Indiana YAC Again Garners Two Prestigious National Awards

The IIABA National YAC Committee hands out awards annually in five specific categories, as well as awards for the overall outstanding committee and a runner up. Indiana has received a total of 14 national awards of excellence over the last nine years – the most by far of any state, including the Outstanding Committee three times and Runner Up twice.  

For the Outstanding Young Agents Committee Meeting Award, Indiana was recognized as having the best Young Agent meeting in the country for the quality and creativity of the 2009 Indiana YAC Conference, which was held at the French Lick Springs Resort in French Lick, IN on June 3-5, 2009. Attendees of this year’s Conference were treated to classes providing nine hours of agent continuing education credit, the annual YAC spring golf outing, a bowling and pizza party, an outrageous scavenger hunt, a Karaoke party, and numerous other networking opportunities. The quality and variety of the events and continuing education programs at the Conference, in addition to a strong attendance of 120 people and extremely strong financial and attendee support from many of Indiana’s independent agent companies and brokers, combined to make the 2009 Indiana YAC Conference the best in the country.

For the Outstanding Committee Project Award, Indiana was rewarded for its efforts toward raising more than $4,000 to help send five-year-old Zane Williams and his family to Disney World through the Indiana Make-A-Wish foundation. Indiana YAC “adopted” Zane, who is afflicted with a life-threatening disease called Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy Complex 1 Deficiency, in October 2008 with the goal of raising as much money as possible to fulfill his wish of going to Disney World for Star Wars Weekend. Indiana YAC raised money at each of its events during late 2008, starting with the YAC Booth at the 2008 IIAI State Convention Exhibit Show in November and culminating with a major fundraising push at the 2009 Indiana YAC Conference. This was an excellent project that allowed Indiana YAC and its members and supporters to help a young boy, and his family, who is going through an extremely difficult ordeal. The outstanding results of this project garnered Indiana YAC the award for the best YAC committee project in the country.

Those IIAI members in attendance at the ceremony to help Indiana receive the award were: 2009-2010 Indiana YAC Chair David George from Morrison Galliher in Muncie; Andy Beauchamp, who also assumed the position of IIABA National YAC Chair at this meeting, from Beauchamp McSpadden in Warsaw; Bev Barney, IIAI State National Director from Coapstick Insurance in Frankfort and her husband Terry; Mike Miley, 2009-2010 IIABA Chair-Elect from Gibson Insurance in Plymouth and his daughter Margaret; Addie Wood, 2009-2010 Indiana YAC Vice-Chair from Smith Sawyer Smith in Rochester; IIAI Executive Vice President Roger Ronk and his wife Kathy; and IIAI Vice President of Government Affairs and Indiana YAC Staff Liaison Steve Duff.

“We are extremely excited and humbled to be recognized by the National YAC Committee as the recipients of these two awards,” said David George. “We work extremely hard to make our YAC Committee the best that it can be to the end benefit of our members. It is very gratifying to me and all of our members that our hard work is rewarded by receiving these awards, especially in light of the tremendous things that many YAC groups across the country are doing.”

“On behalf of Indiana YAC and the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana, I would like to thank the IIABA and the National YAC Committee for recognizing our state and our activities, it is an incredible honor to be acknowledged in this manner,” concluded George.

For more information on becoming a member of, or sponsoring the award winning Indiana Young Agents Committee, please contact Steve Duff at duff@bigi.org.