we will be announcing a social gathering for new designees to meet each other and meet the board. We will also invite you to a reception in Honolulu and will also honor our new designees on November 10, 2016 at I-Day. Our theme this year at I-Day will be about personal lines and its importance to you personally and to our industry.

May 19th has two great opportunities to gather. The chapter will be hosting a tour of the Capitol starting at 3:00 pm. We will also be attending the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame ceremony. Five new inductees will be honored for their contributions to our industry. Be sure to check out http://iihof.org/history-of-theiowa-insurance-hall-of-fame/ to find out more about this organization and the impact it has on our industry. We are fortunate in Iowa to have support from our many companies.

We will take a break from monthly meetings over the summer but don’t forget our 2016 CPCU Charity Golf Outing. We will start at 11:30 am, July 21, 2016 at Legacy Golf Course in Norwalk. We anticipate donating dual sensor smoke detectors with a carbon monoxide detector to the Des Moines Fire Department to distribute to households in need.

We also look forward to our September meeting on risk management at one of our favorite venues, Des Moines Embassy Club. In October, we will learn about claims from Pinnacle Actuarial Services at the Botanical Center.

Dean Brooks spoke at our April meeting about certificates of insurance. He gave some statistics on certificates of insurance that helped me understand what an issue this is for our industry:

• Insurance commissioners from 43 states have submitted bulletins on certificates of insurance.
• In the last 5 years, errors and omission claims from certificate of insurance are up 28%.
• 15% of all commercial lines errors and omission claims involve a certificate of insurance.

I am looking forward to learning more at our future meetings and meeting our new designees in the next few months.

Steven R. Crawford, former President and CEO of Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company passed away on May 18th at the age of 62. Steve was a graduate of Ames High School and Iowa State University. He started his career at Grinnell Mutual in 1975 as a marketing representative in Illinois. In 1980 he was named assistant marketing director. Additional positions he held at Grinnell Mutual were AVP of Reinsurance Underwriting, Regional Vice President, and Senior Vice President of Reinsurance.

Steve received the CPCU designation in 1980 and was a charter member of the Grinnell Subchapter when it was formed in 1987. He served as President of the Grinnell Subchapter in 1996-1997. He also held the ARe designation.

In 2006, he was named Chief Operating Officer and became President and CEO in January 2010. He served as the seventh president of Grinnell Mutual. Steve retired at the end of 2011 due to health issues. He and his wife Pat moved to Urbandale to be closer to their family.

He is survived by his wife, Pat; children, Matt (Julia), Joe (Rachael), and Steffanie (R.J.) Sumrall. Also surviving are three grandchildren and his sister Ellen Mullen.

Steve was an ardent Iowa State fan throughout his life. In addition to following Iowa State sports, he enjoyed traveling, downhill skiing, golf, bowling, boating and especially spending time with his family and friends

Wade Sheeler, MBA, CPCU, CIC, CRM, is the 2013 recipient of the Burkhalter award.  The Burkhalter Award is s presented at I-Day to a person who has made significant contributions to the community and the Iowa insurance industry. The Burkhalter Award is designed to recognize individuals who have influenced the Iowa property and casualty insurance industry and their community through civic involvement.

Wade is employed by Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company as Corporate Risk Manager. He has held various positions in Auditing, Research & Development, and Corporate Education & Training.

He is a graduate of Drake University with a BSBA with majors in Finance and Insurance, a BA in Economics, and MBA. He has earned the professional designations of CPCU, CIC, and CRM. In addition to these designations he has also earned the following designations from the Insurance Institute of America (IIA): Associate in Undewriting (AU), Associate in Regulation and Compliance (ARC), Associate in Reinsurance (ARe), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Associate in Accounting & Finance (AIAF), Associate in Management (AIM), Associate in Insurance Services (AIS), and Associate in Personal Insurance (API).

He served as President of the Iowa Chapter of CPCU in 2006-2007. He is a past president of the Heartland Chapter of Insurance Compliance Professionals. He has served on the Budget & Finance Committee and Audit Committee for the CPCU Society. He is a past national governor and national director for the CPCU Society. He is a past board member of the CPCU-Loman Educational Foundation. He is currently serving as Chair of the Reinsurance Interest Group for the CPCU Society and is a member of the 2014 Annual Meeting Task Force.

He has held adjunct faculty appointments at Drake University, Grandview University, Buena Vista University, Des Moines Area Community College, and Marshalltown Area Community College.

He is member of the CPCU Advisory Committee for the American Institute for CPCU. He is a two recipient of the Outstanding Course Leader from the AICPU/IIA. He serves on the Iowa Education Committee for the National Alliance for Insurance Research & Education. He is a member of the Examinations Review Committee for the Iowa Insurance Division. He also serves on the Mentoring Advisory Council for the Vaughan Insurance Institute at the University of Iowa. He is a member of the RIMS Society and NAMIC Merit Society.

In addition to his involvement with insurance related activities, he has served as a mentor for Big Brothers/Little Brothers, a volunteer for the Jasper County United Way, Meals From the Heartland, and the St. Nick’s Christmas Club in Newton.

Peter Miller, Institute CEO and Cindy Baroway, Society President visited the CPCUs at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company the day before the Iowa CPCU Society Chapter’s I-Day.

Pictured are the Grinnell sub-chapter officers and their guests – Adam Moore, Sub-Chapter President; Peter Miller; Stacy Walton, Sub-Chapter VP; Cindy Baroway; and Mark Johnson, Sub-Chapter Secretary-Treasurer

The Grinnell sub-chapter has a long standing history of providing support to local fire departments.  As a group we are proud to support these brave men and women for all of the service and enrichment they provide to local communities.  Most recently they raised $1,050 and presented that to the Newton Fire Department.  With those funds Newton will purchase a new fire education DVD, and use the remaining money to pay for the installation of smoke detectors in the homes of people with a hearing impairment.   Pictured are:  Adam Moore, Sub-Chapter President; Jarrod Wellik, Newton Fire Chief; and Mark Johnson, Sub-Chapter Secretary-Treasurer.

Jeff Menary has been named Vice President of Reinsurance and Kurt Eaves has been named Vice President of Direct Underwriting / Production at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co.

Menary currently serves as Vice President of Direct Underwriting / Production.  He has been employed with Grinnell Mutual since 1980.  Menary holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations.

Eaves currently serves as Assistant Vice President of Commercial Lines Underwriting.  With more than 26 years in the property-casualty insurance industry, Eaves has held key leadership positions with large insurance companies as well as with a national insurance broker.  Before joining Grinnell Mutual, he served as the assistant vice president of underwriting for Indiana Insurance, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group.  Eaves holds the CPCU and the ARM designations and is a licensed insurance agency in Iowa.

The Grinnell Sub-Chapter celebrated its 25^th Anniversary at the Grinnell Golf and Country Club on May 16^th with current and retired members:  (front:  Peg German, Heather Sisson, Stacy Walton; 2^nd row:  Hugh Sheridan, Tressa Lepley, Jacque McClenathan, Kama Small; 3^rd row:  Crystal Bauman, Lauren Augustin, John Gorman, Dan McVeigh; 4^th row:  Pam Bryan, Ted Hammer, Monte Redenius, Mike Ward; top row:  Adam Moore, Brent Larsen, Dan Agnew, Todd Milburn).

Larry Hershberger, Director of the Emmett J. Vaughan Institute of Risk Management and Insurance in the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa was the guest speaker.  Catie Sebolt, 2012 graduate of the program and Viana Rockel also spoke about the partnership between the Insurance program and Iowa insurance companies.

The Grinnell Sub-Chapter formed on April 17, 1987 with 10 members.  The current membership has grown to 45 members.

Grinnell Sub-Chapter officers deliver a “check” to the Montezuma, Iowa Fire Chief. Funds were raised through employee donations at Grinnell Mutual. (left to right) Heather Sisson, Sub-Chapter President; Chris Widmer,  Montezuma Fire Chief; Todd Milburn, Sub-Chapter VP; Adam Moore, Sub-Chapter Secretary/Treasurer.

Each year the Grinnell Sub-Chapter selects an organization in the local area to receive a charitable donation. This year they chose the Montezuma, Iowa, Volunteer Fire Department.  Local fire volunteers spend many hours every year protecting the health and property of their community’s residents. Montezuma is the Poweshiek County seat, located southeast of Grinnell, where several of Grinnell Mutual’s employees reside.

Since all fire and ambulance reports must be submitted online to the State of Iowa it is important to have current technology. The Montezuma Fire Department’s computer was on its last “gig” and had been malfunctioning regularly. The fire department is funded entirely by private donations and fundraising events so when expenses such as this arise, additional assistance is needed. The Sub-Chapter’s donation to the department paid for a new desktop computer (they were able to use their current monitor) and anti-virus license. 

Larry Jansen

Larry Jansen, CPCU, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company located in Grinnell, Iowa. For the past 10 years, Jansen has served as the company’s senior vice president of Direct Underwriting and Production.

During Jansen’s 33-year career at Grinnell Mutual he has served in a variety of roles, including personal lines underwriting manager, regional underwriting manager, and regional vice president. He also serves as president of Grinnell Select Insurance Company and Big M Insurance Agency. Prior to Grinnell Mutual, Jansen worked for the Maryland Casualty Insurance Company and Hawkeye Security Insurance Company.

He has served the insurance industry as a past president of the Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa, a trustee of the Iowa Automobile Insurance Plan, and he is currently the chairman of the Iowa Fair Plan.

“We believe that Larry’s experience at Grinnell Mutual and insight with our agents and farm mutual companies will bring a new focus on relationships with those customers,” said Grinnell Mutual Board Chairman Dale Bartelt. “With the challenges of a changing marketplace, we are confident that Larry will provide the leadership Grinnell Mutual needs and we are excited about the possibilities moving forward.”

Jansen is a graduate from the University of Iowa and he holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation from the American Institute for Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters.  He replaces Steve Crawford who retired in December as Grinnell Mutual’s president and CEO due to health concerns.