Be active. Be engaged. Be enthusiastic in 2021.

As we usher in 2021, NAIFA looks forward to another year of growth and accomplishment. Despite a year marked by a pandemic and economic uncertainty, we built a ton of momentum in 2020 to reach new heights. Speaking on behalf of the NAIFA Board of Trustees, we are supremely optimistic and enthusiastic about 2021! We are going to spend this year getting more and more people familiar with NAIFA and ensuring that the member experience is nothing short of sensational.

2021 is all about amplification! We’ve moved out of the transition phase of restructuring our association and consistently deliver quality programs to you each month in the form of our NAIFA Live events, webinars, and other programming. We are committed, as we amplify the NAIFA brand, to shine a spotlight on our successful NAIFA members through profiles and personal stories: in blog posts, on social media, in webinars and other NAIFA programming, on our Advisor Today platform, and in external media outlets. Our members are our brand. The extraordinary success of NAIFA members reflects on our association.

And, of course, it works both ways. NAIFA’s success reflects on every NAIFA member. You are part of something great that represents the best of everything insurance and financial advisors offer their clients, their communities, our industry, and our country.

The real value of belonging to your professional association comes from being a part of something bigger than yourself. It comes from being part of our industry’s advocacy leader. It comes from belonging to an association with a strong and consistent brand that says to everyone – from industry insiders to consumers and from policymakers to members of the media – that NAIFA stands for trusted, professional, driven, and successful advisors. That’s who our members are. And in 2021 and beyond, we want everyone to know it! I hope you are very proud of that, because I know I am.

I want to let you know, on behalf of NAIFA’s Board of Trustees and our entire volunteer leadership, that we are rolling up our sleeves and getting down to work so that 2021 will be a great year. And I would also ask each of you, as a NAIFA member, to invest in your association’s success. We have fewer than 20 Board members, but more than 20,000 NAIFA members. You do the math! Just think of the difference we would make if every NAIFA member embraced and participated in our political advocacy mission, contributed to IFAPAC, and spread the news of the benefits of membership among their colleagues and influencers in the industry.

Our potential is unlimited. So, I would challenge each of you for 2021: Don’t just belong. Be active. Be engaged. Be enthusiastic. Explore what NAIFA does for you – how it boosts your career, benefits your clients, and strengthens your industry – and spread the word. Help us be the absolute best that we can be.

Thank you, as always, for the great work you do providing financial security and prosperity for American families and businesses. I am honored to be a member of NAIFA, your professional association, and I’m humbled by the opportunity to serve as its president this year. I wish each and every one of you a happy, healthy, and successful year.

Sincerely,

Tom Michel
NAIFA President