NAIFA President Jill Judd took her fellow insurance and financial professionals on a thrilling carnival park ride in her NAIFA Performance + Purpose General Session remarks on Saturday.

Comparing the wholesale changes the “New NAIFA” has undergone over the past year to the “Giant Dipper,” a 1920s-era roller coaster in her home town of Santa Cruz, Calif., Judd said there have been some bumps, but in the end we are seeing many more rewards.

“We knew going into this year just about everything would be different on some level,” Judd said. “We agreed to restructuring our federation. We had to update our antiquated systems. We all had to make tough decisions regarding budgets and programs. We were even proposing new methods of communication and member recruitment.”

“Some of you thought this last year was quite a rollercoaster ride,” Judd said. “But what a ride it’s been!”

“This past year has been remarkable for the work we’ve done implementing the 4th year of the NAIFA 2020 Strategic Plan. We’ve been working on the Quality of our Members’ Experience. We’ve increased our collaboration with our sister organizations. We’ve taken the membership promise to advocate, educate & differentiate. And we’ve been growing our membership.”

Judd explained that NAIFA has signed on 800 agents and advisors this year who have never been members before.

The changes this past year that are creating the new NAIFA have been a “wild ride,” Judd said.

And what happens when a wild ride comes to an end?

“After we catch our breath, we say, ‘Let’s do it again!’” Judd said.

“And, we will. We will keep coming back to this wild ride. Not because we’re adrenaline junkies, but because we know we need to go through the ups and the downs and the changes if NAIFA wants to stay vibrant and relevant in our industry and in our lives.”