Advisor Today, the official publication of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), is pleased to announce that Joanna Dellosa, LUTCF, FSS, RICP, LACP, CLU, of Wilshire Group Financial Services in Los Angeles, loyal member since 2012, is a winner of a 2021 Four Under Forty award. Additional winners this year are J. Cal Anderson, CFP, CLU, of Ameriprise Financial in Alpharetta, GA, loyal member since 2008; Rebecca Schulter of UCL Financial Group in Memphis, TN, loyal member since 2015; and Steven Walker, LUTCF, of Gate City Insurance in Fargo, ND, loyal member since 2009.

Advisor Today, the official publication of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), is pleased to announce that J. Cal Anderson, CFP, CLU, of Ameriprise Financial in Alpharetta, GA, loyal member since 2008 is a winner of a 2021 Four Under Forty award. Additional winners this year are Joanna Dellosa, LUTCF, FSS, RICP, LACP, CLU, of Wilshire Group Financial Services in Los Angeles, loyal member since 2012; Rebecca Schulter of UCL Financial Group in Memphis, TN, loyal member since 2015; and Steven Walker, LUTCF, of Gate City Insurance in Fargo, ND, loyal member since 2009.

Join us in congratulating Christopher L. Gandy and Brian Haney, winners of this year’s ThinkAdvisor LUMINARIES Award in Diversity and Inclusion.

Allen R. Bruce, CLU, ChFC, is this year’s winner of the Lang Dixon Leadership and Excellence in Achieving Diversity Award. Bruce has been in the financial and insurance industry for 52 years and has been a loyal member of NAIFA since 1973. He was the first African American to complete a full term as president of the District of Columbia Life Underwriters Association (now NAIFA-Greater Washington, D.C.) and the first African American president of the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation. 

Are you a good NAIFA citizen or do you know of someone who should be recognized for their impact on the industry? It's award season at NAIFA and we want to recognize our outstanding members and all the work they do for their clients and the industry. Nomination and application deadlines are just around the corner. Help us differentiate our members from the crowd through our awards program. Receipients will be recognized in December during the National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.

NAIFA is now accepting nominations and applications for its 2021 awards, recognizing outstanding leadership, performance, and achievement that differentiates NAIFA members from their colleagues in the insurance and financial services industry. NAIFA bestows these annual awards as programs of the Talent Development Center, which recognizes exemplary NAIFA members, promotes professional growth, and encourages a new generation of agents and advisors to join the business.

NAIFA is proud to announce Terry Headley, LUTCF, FSS, LIC, President of Headley Financial Group in Omaha, NE, is the recipient of the 79th 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 is pleased to announce the recognition by InvestmentNews of Aprilyn Chavez Geissler as a 2020 Woman to Watch. Aprilyn Chavez Geissler is one of our favorite NAIFA leaders who gives tirelessly to NAIFA Nation. From her work as a National Trustee, her work on the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusivity task force and her leadership at Gateway Financial Group as the first female Executive Vice President. Through Aprilyn's leadership at Gateway, Gateway Financial Group also became a supporter of our financial literacy initiative through financialsecurity.org.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) will hold a new hybrid event called the “Belong Event” on November 17, 2020. The new event has a three-pronged purpose:

-To serve as the association’s annual business meeting, during which the new Board of Trustees will be sworn into office

-To serve as the platform to celebrate the more than 1,700 volunteer leaders and staff that power NAIFA’s 50 state and 35 local chapters

-To conclude the year-long celebration of NAIFA’s 130th anniversary.

Cammie Scott, NAIFA National President, will oversee the business meeting as she formally calls the association’s annual meeting to order. The meeting will include the election of five National Trustees, election of the national secretary and re-election of NAIFA’s national officers as follows.

National Trustees to elect:

-Wes Booker, LUTCF, Owner of the Wes Booker Agency in Maumelle, AR, (NAIFA member since 2004)

-Aprilyn Chavez Geissler, LACP, First Executive Vice President with Gateway Financial Advisors in Albuquerque, NM, (NAIFA member since 2005)

-Dennis Cuccinelli, LACP, Financial Representative, Certified Financial Services in Paramus, NJ, (NAIFA member since 1986)

-Doug Massey, CLU, ChFC, FSS, Owner of Doug Massey Financial Services in San Angelo, TX, (NAIFA member since 1987)

-Brian Wilson, Sales Director with Mutual of Omaha Advisors in Lexington, KY, (NAIFA member since 2000)

National Officers to elect:

-Lawrence J. Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP, Director of Insurance and Advanced Sales at Fortis Lux Financial in New York, (NAIFA member since 1990), will stand for election as President-Elect

-Brock Jolly, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CLTC, CASL, CFBS, Founding Partner of Veritas Financial LLC/MassMutual Financial Group in McLean, VA, (NAIFA member since 2001), will stand for re-election as Treasurer

-Bryon Holz, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, CASL, LACP, Founder of Bryon Holz & Associates in Brandon, FL, (NAIFA member since 1987), will stand for election as Secretary

Advisor Today, the official publication of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, is pleased to announce the winners of its 2020 Four Under Forty awards: Andrew Bartling, FIC, LACP, of Modern Woodmen of America in Rapid City, SD; Richard M. Demko II, LUTCF, LACP, of Guardian Group in The Woodlands, TX; Samuel G. Sones, LUTCF, of Lincoln County Farm Bureau in Brookhaven, MS; and Joyce J. Yoo, of Wisely Financial in San Francisco.