NAIFA is saddened to learn that member William John Kalmer of Wauwatosa, WI, passed away August 22, 2023. 

After graduating from Marquette University and serving as a medic in both the Army and Air Force, Kalmer began his 51-year career in the insurance and financial service industry. He was a highly successful agent for Connecticut Mutual, MassMutual, and Partners Financial.

NAIFA Nation mourns the passing of Allen A. Skogebo, CLU, ChFC, a loyal member since 1969, the year he entered the life insurance business. He was the owner of Skogebo Associates in Greenbelt, MD.

Steven Saladino, RICP®, LACP, LUTCF® will join Advisorist's Virtual Advisor Power Hour this coming Wednesday, May 31 at 12 pm eastern. At this Power Hour, Steve will share why he joined NAIFA and how his involvement and engagement with the community have helped take his practice to an all-time high.

This will be a Power Hour you do not want to miss as it marks the closing chapter of a series that featured NAIFA-National President Bryon Holz and members Ken Leibow, Danny O'Connell, John D. Richardson, RICP® LACP®, and Kathleen Owings.

Kathleen Owings makes her appearance on the Advisorist Virtual Advisor Power Hour this coming Wednesday, May 24 at 12 pm eastern. Kathleen will discuss critical lessons from her book, Put Your Money to Work: A Woman’s Guide to Financial Confidence, in order to help more women with their finances with advice that was never taught in school.

Kathleen will also share the story of her non-traditional route into the financial services industry and how it has helped during times of high market volatility or challenging life events that her clients have experienced.

Recognizing the best in the insurance and financial services industry, the NAIFA Quality Award is now accepting applications through August 31, 2023.

The NAIFA Quality Award recognizes the best of the best in our industry. It celebrates outstanding advisors and agents who provide quality care, adhere to ethical standards, and is not solely based on annual production numbers. The NQA is open to all agents and advisors to apply, however, only active NAIFA members are eligible to be recognized.

See John D. Richardson, RICP® LACP®, loyal member since 2003, in action on NAIFA Talent Development Center partner Advisorist's Virtual Advisor Power Hour (VAPH) this Wednesday, April 26 at 12 pm eastern.

John will discuss why more advisors should be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and how this shift in attitude and mindset can lead to greater success in their professional careers.

Tune in to see your NAIFA President, Bryon Holz, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, LACP, on NAIFA Talent Development Center partner Advisorist's Virtual Advisor Power Hour (VAPH) this coming Wednesday, April 5 at 12 pm eastern.

Taking place every Wednesday, the VAPH is a free weekly masterclass dedicated to helping industry-leading insurance and financial advisors grow their practices with modern sales and marketing tips, systems, and processes.

Join Talent Development Center partner, Advisorist, for their Virtual Standout Summit this Thursday, March 30, from 9 am to 5 pm eastern. This all-day, live event will feature some of the industry's top names—including several from NAIFA Nation—to help you learn industry tips, secrets, and techniques to help you get more clients, more leads, and more income.

NAIFA leaders Jeff Chernoff, MS, LUTCF, LACP, and Danny O'Connell, LACP share their “big case stories” and advice on winning your own big case in the month's InsuranceNewsNet magazine.

For O'Connell, the key was persistence. He shares two stories of when his tenacity paid off. In the article, he shares, “If somebody goes dark on you and you don’t hear anything, you know people want to do business with someone they know, like, and trust. And that doesn’t come overnight. That takes time."

Chernoff won his big case with patience. “First of all, ‘no’ does not mean ‘never.’ Second, if you keep a relationship positive, you never know the opportunities you will generate from that," he says in the article.

Each year, Forbes and SHOOK Research select the industry's premier financial security professionals. The Forbes Top Financial Security Professionals list aims to answer the question: “Would we recommend these professionals to a family member or a friend?”

Rather than focusing on performance and profits, Forbes selects candidates based on quantitative factors (including production, assets under management (AUM), and client-related trends and data) and qualitative factors (including adherence to best practices, use of team and team dynamics, and level of community involvement).

This year's Top Financial Security Professionals list includes 27 NAIFA members: