Gerald Wodkins loves helping people.

Wodkins started in the insurance industry in 2000 in Macon, GA. Young and newly married, he took a job at a Geico call center to help support his growing family. He was dedicated to helping his clients get the best coverage for their unique situations. He recalls, "I always prided myself on taking the opportunity to really dive deep and help people to really look at the whole picture.” Wodkins worked with Geico for 15 years before taking a brief break from insurance. In August 2021, Wodkins began working with American National. He now offers an array of insurance products and services and plans to focus on helping small businesses.

In a tight recruiting economy, the pressure is on employers and their HR teams to hire the right people and engage them in their organizational culture.

InsuranceNewsNet magazine highlighted "9 Ideas to Help Producers Grow Their Business," presented by Howard Sharfman, senior managing director at NFP Insurance Solutions, during the Society of FSP and NAIFA's Advanced Practice Center Impact Week.

NAIFA’s Limited and Extended Care Planning Center is hosting the second annual NAIFA LECP Impact Week, November 1 - 5. 

 The virtual event, with the theme Success Is a Collaboration of Problems Solved, has been revamped for 2021. Each of the five days of Impact Week programming will drill down on a specific topic and feature multiple presenters in a packed one-hour presentation, 12 - 1 pm eastern.

Stephanie Tulley is all about helping others reach their full potential.

Tulley, like many, got into the insurance industry inadvertently, but she soon grew to love her work. Starting as a receptionist at a State Farm agency in 2015, she soon moved to sales, management, and consulting. Now, she manages one of the top State Farm agencies in the Tampa Bay area and runs her own consultancy agency, The Insurance Advisory, to edify other insurance professionals and help them move forward in their careers.

On November 12, author and Senior Consulting Actuary Peter Neuwirth, FSA, will join Harlan Accola, CRMP, CSA, (loyal NAIFA member since 2015 )National Reverse Mortgage Director of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, to present "Exploring Money Mountaineering."

This webinar will focus on Neuwirth's six foundational principles of Holistic Financial Wellness. Neuwirth and Accola will discuss how the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis can help us prepare, psychologically and financially, for the uncertainty of the future.

The event will take place on Friday, November 12, at 2 pm eastern.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is an Educational Partner to NAIFA.  For members, you can learn more about Fairway and how to partner within the Member Portal.  

Tuesday, October 26, 2021 | 2 pm eastern

The Q4 State of NAIFA will feature NAIFA President Thomas Michel, LACP, and CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, updating all interested stakeholders on how NAIFA is serving members and the insurance and financial services industry. They will also outline the association’s progress towards meeting goals established by the NAIFA 2025 Strategic Plan. The program will feature a legislative and regulatory update by NAIFA Assistant Vice President for Government Relations Judi Carsrud.

NAIFA is very sad to learn of the passing of JoAnn Martin, the former CEO of Ameritas and a respected leader in the insurance and financial services industry. Martin led Ameritas for more than 10 years before her retirement in 2020. She was a strong supporter of NAIFA and our industry.

NAIFA member since 1993, Robert B. Wellendorf ll, Business Exit Planning Expert President at Executive Wealth Strategies, will be joining us for 2021 APC Impact Week. Wellendorf will be providing a presentation covering a deep dive case study on life insurance in the business marketplace on October 20^th.

A new survey indicates that individuals’ thinking around retirement has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While older Americans plan to stay in the workforce longer due to the pandemic, some young professionals plan to retire earlier.