On Monday, October 31's "Don't Be Scared of Long-Term Care," NAIFA's Executive Director of Centers of Excellence, Carroll Golden, addressed the crisis of long-term care that is sneaking up on most Americans. "When we look at the cost of care, it’s only increasing and it’s increasing dramatically," she said at the Limited & Extended Care Planning Center's annual Impact Day.

Christopher Gandy, LACP, Founder of Midwest Legacy Group in Lisle, IL, and the top-ranked producer for OneAmerica, has been recognized as the NAIFA Diversity Champion for 2022.

Gandy, a loyal NAIFA member since 2003, serves on NAIFA’s Board of Trustees, is a Past President of NAIFA-Chicagoland, and is a Co-Chair of NAIFA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council. He was also a member of the NAIFA 2025 Strategic Planning Committee, which developed the NAIFA 2025 strategic plan with a goal of increasing DEI in the association and industry. After four years as a student-athlete at the University of Illinois and playing several seasons of professional basketball for the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs as well as in L’Hermaine, France, Gandy entered the insurance and financial services profession in 1999.

Jeff Chernoff, M.S., LUTCF, LACP, Vice President of Insurance and Trust in Tampa, FL, is the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Young Advisor Team Leader of the Year for 2022.

Chernoff is the President-Elect of NAIFA-FL and has been a loyal NAIFA member since 2011. He is a graduate of NAIFA’s Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) and has remained active in the program, serving as a moderator of classes in Florida. He is a Past President of NAIFA-Tampa Bay and received that chapter’s Dick Cimino Distinguished Service Award in 2018 for his strong support of the chapter’s membership endeavors and public service projects.

Coastal Wealth, a leading financial services firm in the southeast, has announced the addition of Lawrence “Larry” Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP as a new Brokerage Director. He will be responsible for leading financial professionals to offer case consultation and design and positioning strategies and presentations.

Advisor Today is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 4 Under 40 awards: Scott Blake, MBA, of Blake Wealth Partners (Northwestern Mutual) in Columbus, OH, loyal member since 2018; Eric Bottolfsen, MBA, of GoldBook Financial (MassMutual) in Scottsdale, AZ, loyal member since 2017; Matthew Daley, MBA, FSCP, LACP, LUTCF, of the Daley Agency (American National) in Miller Place, NY, loyal member since 2018; and Brett Moore, CFP, of RBM Wealth Management Group (LPL Financial) in Newnan, GA, loyal member since 2015.

We're kicking off November's Long-Term Care Awareness Month on Halloween, Monday, October 31 to get the message out that you don't need to be scared of long-term care conversations!

NAIFA's Limited & Extended Care Planning (LECP) Center is hosting "Don't Be Scared of Long-Term Care," a free, day-long virtual program from 9 am to 5 pm. Included are interactive sessions from industry leaders who will address the scariest of topics in the long-term care arena. 

NAIFA is proud to announce that Robert A. Miller, M.S., M.A., Partner at Miller-Pomerantz Insurance and Financial Services in New York City, is the recipient of NAIFA’s Terry Headley Lifetime Defender Award.

Miller, a loyal member since 1983, was NAIFA’s national President for the 2011-2012 term. He had previously served as President of the NAIFA-New York state chapter and NAIFA-New York City. He was elected to the NAIFA Board of Trustees in 2005 and has served as trustee liaison to the CEO Outreach Program, the Young Advisor Team, and the Corporate Partnerships Program. He also served as chair of the NAIFA Governance Committee and was a member of the NAIFA Finance Committee.

New Business Performance Center partner, AccuPoint Solutions, will host a data-driven webinar on Thursday, October 13 at 12 pm eastern. Join Founder & CEO of AccuPoint, Gary Weber, for "Data Diving: Understand and Maximizing Your Most Important Asset." Gary will help you how to best understand the complexity of the data you may have – or may want to purchase – for your sales, marketing, recruiting, and data analytics efforts.

There is a tremendous lack of diversity in financial services and the average age of financial advisors is 57. Part of NAIFA's mission is to help more people become aware of careers in financial services and to create a healthy, diverse workforce. Colleges and universities are filled with America's next generation of agents and advisors. NAIFA wants to be sure that these bright minds are equipped with the resources and a network to get their careers started in the right direction. NAIFA engages with these students through our Future Leaders program and as a gold sponsor at the Gamma Iota Sigma Conference, a professional fraternity for students interested in insurance, risk management, and actuarial science.

NAIFA is proud to announce Harry P. Hoopis, CLU, CHFC, Chief Executive Officer of the Hoopis Performance Network and a renowned entrepreneur, leader, and speaker is the recipient of the 81st annual John Newton Russell Memorial Award. The award is the highest honor accorded by the insurance industry to a living individual who has rendered outstanding services to the institution of life insurance. The selection committee consists of representatives of the nine leading organizations in the life insurance and financial services industry. NAIFA President Lawrence Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP, announced Hoopis’s selection during the 2022 Q4 State of NAIFA webinar. Hoopis will be celebrated and formally receive the award at NAIFA’s National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., on November 14.