Gilbert Mares, MPA, LUTCF, LILLI, CEO of Gilbert A. Mares and Associates, is a loyal NAIFA member and Past President of NAIFA's Los Angeles affiliate from 2003-2005.

Mares was born in El Paso, Texas, and later moved to Los Angeles when he was four years old. He attended schools in the greater Los Angeles area and earned his undergraduate degree from Cal Poly Pomona University, and developed a passion for Political Science. At the age of 21, Mares had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live and work in Washington, D.C., as a fact-finder at the cabinet level. 

NAIFA congratulates the members who earned the Life and Annuity Certified Professional (LACP) certification during the July testing window:

• Steven Bergee, LACP, (loyal member since 2009) Senior Vice President and Managing Partner of e4 Insurance Services in Fargo, ND.
• Wanda Caffrey, LACP, (loyal member since 2004) a Financial Advisor with inSource Financial Advisors (Ameritas) in Lincoln, NE.
• Greg Reddell, LACP, (loyal member since 2021) a State Farm Agent in Salisbury, MD.
• John Reilly, CFP, LACP, (loyal member since 1997) Senior Financial Advisor with Allied Wealth Partners in Madison, NJ.

Rick Demko, LUTCF, LACP, RICP, Director of Insurance at Centric Risk Strategies, loyal member since 2015 and 4 Under 40 Award Winner, is featured in the latest episode of ReminderMedia’s Stay Paid podcast series. 

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and WebCE have completed an educational partnership agreement to supply NAIFA members with online CE-based education for insurance and financial advisors. The offering is comprehensive and spans pre-licensing exam preparation for insurance and securities exams through company-mandated training for workplace training and firm element. NAIFA will enable its members to attain continuing education for licensure, certifications, and designations through the partnership.

The National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA) has announced two opportunities for those looking to start or advance a career in the insurance industry.

• NAAIA is offering five scholarships in the amount of $3,000 for higher education.  Established by NAAIA to honor its founder, the J.L. Tillman Scholarship seeks to encourage African-American students to consider careers within the insurance industry. The deadline for submission is October 1st.

This month, Fairway Mortgage and the Business Performance Center presented the webinar “How to Advise Your Clients to Get to the Zero Tax Bracket.” 

New York Life has named Robert Petrocelli, Founder and Managing Director of Petrocelli Financial Services in New York City and a loyal NAIFA member since 1979, as the 2021-2022 Chair of the influential New York Life Agent Advisory Board of Directors (ABD). The ABD, according to the company, “is an elite group of 16 agents who meet with the company’s executive leaders to provide their perspectives on corporate strategic initiatives based on their experience in the insurance and financial services industry and running among the most successful agent practices in the country.”

The Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies (LAAIA) holds its 51st Annual Convention August 11th - 14th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL.  This year’s theme is “Upholding the Legacy.” The event is designed to offer informative educational sessions (many offering CE), valuable peer-to-peer networking, and opportunities to connect with industry partners.  The conference includes plenty of ways to connect outside of the educational sessions including a Happy Hour Meetup, a NextGen Game Night, Jazz Brunch, and then finishing up with a Domino's Tournament.

Eva Emperador and her family migrated from the Philippines to the United States in 1981. Her family started out in Sonneville, CA, she moved to various cities over the years, and now resides in Gilroy, CA. Eva began her career as a finance controller for various companies, managing budgets, profits, and loss for organizations in the food, manufacturing, and aerospace industries. After 25 years of success as a financial controller, Eva made the pivot into financial services. After meeting with her financial advisor, she was inspired to change her career path into the financial service industry in 2017.   

You can learn a lot about growing a successful life insurance practice from NAIFA member and NAIFA-Houston Immediate Past President Rick Demko, LUTCF, LACP, RICP.

As Director of Insurance, Demko is a key part of the leadership team at Centric Wealth in Houston, a NAIFA 100% Agency. He is also a past winner of NAIFA’s Four Under 40 Award, and you can read about his rise to success in NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine.