July 2014 Page 1

July 2014

President’s Perspective

Last Chaptergram I was hop-ing you have all survived this

long cold winter without incident. This Chaptergram I am hoping you haven’t been washed away by the spring rains and you had a chance to plant despite the chilly nights!Looking back since our last Chap-tergram we pulled off two more wonderful Monthly Meetings. Gail Audibert, resident CT insurance em-ployment expert, spoke at our April joint RIMS/CPCU Chapter meeting – she is a terrific resource and brings an incredible energy to the room. And then our May meeting held at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), featured Dr Henry Lee, world famous forensic scientist. This one was standing room only and Dr Lee brought the house down with his wisdom and wit. It was an in-credibly proud event for our Chapter and for CCSU. And all this followed by our June 2nd Annual CPCU Charity Golf Tournament. Once again it was

an incredibly successful event. The support we receive from the carri-ers, agent, vendors and individuals is nothing short of amazing. Look for more on the Tournament in this Chaptergram along with proof photos. It is never a dull moment in this Chapter!As we approach our “summer break” we will continue to work towards building a great fall for the Chapter. But before summer ends make sure to mark your calendar for our annu-al family event on August 16th. This one is a WIN-WIN as our Visibility Committee has arranged for us to volunteer at the CPTV Sports Craft Beer & Chili Challenge just before we attend a Rock Cats baseballgame. Volunteer time starts at 1:30pm and game time at 6:05pm. This is an event for not only our members but their families as well so bring the

spousal unit and the offspring! It should be a great day of fellowship. And looking ahead to fall we will resume our monthly meetings with breakfast on September 11th where we cover Kidnap & Ransom insur-ance. Then breakfast on October 9th with a return of the Arson Dog in celebration of Fire Prevention month. Then we hit our big event of the year – I Day and the combined New Designee & Past President Reception immediately followed by Conferment, Dinner and a special Key Note Speaker. It’s all happen-ing the afternoon (CE session) and evening of October 23rd. Then we wrap up 2014 with our December Annual dinner meeting on Decem-ber 11th capped with the election of your 2015 Board of Directors. One other very important event during the remainder of this year is

Jon Gice CPCUChapter President 2014

In this issue...President’s Perspective ................................................................................................ 1Annual CT Chapter Charity Golf Tournament ......................................................... 2April Monthly Meeting ............................................................................................. 4May Monthly Meeting .............................................................................................. 5Upcoming Education Seminars ................................................................................. 6Announcing Annual Meetings and Seminars for the Fall ........................................... 6Rockcats Event .......................................................................................................... 6Good Works & Community Involvement ................................................................. 7Meet Jennifer Santucci, CPCU, RPLU, API ............................................................ 102014 CPCU Society Leadership Summit by Nicone Gordon .................................. 10Champions Program – Alive and Well ..................................................................... 11A message from Governor Jill Gidge, CPCU ........................................................... 12Connecticut Chapter Officers & Directors 2014 ..................................................... 13

Connecticut Chaptergram

July 2014 Page 2

Annual CT Chapter Charity Golf Tournament

President’s Perspective (continued)our annual call for Board and Com-mittee Nominations for 2015. WE NEED YOU! If you have an interest in any of our Board or Committee positions please reach out to Noreen Kuziak at Noreen Kuziak at 860-

722-5697 or noreen_kuziak@hsb.com. My sincere thanks again to all that keep this Chapter great and my ears are always open to ideas on how we

can best serve all of our members. Please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or any of our Board or Com-mittee members. We are all out there on our website – check it out!

Once again we returned to Wampanoag Country Club on

June 2, 2014 with a perfect day of weather and a wonderful turn out of golfers while raising money for the multiple charities and scholarships that your CT Chapter supports!Our annual golf tournament serves as the main funding source for all of our charity work in the community. With your help, we have been able to raise just over of $17,500 this year! Every dollar of these funds go back into our community through our Good Works Committee. Our support for the following organizations plus the scholarships that we provide to two deserving students each year, have been able to make a difference in so many lives. We couldn’t do this without our incredible Golf Committee and numerous volunteers that help run the day and all related activities. We also couldn’t do this without the wonderful support of the Wampanoag Country Club staff – they have been terrific every year and we have already committed to return there once again next year. The following are the charities that benefited from the proceeds of this year’s Annual CT Chapter Charity Golf Tournament:• ASRC formerly ASCONN• CT Children’s Burn Camp

• Circle of Life • CT Fire Academy • Fidelco• Interval House• MALTA House of Care

Foundation• Salvation Army Adopt A Family• Scholarship - CT Chapter

members and families• Scholarship - CCSU Insurance-

Finance related majors.• St. Martin de Porres Human

Services• St. Philip House Mad Hatter

Auction• South Park Inn• The Bridge Family• Wheeler Clinic• Yale Pediatric Nephrology

DepartmentA special word of thanks to the following key Sponsors that have supported us year after year:

Gold Sponsors• AmWINS Brokerage of New

England• General Re Corporation

Liberty Mutual• The Hartford

Silver Sponsor• Lockton Companies

Olympus Holdings• SwissRe

Bronze Sponsors• Allied World Assurance

Chubb Group of Insurance Companies

• Hartford Steam & Boiler Inspection & Insurance Company

• New World Ventures• Zurich North America

Golf Ball Sponsor• Wolters Kluwer Financial

ServicesAnd thanks to the numerous Tee Sponsors and Foursomes that all helped make this happen.

July 2014 Page 3

Annual CT Chapter Charity Golf Tournament (continued)

July 2014 Page 4

April Monthly Meeting

The topic for our April monthly meeting was the current job

market for the Insurance industry. We had the privilege of having one of the most successful and well known recruiters for the Insurance and Financial Services industries – Gail Audibert, CPC (Certified Professional Consultant) – as our Guest Speaker!

Gail is President of Gail Audibert Associates, Inc and has over 25 years of experience in recruiting and consulting, placing individuals both locally and nationally for a very wide range of clients. Gail has been Presi-dent of Insurance National Search. She also spearheaded the organiza-tion’s merger with the National Insurance Recruiting Association, where she became Vice President and has served on the Board for over 20 years. Gail was selected for the Hart-ford Business Journal’s “Forty under Forty” award. No doubt, she knows this stuff inside and out!!During her presentation, Gail stated that there is a strong need for experi-enced professionals in the Insurance industry. What encouraging news for us CPCU members! Even with

that being said, we can always learn new ways to assist in advancing our careers. Some things Gail mentioned during her presentation:

How social media now plays a role in the job search, specifically LinkedIn.• It is the number one source for

recruiters to find candidates in the market.

• It gives candidates creditability. Recruiters look at candidates’ people connections and what the overall profile says about him/her.

• If you are not signed up for LinkedIn yet, it is worth your time to set up a profile now!

Be proactive in seeing what positions are available in the market.• This assists in understand-

ing your own marketability as a candidate. Do you have the skills that companies seek or is there room for you to develop in certain areas?

• It is a great way to know if your workload and compensation is in line with the overall market.

• The best jobs out there are not stagnant waiting to be filled. In-dividuals that actively search are going to find them first and thus will have the advantage.

Other miscellaneous advice included:• Memorize your “Elevator

Speech,” a short summary ex-

plaining your background which can be used at professional networking events, during inter-views, meetings with recruiters, etc. This exercise will assist in presenting yourself confidently any time opportunity arises.

• Always have your resume updat-ed so that it is ready to be sent out at any given time.

• Be honest, be yourself dur-ing interviews. Recruiters and interviewers want to get to know the real you. It is not hard to see right through lies or embellish-ments.

• Network, network and net-work more! Join and be actively engaged in professional organi-zations like the CPCU Society (!!) so that you can interact with your peers. This puts your name out there in the Industry and you may just find opportunities that you were not necessarily looking for.

We are so grateful to Gail for tak-ing time out of her busy schedule to spend the morning with us. The in-formation she provided was valuable and very pertinent. Of course her warm, engaging personality certainly made for an amazing presentation as well! To show our appreciation, we do-nated $100 to the Yale Pediatric Nephrology department on behalf of Liz Weber per Gail’s request.

July 2014 Page 5

May Monthly Meeting

The Connecticut CPCU Society Chapter, Inc. in collabora-

tion with the School of Business at Central Connecticut State University was honored to welcome Dr. Henry Lee, one of the world’s foremost forensic scientists, to speak on May 5. The event was held in the Con-necticut Room at CCSU and open to CPCU members, CCSU students and faculty as well as to the general public. Dr. Lee has an extremely impressive personal and professional back-ground and graciously shared his life experiences with the group. Born in China as the eleventh of thirteen children, he later fled China to Tai-wan with his family. Unfortunately, he lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother who took full parental duties of all thirteen children. Dr. Lee graduated from Central Police College and began working for the Taipei Police De-partment, rising to the rank of Cap-tain at the young age of 25 before coming to the United States with his wife, Margaret. Once in the US, he earned his B.S. in Forensic Science from John Jay College in 1972. He continued his studies in biochemis-try at NYU, earning his Masters De-gree in 1974 and his Ph.D. in 1975. He also joined the University of New Haven that same year as a professor, which is also where he eventually founded the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science. Dr. Lee was the Chief Emeritus for the Connecticut State Police during 2000-2010, was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the State from 1998-2000 and has served as the state’s Chief Criminalist from 1978-2000. In addition to public service,

he has been consulted on numerous high profile cases across the globe in-cluding the Kennedy Assassination, Jon Benet Ramsey death and White House Counsel Vincent Foster’s death to name just a few. Dr. Lee has been the recipient of over 900 Awards and 20 Honorary degrees. Even with such a remarkable profes-sional career, Dr. Lee’s presentation was marked with several references which highlighted his core values – prioritizing family, having a strong work ethic and being the voice for victims who are unable to tell their stories. Dr. Lee continues to travel the world to consult on cases, especially “if his mother insists,” as he stated! The presentation truly was inspirational to the packed house of listeners eager to hear his incredible story starting from his humble be-ginnings to his continued field work which has spanned for decades now. This was such a wonderful story and aligns with the values of our CPCU Society – promoting excel-lence through ethical behavior and continuing education. We thank Dr. Henry Lee for being our esteemed Guest Speaker and CCSU for host-ing this wonderful event! We also want to congratulate the recipients of the CPCU Society Chapter, Inc. scholarships who were presented with the prestigious awards at this event as well: Joseph Kaminski, Victoria Parisi (please refer to the Good Works Commit-tee section of this Chaptergram for details on these two incredible young people) and Sarah Bartucca, recipient of the Board of Direc-tors’ scholarship. Sarah, daughter of chapter member Deb Bartucca, is currently a freshman at CCSU. She

is a Math major with a concentration in Actuarial Sciences and has earned a GPA of 3.25. Sarah is an avid run-ner and participates in charity events to benefit Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Breast Can-cer Awareness. She works as a ski instructor at Mount Southington in the winter and at Lake Compounce in the summer in addition to being a hostess at Applebee’s. In her senior year of high school she participated in a school sponsored trip to Salerno, Italy where she attended a week of courses while also enjoying the sights of Salerno, the Amalfi Coast and Paestum. Throughout high school, Sarah was active on the Yearbook Committee and was co-editor for one year.

July 2014 Page 6

Upcoming Education Seminars

The Connecticut CPCU Society Chapter, Inc. is proud to be a

part of CCSU’s Insurance, Banking and Financial Services (IBFS) Initia-tive Boot Camp for the third con-secutive year! The goal of this boot camp is to give students an overview of the IBFS industry (e.g. account-

ing, finance, marketing, informa-tion systems and management) and is open to students from all majors within the CCSU Business School. The program runs August 18-22, 2014. We are thrilled to be involved with this Initiative since inception of the program in 2012 and look for-

ward to sharing information about the Insurance industry, the advan-tages of professional designations such as the CPCU along with the importance of networking in profes-sional organizations such as our very own CPCU Society.

September 11, 2014-BreakfastThe topic for our September meeting will be “Kidnap and Ransom” insur-ance. This is a very interesting cover-age that many are not aware even existed. Our speaker will be Khamla Vorasane from Lloyd’s of London who carries years of expertise in this area of focus.

October 9, 2014 – BreakfastOctober is Fire Prevention month and following this theme, we are pleased to welcome back the Con-necticut State Police Fire & Explo-sion Investigation Unit who will be bringing back special guests – Arson Sniffing dogs! We hope that you will be able to attend this meeting which

is sure to be informative and very entertaining!We look forward to seeing you at both these events. Please register in advance through our website /.

Join us on August 16th at 6:05pm for a double-header against the

Harrisburg Senators. There will be two 7 inning games with a half hour intermission. Before the game, a few members of the CT Chapter will be helping CPTV with their Beer and Chili Challenge starting at 1:30pm.

If you are interested in tickets for the game, then please contact Noreen Kuziak at 860-722-5697 or noreen_kuziak@hsb.com. Feel free to bring your friends and family to this event. It will be a lot of fun to advertise this important designation and great

organization, and to see our name in lights once again!

Announcing Annual Meetings and Seminars for the Fall

Rockcats Event

July 2014 Page 7

Good Works & Community Involvement

The members of the Good Works Committee are wrapping up

the final activities for the summer. We have been able to touch the lives of thousands of people in the greater Hartford area through the organiza-tions we support. Our mission was to make the most productive use of the funds we have to spend, and we have focused on providing a more meaningful level of support for our charities and scholarships. To ac-complish this we have reduced the quantity of donations, (really dif-ficult decisions), with corresponding increases in the dollar amount to each charity or community outreach activity. We also look to offer more volunteer activities to retain our in-fluence in the community. Volunteer events give CPCU the opportunity to have members seen supporting philanthropic efforts in the commu-nity, thereby personalizing CPCU’s outreaching efforts.The Good Works Committee’s pri-mary goal is to help meet the basic needs of the community. We take great pride in the selection and man-agement of community initiatives which also enhance the Chapter vis-ibility and give personal satisfaction to participating members. Our ability to provide charitable financial support is made possible based on the net proceeds from last year’s CT Chapter CPCU Annual Charity Golf Tournament. The net proceeds, which were just short of $19,000, are a great testimony to the strength and energy of our Golf Committee. Although monetary donations are extremely important to support Good Works, we also reach out to

volunteer for charitable organizations and local community groups Chapter visibility is further en-hanced by media coverage which includes articles published in the Hartford Courant, the Fire Academy website, and various other charitable websites. Event Programs for the Malta House Celebrating Wonder Women event, the Interval House Step Up and Out Gala, the St. Philip House Mad Hatter Auction and Wheeler Clinic’s Annual Evening of Wonder events. This year’s Good Works Activities were focused around the following categories:

Community EducationThe following donations were award-ed to promote excellence in educa-tion and leadership; and to promote CPCU visibility.$1,900 to the Connecticut Fire Academy in November presented by Committee member Alyce DeAn-gelo. This organization provides state of the art training to firefighters from Departments across the state. Proper Training is critical in mitiga-tion of damages and saving lives. The fire service also plays a crucial role in achieving more favorable out-comes and attaining high standards for local communities’ public protec-tion classifications. Our donations to the Academy are earmarked for the purchase of training equipment. This year we purchased two top prior-ity items on their wish list, a RIT (Rapid Intervention Training) Pack consisting of webbing, rope, pulleys and carabiners and 3 reciprocating corded Sawzalls ™ and blades. Both

sets of equipment were greatly need-ed to ensure trainees’ proficiency.Academic Scholarships – $6,000 in Scholarships were awarded at the May Dinner Meeting as follows:The Jerald C. Alexander Memo-rial Scholarship (available for CT Chapter membership and families). The quality of the candidates for the Chapter Members scholarship was awesome. Each application was exceedingly impressive – our Chap-ter members have certainly created a progeny of so many qualified super stars to reward. It was a very difficult decision to pick only one. $3,000 was awarded to Victoria Pari-si, the daughter of Chapter Member Nicholas Parisi. Victoria will attend Suffolk University in the fall, with a Major in Entrepreneurial Studies, and plans to go on to eventually earn her PHD. She is currently a Senior at the Sports & Medical Sciences Academy in Harford. Victoria has always had a severe chronic illness affecting all aspects of life, but she has maintained a cumulative 3.8 GPA, participates in multiple extra-curricular activities and is active in community service.

The Gert Sweeney Scholarship for Insurance-Financial Services Majors at CCSU – $3,000 was awarded to Joseph Kaminski, who will gradu-ate from CCSU in December with

July 2014 Page 8

Good Works & Community Involvement (continued)

a Major in Finance and Minor in Economics, with a GPA of 3.84. He plans a career in the Banking indus-try. Joseph has been on the Dean’s list every semester, and has won many awards for academic scholar-ship. He is an all-around student with multiple extracurricular activi-ties and community spirit.

The Arts A $666 donation to the Circle of Life Center is being presented by Committee member Lucy Albetski to support both Outreach and In-house community projects at Circle of Life in East Hartford. A series of opportunities are provided for young people to participate in multi-cultural dance classes, performances and other mediums of self-expression through movement. They build awareness of healthy life styles, including nutrition and movement/ exercise to develop creative choices for self-development. The programs target children and teens from 4 to 17 including special needs students. There is no cost to participants. An in-house and outreach program designed for Senior Citizens who want to remain healthy and young at heart is provided weekly. Every Friday afternoon is devoted to a ballroom dance socialization pro-gram for seniors. It consists of one hour professional ballroom dance lessons, a two hour social tea dance which includes desserts and bever-ages. Additionally, the Seniors act as mentors in the inter-generational Development Youth Programs. They also have opportunities to be in public town showcases and perform at Health Fairs, Churches and Senior Centers.

Community Outreach – activities to enhance the quality of life for those less fortunate than we.Our Volunteer initiative in De-cember was dedicated to the New Britain Salvation Army Adopt a Family Volunteer project. Our effort, orchestrated by Deb Bartucca was a rousing success, and most rewarding. Great teamwork was demonstrated within and outside the Commit-tee to get the job done efficiently. Thanks to all of our members who so generously supported this project. We were able to provide significantly more than what the individual fam-ily members requested!A $2,500 donation was presented to Hartford Interval House by Com-mittee member Ken Hall. Interval House was also the recipient of a wealth of “In kind” donations collected at the February Member-ship meeting. Thank you for your generosity in donating these items. Interval House is dedicated to pro-viding services to prevent and break the cycle of family and intimate partner abuse. Striving to reach all persons at risk and bring about social change. Residents can assess their personal situations and make choices for themselves and their children. On site, there are crisis counselors available to meet with the women upon arrival. Comprehensive do-mestic violence services are offered to all clients. Based on the size of our donation, we qualified as a Gold Sponsor, with recognition in the organization’s Step Up and Out Gala program.

Children and Families – the follow-ing organizations were recipients this year. $1,000 donated to St. Martin de Porres House in October. This is a Hartford based community outreach facility that provides support for families and children in need. It de-pends solely on contributions and is staffed by volunteers. Fully 100% of every dollar donated is used to house the homeless, feed the hungry and work with the children. Children’s activities are a keen focus. After school sessions include homework, reading, playing games and eating healthy snacks, in a loving, accept-ing atmosphere. Teens are actively engaged in assisting the younger children with their homework and snack preparation. On Saturdays the emphasis is on sports, and children also learn about social responsibility and often assist with upkeep of the premises, such as raking leaves.$1,000 to The Bridge Family Center, presented by Committee Member Kirsten Misner on April 28th. The Bridge Family Center is a nonprofit organization that provides a broad range of services for children, teens, and their families. Founded in 1969, the Bridge has grown from a drop-in youth counseling center to a com-prehensive, regional family service agency. It provides young people throughout the Greater Hartford region with positive, healthy inter-vention and prevention activities that teach self-esteem, conflict resolution, teamwork, and respect for the com-munity while providing intellectual challenges, supervised risk-taking, and an appreciation for diversity.

July 2014 Page 9

Good Works & Community Involvement (continued)Community/HealthTo support worthy organizations that aspire to improve the quality of life. $1,000 donation presented by Com-mittee member Lee Hay on April 27 at The Mad Hatter Auction fund-raiser to support St. Philip House. This organization provides safe and affordable housing for those who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and are at risk of homeless-ness. They strive to increase commu-nity awareness through education, render support services to people living with HIV/AIDS and their loved ones and encourage empower-ment in an atmosphere of compas-sion, respect, and caring. The main residential building in Plainville has 12 one bedroom units with a beauti-ful sunroom that is used for social gatherings for clients and group meetings. Each unit includes the ba-sics for cooking and living. St. Philip House also has units in Bristol, New Britain, and Hartford. Additionally the housing program allows them to subsidize rentals throughout the Central Connecticut region. $1,000 donation to the Malta House of Care Mobile Medical Clinic, pre-sented by Committee Member Deb Bartucca, on May 28th. They pro-vide free primary health care to the uninsured, and deliver that health care through operation of a mobile care vehicle that has a fixed schedule in four distinct neighborhoods across the City of Hartford. Through a dedicated cadre of volunteer physi-cian, nurse and non-medical volun-teers, the Clinic has provided over 25,000 patient visits to date, with about 10% of individuals identifying Malta House of Care as their only

medical home. Our $1,000 donation afforded the CT Chapter enhanced visibility as it qualified us for an ad in the program of their Wonder Women fundraiser event in May, and the Chapter logo is listed on their website as a donor. $1,000 donation to Wheeler Clinic in Plainville, presented by Commit-tee member Betty Shepard. Wheeler Clinic is Connecticut’s leading na-tionally accredited community-based non-profit organization, serving indi-viduals and families during all stages of life. They provide compassionate,

quality care that delivers consistent, measurable results. Services include mental health and substance abuse recovery, primary care, child welfare, community justice, early childhood, education services and prevention. They also operate the Wheeler Em-ployee Assistance Program, Thera-peutic Foster Care and the Connect-icut Center for Prevention, Wellness and Recovery.$1,000 donation to the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation Inc., a non-profit Bloomfield based, internation-ally recognized leader in the guide dog industry. Committee member Mary Louise Houghton-Polo is making the presentation this month. The donation will subsidize a train-ing kennel for one year in support of the Foundation’s Sponsor a Kennel Program. A plaque stating “Donated by the Connecticut CPCU Society

Chapter Inc.” is placed on the ken-nel. A $340 face value Raffle prize was donated to the February 2014 All Industry Night Blue Goose Society Auction. The donation afforded Greens fees, Golf cart, Lunch and Dinner for a twosome at our An-nual Charity Golf Tournament. This year, all Raffle proceeds were divided equally to benefit both the Autism Services and Resources of Connecti-cut (ASRC formerly ASCONN); and the CT Children’s Burn Camp.The Good Works Committee is indebted to the members of the Golf Committee, most especially, and to all of our dedicated Chapter volunteers, for all the hard work you do. Your support makes it possible to spread the word of the Chapter’s commitment to making a positive impact in our local communities.Members of 2014 Good Works Committee: Lucy Albetski, Deb Bartucca, Ken Hall, Lee Hay, Claire Kornegay, Kirsten Misner, Mary Louise Houghton-Polo, Elizabeth Shepard, Christine Williams, Esther Zinolli – Chair; and Alyce DeAngelo – Direc-tor.

July 2014 Page 10

Meet Jennifer Santucci, CPCU, RPLU, API

2014 CPCU Society Leadership Summit by Nicone Gordon

I am excited to have the role of Sec-retary for the CT Chapter Board

after holding the position of Director of Membership. I joined the board in 2012 after completing my CPCU in 2011. I also hold the Registered Professional Liability Underwriter designation (RPLU) and the Associ-

ate in Personal Insurance designation (API). I have worked at Chubb Insurance for 12 years where I began work as a specialty lines underwriter out of college. I have worked my way up through various positions out of our Simsbury office. I am currently an AVP responsible primarily for our Healthcare and Labor Management Trust underwriters. The CPCU designation has broad-ened my network as well as provided me insight into the commercial side of insurance. I’ve always worked in

the specialty lines and it is impor-tant to me to be well rounded and continue my education in the differ-ent lines of business. The continuing education offered by the CPCU So-ciety and the Institutes has allowed me to do that.I hold a BA in History from Saint Joseph College and an MS in In-surance Management from Boston University. I am looking forward to my new role as Secretary and hope to meet many of you at future CPCU events!

This year, I had the great plea-sure of representing the CT

Chapter at the 2014 CPCU Society Leadership Summit held in Phoe-nix, Arizona from April 24 – 26. What an amazing experience! As a first-timer to this event, I was im-pressed by the level of commitment of the Society towards developing our Chapter Leaders and building sustainable and dynamic Chapters across the world. There were over 300 attendees and Chapter Leaders present from over 90 Chapters, in-cluding Europe, India and Bermuda.On Thursday the 24th, the Sum-mit began with meetings for various groups and committees including Executive Committee and Leader-ship Council. For most attendees, the start was really the lunch session with a powerful speaker, Drew Dud-ley, who gave a presentation on Re-defining Leadership and the Power of “Lollipop” Moments where he essentially discussed how leadership involves those moments when we

make someone else’s life fundamen-tally better. We next had a choice of attending sessions on Building and Leading Effective Performance Teams, Engaging and Retaining Millenials or New Leader Training: CPCU Society 101. After lunch, the sessions involved topics such as Effective Relationships, Volunteer Best Practices and Overview of the CPCU Society’s 2013 Member Sur-vey Results. We had a great Fiesta welcome reception following.On Friday the 25th, the summit was equally interesting with a focus on strategic initiatives by the CPCU So-ciety. The sessions included topics on Using Motivation and Engagement to Ensure Chapter Interest, Inter-est Group and Committee Success, Member Recruitment, Retention and Engagement as well as Conduct-ing Successful Connections Vists and being an Effective Champion and Social Media Best Practics. It was very interesting to listen to and share ideas with other leaders as to

methods that they have employed successfully in these areas. At the end of the day, for the Closing Gen-eral Session, we heard from another dynamic speaker, Jim Abbott, who presented on the topic of overcom-ing adversity by sharing his real life experiences. He was born in 1967 without a right hand and became an All-America hurler at University of Michigan and the pitcher for the gold medal baseball team in the 1988 Summer Olympics in 1988 among other amazing feats and ac-complishments. The end of the day was a blast: the Closing Reception which was Southwest themed and we dressed up in our Cowboy and Cowgirl gear and learned some awe-some country dance moves!All in all, attending the Summit was a very motivational experience and I look forward to employing the learnings as a Chapter Leader and President in 2015.

July 2014 Page 11

With all of the changes at the larger CPCU Society as well

as at the Chapter level, it is easy to forget important programs that help to sustain the mission of the Society. The Champions Program is, in my mind, a grassroots program as it is specifically tailored to a particular company. Champions are employees who identify, coordinate and imple-ment activities that highlight the CPCU designation and the Society for their company and fellow col-leagues. Per the website, the pro-gram is meant to “facilitate two way communication between the CPCU Society and its’ member employer organizations.” This helps the Soci-ety in two specific ways, according to the website. The first is to “engage active members to champion the benefits of the CPCU designation and the Society”, and the second is to help the Society “stay up-to-date

on the evolving needs and issues of our members’ organizations.” So, in essence, a Champion takes the CPCU ‘temperature’ of their compa-ny and provides that feedback to the Society via an easy on-line form.What does it take to be a Champi-on? It’s as easy as raising your hand, and filling out an on-line form. To find out more about the program and to fill out the on-line form in order to be identified as a Champion for your company, go to and type in Champion in the community search field. Once you go to the Champions site, the program application is at the bottom of the screen. The ap-plication is very thorough to go over the points of being a Champion: Develop, Communicate, Promote and Serve. From there, you make the determination of whether you want to be a Champion. I hope you will decide to become a Champion

for all of the benefits. As the website states, you will “gain visibility and status within your organization” and you will “gain recognition within the CPCU community. Plus you will get 15 CPD (Continuing Profes-sional Development) points for your efforts. You can never lose by being a Champion!If you are interested in becoming a Champion, or if you want to see if someone is already a Champion at your company, you can view the list on the Champions website. As some-one who has done many activities over the years to highlight the des-ignation and the Society, please feel free to give me a shout at . I would love to help identify and foster more Champions who tend to be individu-als who are promoting the designa-tion and Society anyways, and they might as well get the recognition for it!

Champions Program – Alive and Well

July 2014 Page 12

Well, spring finally came with all its lush, fresh greens and

seasonal flowers…and then went, at least temperature-wise! But it will return and stay. I am certain of this!I have to apologize for “wimping out” on the Leadership Summit in Phoenix. I truly wanted to be there – and my heart and thoughts were there – but due to a severe sinus infection and acute bronchitis triggered by the sever spring pollen contracted 4 days prior to my flight to Phoenix my physician wouldn’t let me fly (serious unhappiness but the right decision)! I hope it was a great networking and, learning, and fun experience.Our Annual Meeting and Seminars is fast approaching September 19-24 at the Anaheim Hilton in Anaheim, CA. Registration is now open on the CPCU web site. Make sure to register early to get the discounted registration rate and take advantage of the blocked rooms at convention rate at the hotel! A reminder that our

keynote speaker will be Magic John-son who I have heard is a fantastic speaker and very inspirational. And for me – serious Mickey-freak that I am – the hotel is almost on top of Disneyland (there must be an excur-sion for at least a couple of hours!)! I’ll be attending Annual Meeting and hope to see many of you there also!Congratulations to all of your new designees who have already quali-fied for the CPCU Class of 2014 and wishes for success for those candi-dates working to make the “final cut”! I know the Chapter is working to engage these valuable resources with their special talents and gifts! I haven’t seen the candidate recruit results yet, but know you focused well as there. Candidate members and New Designees add strength and knowledge to the Chapter and the Society – they are our future!Reminder, once again, to all: Con-tinuing Professional Development (CPD) is important! If you haven’t updated your CPD, do so now! You need to “re-up” every two years (your first CPD was when you received your CPCU conferment). If you don’t know if you’re CDP-qualified, log into your profile page on the Society’s website and it will tell you if you are and when your

current qualifying term expires. You can access the CPD application and complete it online through the Society’s web site or print off a copy, fill it in and mail it. CPD qualifica-tion is EASY! Be sure to let your chapter officers know that you are CPD qualified! And CPD activities oftentimes fulfill or supplement the Circle of Excellence Chapter Plan!I’m looking forward to visiting with as many of you over the summer and into early fall as possible. Remember that I am YOUR liaison to the Lead-ership Council and National CPCU for you, and will help whenever and however I can if you have concerns or difficulties – even if it’s just my sympathies as some of the more “technical” IT-based issues that have arisen in the past and keep cropping up from time to time are way be-yond my ken. I am toying with the wild idea of trying to gather all the leaders (and any other members who want to join) from my four Chapters (Connecticut, Northeastern NY, Rhode Island, Westchester-Fairfield NY) somewhere as central as possi-ble for a day or an afternoon possibly in July or August. If there is interest, please let me know as soon as pos-sible, and I’m open to suggestion as to where (I was thinking a non-fee public park or recreational area, etc. rather than a hotel or restaurant).

A message from Governor Jill Gidge, CPCU

July 2014 Page 13

Connecticut Chapter Officers & Directors 2014

PresidentJon Gice, CPCU, ARM, SCLA, CRC, CDMS Travelers Work Phone: 860-277-0461

Vice PresidentKen Hall, CPCU, AIS Work Phone: 860-523-0019

SecretaryNicone Gordon, Esq, CPCU, AIS Travelers Work Phone: (860) 954-5304

TreasurerPaul Sweet, CPCUMunich Re / Hartford Steam BoilerWork Phone: 860-722-5086

Director EducationOahn Nguyen CPCU Travelers Work Phone: (860) 954-2426

Director, New DesigneesAlicia C. PangbornTravelersWork Phone: (860) 277-0377

Director, Candidate DevelopmentLee Hay, CPCU Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc.Work Phone: (860) 683-8214

Director, Community InvolvementAlyce DeAngelo, CPCU

Director, MembershipJennifer Santucci, CPCU Chubb Work Phone: (860) 408-2879

Director, VisibilityDiane Carpenter, CPCU Travelers Work Phone: 860-277-6166

Immediate Past PresidentNoreen Kuziak, CPCU, ARe, AIS Munich RE / The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company Work Phone: 860-722-5697

Regional GovernorJill Haynes Gidge, CPCU, CIC, CISR, CRIS, AAI, ACSR, AAM, AIT, CPIW, AIS Insure-Ed Work Phone: 603-882-3629

Back RowPaul SweetJon GiceKen Hall

Middle RowNicone GordonAlicia PangbornJennifer SantucciLee HayAlyce DeAngelo

Front RowDiane CarpenterJill GidgeOanh Nguyen