» viewpoint
Cliff F. Wilson, CLU, ChFC, CLF, LUTCF
Time for Vigilance
Growing up on a farm in Idaho,
spring meant preparing the fields
and planting the crops. As the
temperature began to warm, the days grew
longer and the grass turned green; it was
an exciting time of year. It was time to
get to work, as there was not much to do
in the winter months. With the ground
frozen, winter was a time to repair equipment, go to the farm sales and tend to
things that were put off during the growing season.
Those relaxing winter months on the
farm are a sharp contrast to the last several
months at NAIFA. Your association has been
hard at work protecting your future and
developing programs to help you grow your
business. During the January Board meeting, your NAIFA Board focused on strategic
issues pertaining to membership, finance
and government relations. We held our first
fundraiser in many years; the entire Board
participated in this successful event.
In Austin, Texas, in late January, the
National Membership Committee met to
evaluate the membership campaign and
share ideas for a laser-focused second half.
At the same time and location, IFAPAC
and APIC held their training meeting.
More than 150 members and state executives participated in two days of training
to help them become better prepared to
advance the advocacy issues that affect us
all. The national PIC/PAC committees and
members of the Government Relations
staff conducted the meetings.
With a new Congress and a new president, our advocacy efforts have never been
more important. As I have said many times,
Congress has a monumental task in addressing the tax code, health-care reform
and the economy—not to mention Social
Security, Medicaid and Medicare. We must
be vigilant in our efforts to help our elected
leaders understand the value of our products to the American people and the value of
the work we do.
Tough six months
Since late September there has been little
good news. Almost every day we are reminded of job losses, business closings and
companies reporting lower earnings. The
financial markets—not only in this country,
but also internationally—are struggling.
The economy is affecting states, municipali-ties and all of us. These are indeed difficult
times, but we are a nation of resolute people
and we will overcome this as we have others
in the past.
When there seem to be so many challenges, there are often items of good news
that all too often get forgotten as the days
go by. Such an event happened on Jan.
15 when US Airways flight 1549 made an
emergency landing in the Hudson River,
with all 155 passengers and crewmembers
surviving. Although aided by some luck and
possibly other factors, the key was Capt.
Chesley Sullenberger. The passengers were
fortunate to have such a professional pilot at
the controls that day, one who loves what he
does and is committed to education, safety,
fundamentals and the basics. Simply said,
he strives to be the best he can be.
Now is a good time for each of us to do a
“gut check.” As individuals, are we committed to continuing education, engaging in
advocacy, learning and growing? When it
comes to helping our clients, are we striving
to be the best we can be? Think about it.
NAIFA OFFICERS
President
Cliff F. Wilson, CLU, ChFC, CLF, LUTCF
Southeast Arizona Insurance Services, Ltd.
cwilson@sazagency.com
President-Elect
Thomas D. Currey, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF
TDC Financial Services
tcurrey@sbcglobal.net
Secretary
Terry K. Headley, LUTCF, LIC, FSS
Headley Scott Associates
theadley@headleyscott.com
Treasurer
Peter C. Browne, LUTCF
Price, Raffel & Browne, Inc.
pbrowne@prbinc.com
Assistant Treasurer
Randy L. Scritchfield, CFP, LUTCF
Montgomery Financial Group, Inc.
randy@randyscritchfield.com
Immediate Past President
Jeffrey J. Taggart, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF
Taggart Company
jtaggart@taggartcompany.com
CEO
John J. Healy, CAE
jhealy@naifa.org
NAIFA TRUSTEES
Kenneth R. Evans, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF,
CFP, AEP
Principal Financial Group
Jules O. Gaudreau, Jr., ChFC, CIC
The Gaudreau Group, Inc.
Keith M. Gillies, CLU, ChFC, CFP
River Parishes Advisors Group, LLC
Roger S. McCullough, CLU
AXA Equitable
Juli McNeely, CFP, CLU, LUTCF
McNeely Financial Services, Inc.
Robert A. Miller, M.A., M.S.
Miller Pomerantz
John F. Nichols, CLU, DIA
Disability Resource Group, Inc.
Robert O. Smith, CLU, ChFC, J.D., LIC
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Russell A. Smith, CLU, ChFC, CFP, CSA
Torimax Financial Group, Inc.
Susan Diane Wier, CFP, ChFC, LUTCF
First American Trust
NAIFA SERVICE CORPORATION
OFFICERS AND DIREC TORS
President
John J. Healy, CAE
Secretary
Cliff F. Wilson, CLU, ChFC, CLF, LUTCF
Southeast Arizona Insurance Services, Ltd.
Treasurer
Peter C. Browne, LUTCF
Price, Raffel & Browne, Inc.
Assistant Treasurer
Randy L. Scritchfield, CFP, LUTCF
Montgomery Financial Group, Inc.
Directors
Allan G. Hancock, CLU, ChFC, CLF, AEP
The Hancock Group, Inc.
Mark D. Johnson, CLU, ChFC, RHU
Johnson Insurance Consultants
Cliff F. Wilson, CLU, ChFC, CLF, LUTCF, is
president of NAIFA and of Southeast Arizona
Insurance Services Ltd. and a general agent for
the American National Family of Companies in
Chandler, Ariz. A 33-year NAIFA member, he is
also a member of AHIA, SFSP and GAMA.
EDI TORIAL ADVISORY 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, ChFC, 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
