VIEWPOINT
Are We There Yet?
John J. Healy, CAE
Anyone who has traveled with kids
on those end-of-the-summer
road trips, when the car is packed with
equal parts luggage and equal parts
anticipation, is all too familiar with
that question endlessly rising from the
backseat: “Are we there yet?”
As adults, we often want to give
sage advice to our kids, telling them that
they ought to worry less about the destination and try to enjoy the journey
more.
With the summer vacation season
rapidly winding to an end, we recall the
number of times NAIFA’s member investors report they have heard or even
asked that question themselves over the
past 12 months. As we continue the journey of transformation to take NAIFA to
the next level and create the new NAIFA,
it is very logical to ask ourselves: “Are we
there yet?”
NAIFA’s annual Convention and Career Conference this month serves as a
mile marker that the implementation of
NAIFA 21 has been under way for almost
365 days. NAIFA members and leaders
report that NAIFA 21 is fully integrated into the NAIFA enterprise across the
country.
NAIFA members, leaders and the
team at NAIFA headquarters have also
been hard at work fulfilling the four
brand promises that were first shared
with you at the September 2007 Convention and Career Conference in Washington, D.C. Those brand promises are:
• Further improvement of the value
proposition of NAIFA membership
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Dialogue and partnership
John J. Healy, CAE, is CEO of
NAIFA. He brings more than 25
years of experience and a track
record of leading organizational
change and creating customer
value.
During the Listen ‘N Learn tours over
the past 11 months, we’ve also heard
the continued outpouring of ideas, innovations and breakthroughs that are
happening at NAIFA local and state as-
sociations, as well as at the national level.
The initiatives that members have asked
for and the ideas that they have brought
forward have been heard and are being
implemented across NAIFA. There is a
new environment of “promises made …
promises kept” at NAIFA. There will be
more on this during the convention this
month.
The bottom line is that members tell
us that their confidence in NAIFA is restored and continues to grow. Hope is
back! NAIFA members and leaders are
motivated by what’s already been delivered by their NAIFA—their new NAIFA.
The innovations and new ideas that
are being piloted, test-driven and experimented with at the local and state levels, coupled with the new and improved
benefits of investing in NAIFA membership that have already been launched, will
help our member investors succeed and
prosper in the continuously changing
marketplace. In addition, they are repositioning NAIFA as the unequalled provider of the tools that our members need
to compete in the days, months and years
ahead.
Are we there yet? The short answer is
“no.” NAIFA’s journey of transformation
is far from over. However, the mile markers along the road are telling us that we
have already come a long way and have
made real progress.
I look for ward to seeing many of you in
San Diego this month, and to the promise of continuing to set NAIFA members
apart in the marketplace.
Enjoy the journey. The best is yet to
come!
Publisher & AVP, Communications
Lorri Ragan, APR; lragan@naifa.org
703-770-8203
Editor-In-Chief
Ayo Mseka; amseka@naifa.org
703-770-8204
Senior Editor
Julie Britt; jbritt@naifa.org
703-770-8206
Editor
Preeti Vasishtha; pvasishtha@naifa.org
703-770-8209
Art Director
Alberto Pacheco; apacheco@naifa.org
703-770-8249
Contributing Graphic Designer
Karen J. Sulmonetti; kjsulmonetti@naifa.org
703-770-8198
Production Director
Rhoda Geasland; rgeasland@naifa.org
703-770-8256
Western Sales Manager
David Foxwell; dfoxwell@naifa.org
703-770-8208
East Coast Advertising Sales
Judy Palmer; jpalmer@naifa.org
703-770-8211
Advertising Coordinator
Michelle Zaman; mzaman@naifa.org
703-770-8207
Advisor Today Fax: 703-770-8212
Reprints: 717-481-8500
EDITORIAL ADVISOR Y COUNCIL
Laurie A. Adams, CFP, CLU, LUTCF
Country Insurance & Financial Services
Brian Ashe, CLU
Brian Ashe and Associates, Ltd.
Frank Bearden, Ph.D., CLU, ChFC
Frank C. Bearden, Ph.D., Consulting
Greg Gagne, Ch FC, LUTCF
Affinity Investment Group, LLC
Michael Lynch
MetLife
John Marshall Lee, CLU, CFP, RHU
People Insurance & Investments
John Nichols, CLU, DIA
Disability Resource Group Inc.
Roland Panneton, FLMI
NAIFA Government Relations
Ike Trotter, CLU, CASL, ChFC
Ike Trotter Agency, LLC
John J. Healy, CAE, CEO
jhealy@naifa.org; 703-770-8101
Susan B. Waters, EDM, CAE, Deputy CEO
swaters@naifa.org; 703-770-8102
Lee A. Allen, VP, Communications and Marketing
leeallen@naifa.org; 703-770-8112
William Anderson, Sr. VP, Law & Government Relations
wanderso@naifa.org; 703-770-8193
Brendan Bernat, AVP, Member Services
bbernat@naifa.org; 703-770-8230
John Boyle, AVP, Sales and Meetings
jboyle@naifa.org; 703-770-8267
Michael Gerber, VP & General Counsel
mgerber@naifa.org; 703-770-8190
Michael Kerley, Sr. VP, Fed. Relations, NAIFAPAC & APIC
mkerley@naifa.org; 703-770-8155
Diane Powers, VP, Professional Development and Education
dpowers@naifa.org; 703-770-8226
Mark Rogers, VP, Information Services
mrogers@naifa.org; 703-770-8130
Steven Siesser, VP, Finance & Human Resources
ssiesser@naifa.org; 703-770-8119
Yasemin Washington Brown, VP, Membership
Marketing and Association Services
ywashingtonbrown@naifa.org; 703-770-8219
