Christopher Gandy, LACP, Founder of Midwest Legacy Group in Lisle, IL, and the top-ranked producer for OneAmerica, has been recognized as the NAIFA Diversity Champion for 2022.

Gandy, a loyal NAIFA member since 2003, serves on NAIFA’s Board of Trustees, is a Past President of NAIFA-Chicagoland, and is a Co-Chair of NAIFA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council. He was also a member of the NAIFA 2025 Strategic Planning Committee, which developed the NAIFA 2025 strategic plan with a goal of increasing DEI in the association and industry. After four years as a student-athlete at the University of Illinois and playing several seasons of professional basketball for the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs as well as in L’Hermaine, France, Gandy entered the insurance and financial services profession in 1999.

Jeff Chernoff, M.S., LUTCF, LACP, Vice President of Insurance and Trust in Tampa, FL, is the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Young Advisor Team Leader of the Year for 2022.

Chernoff is the President-Elect of NAIFA-FL and has been a loyal NAIFA member since 2011. He is a graduate of NAIFA’s Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) and has remained active in the program, serving as a moderator of classes in Florida. He is a Past President of NAIFA-Tampa Bay and received that chapter’s Dick Cimino Distinguished Service Award in 2018 for his strong support of the chapter’s membership endeavors and public service projects.

Advisor Today is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 4 Under 40 awards: Scott Blake, MBA, of Blake Wealth Partners (Northwestern Mutual) in Columbus, OH, loyal member since 2018; Eric Bottolfsen, MBA, of GoldBook Financial (MassMutual) in Scottsdale, AZ, loyal member since 2017; Matthew Daley, MBA, FSCP, LACP, LUTCF, of the Daley Agency (American National) in Miller Place, NY, loyal member since 2018; and Brett Moore, CFP, of RBM Wealth Management Group (LPL Financial) in Newnan, GA, loyal member since 2015.

NAIFA is proud to announce Harry P. Hoopis, CLU, CHFC, Chief Executive Officer of the Hoopis Performance Network and a renowned entrepreneur, leader, and speaker is the recipient of the 81st 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 President Lawrence Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP, announced Hoopis’s selection during the 2022 Q4 State of NAIFA webinar. Hoopis will be celebrated and formally receive the award at NAIFA’s National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., on November 14.

The NAIFA Family Response Fund is open to assist members of the association who suffer losses due to Hurricane Ian, which is expected to impact much of Florida as a potentially catastrophic storm. The Fund is also open to assist NAIFA members who suffered losses due to Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and the federally declared Mississippi Water Crisis.

NAIFA is proud to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 - October 15. 

NAIFA’s Committee on Governance has nominated Douglas B. Massey, LUTCF, FSS, Owner of Doug Massey Financial Services in San Angelo, TX, to be the 2023 NAIFA Secretary. A current member of NAIFA’s Board of Trustees, Massey has been a loyal NAIFA member since 1987. As incoming Secretary, Massey will be in line to serve as President-Elect in 2024 and President in 2025.

NAIFA announces the launch of the Employee and Executive Benefits Center (EBC), the newest of NAIFA’s Centers for Excellence, at NAIFA’s Apex sales summit. The EBC is a community of agents, firms, carriers, and vendors that offers top-notch resources, innovative research, access to industry thought leaders, and opportunities for collaboration in the benefits space.

NAIFA’s Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) has received a 2022 Power of Associations Gold Award from ASAE, the Center for Association Leadership. The Power of Associations Awards honor “associations that go above and beyond their everyday mission to undertake initiatives that have far-reaching benefits important to their profession or industry.”

NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine has launched a new Podcast series featuring outstanding NAIFA members and partners sharing their stories and answering questions about their own professional success. Their insights will offer practical ideas and inspire agents and advisors to reach their own levels of peak performance. Industry thought leaders featured on Advisor Today podcasts have a deep understanding of the insurance and financial services industry and what it takes to thrive in the profession.