NAIFA's Foundation for Financial Service Professionals seeks applicants for the Paul S. Mills Scholarship program. The program offers scholarships to students pursuing degrees in financial service related fields, including finance, accounting, insurance or risk management, actuarial sciences, and personal financial planning. The application deadline is March 31.

Most people don’t like talking about endings and dare we say, death. That’s what makes February’s Insure Your Love campaign so spot on. It allows you to link life insurance with love, a topic most people do want to talk about.

National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) President Doug Massey, LUTCF, CLU, ChFC, CRES, FSS, has announced the appointment of Josh O’Gara, CLU, ChFC, CFP, a Partner and Co-Founder at Prism Benefits, PBC, in Woburn, Mass., to serve on the NAIFA Board of Trustees effective immediately.

NAIFA is pleased to recognize two Diversity Champions for 2025: Danny O’Connell, LACP, of Dallas, Texas, and Christopher Potts, Sr., of Rock Hill, South Carolina. O’Connell and Potts will be honored along with other NAIFA award recipients at the 2025 Belong awards dinner on October 14 in Arlington, Virginia.

NAIFA’s Advisor Today is pleased to announce the winners of its annual 4 Under 40 awards: Nicholas Limongelli, CLU, of NAIFA-New York; S. Grayson Owen, CLU, REBC, of NAIFA-Georgia; Carson Porter, CFF, FSS, RICP, LUTCF, CHLU, of NAIFA-Nevada; and Rachel Sayyad of NAIFA-Maryland.

NAIFA is proud to announce that Shane Westhoelter, AEP, CLU, LUTCF, LACP, the Founder and CEO of Gateway Financial Advisors, LLC., Gateway Insurance Group, Inc, and Gateway Insurance & Financial Services, LLC in Albuquerque, N.M., is the 2025 recipient of NAIFA’s Terry Headley Lifetime Defender Award.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) is thrilled to announce that Richard “Rick” Demko, CLU, ChFC, RICP, AEP, LUTCF, LACP, has been named the 2025 Young Advisor Team Leader of the Year. This award celebrates outstanding leadership, dedication, and impact within the financial advisory industry, recognizing individuals who exemplify the highest standards of excellence.

NAIFA is pleased to announce five new inductees into the NAIFA Hall of Fame. The NAIFA Board of Trustees authorized the creation of the Hall of Fame last year to recognize and celebrate members whose extraordinary service and contributions represent the legacy of the most accomplished, impactful, and inspirational members of the NAIFA family.

The 2025 NAIFA Hall of Fame Inductees are:

• Peter C. Browne, LUTCF*
• Ben Feldman*
• Terry K. Headley, LUTCF, FSS, LIC*
• Robert M. Nelson, CLU, LUTCF, FSS
• Lester A. Rosen*

NAIFA’s Committee on Governance has nominated Carina Hatfield, LUTCF, CLCS, LACP, agency owner of Weigner Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. in Pottstown, Penn., to be the 2026 NAIFA Secretary. Hatfield, who currently serves on the Life Happens Council and NAIFA’s National Membership Committee and Government Relations Committee, is a NAIFA-National Trustee and Past President of NAIFA-Pennsylvania. She has been a NAIFA member since 2005. As incoming Secretary, Hatfield will be in line to serve as President-Elect in 2027 and President in 2028.

Robert A. Miller, M.S., M.A., of New York City and Vero Beach, Florida, a retired Managing Partner at Miller-Pomerantz Insurance and Financial Services in New York City and NAIFA Past President, has been selected as the 2025 John Newton Russell Memorial Award recipient. 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. Miller will be celebrated and formally presented the award at NAIFA’s Belong Dinner, October 14 in Arlington, Virginia.