October is Financial Planning Month

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. 

Mitchell “Mitch” Ostrove CLU, ChFC, LACP serves as the VP of Professional Development on the NAIFA-NY Board and has been a loyal NAIFA member since 1965. He practices with The Ostrove Group, in White Plains, NY, where he specializes in insuring small closely held corporations.

Dave Skutnik has been a loyal NAIFA member since 1984 and today is eagerly helping his clients prepare for retirement while simultaneously enjoying the freedom that being your own boss has enabled him to have. Working from his lake-side home in Grand Island, NE, Dave credits this solely to his career as a financial advisor. Before following up on a direct mail advertisement that relayed what Dave describes as an “uncanny” reflection of what he was desperately seeking for his future, he worked at a small company that he was no longer satisfied with. The most attractive aspect of his then-potential career as a financial advisor, “the ability to be compensated for the amount of work that [he] did.” He relished in idea of “being able to experience success based completely on [himself].” The same day that Dave signed his contract with his insurance company, he also became a NAIFA member (then NALU) stating that his sales manager represented the association “as an integral part of the business.” Dave encourages and provides guidance to other advisors about joining NAIFA. He declares his membership as “one of the best decisions [he has] ever made” noting that the comradery amongst NAIFA members was enough to convince him of this. Dave attended his first NAIFA meeting when he lived in Omaha and was touched by how friendly all 600 members were with everyone sharing ideas and leaving their competitive mindsets at the door.

Carol A. Rappaport CLU ChFC CLTC is a Financial Advisor at Northwestern Mutual and a loyal NAIFA member since 1983.

Thomas Yannetti is a Financial Services Professional at thinkWealth, LLC and a new NAIFA member.

Joseph Cammayo, our newest NAIFA member, is an independent financial advisor at Calton & Associates, Inc. and is also a Registered Investment Advisor (IAR) with Grantvest Financial.

Bryan Smith is a financial services representative at Capstone Financial, LLC and a new NAIFA member.

After spending just a few minutes with Bryan, you’ll quickly find that he is in this business to serve.

Marc Sigmon is the CEO of Marc Sigmon Insurance Agency and a new NAIFA member.

Grace Staten, recently named the Women in Financial Services (WIFS) 2020 Woman of the Year, is the Vice President of Marketing for Coastal Wealth, and a loyal NAIFA member since 2013.

Kristen Eskew is a Business Development Executive for OneDigital, a speaker and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion enthusiast. She is also a new NAIFA member.