GUAA Risk Review

GUAA Risk Review, Fall 2002

A Message from the President

By Teresa Robison
President, GUAA

Here we are again. Another year has passed and the insurance industry continues as a free enterprise, continuing to work with our customers to provide the peace of mind they are seeking. One of the ways we underwriters can keep the ideas fresh is to get away with our peers in the industry a couple of times a year and catch up on what's happening outside our own company's walls. GUAA is the perfect mechanism for doing this.

Yet again, this past June, our committees and board members put together an engaging program. Our keynote speaker, Bob Woodward, provided provocative insight into what's going on at the White House. His talk was insightful and at the same time, reminded us of how vulnerable we are in this world.

But, the essence of our program continues to be our committees and the workshops and presentations they put together. Our Let's Talk Shop workshops continue to be our most popular. In this tradition, there are at least six Let's Talk Shops planned for November in Denver.

Looking at our upcoming program, I am reminded of how valuable our committees are to all GUAA members. They are the backbone of our meeting success. Each of these committee members works very hard to ensure that we are intellectually stimulated throughout the course of our semi-annual conferences. Our committee chairs function not only as committee members, but are pressed to hold it all together. They coordinate the activities of their members, and then cross their fingers hoping that all the hard work leading up to a meeting is not in vain should Murphy appear.

Each time we end one of our conferences, I am reminded of the old adage that you get out of something what you put into it. This is so true for all of our volunteers. Our board is made up of quality dedicated individuals who take of their own time to handle all the back room tasks that are necessary to operate a successful organization. Our committee members, and in particular our committee chairs, are an extraordinary group of volunteers who also give of their time to ensure an interesting agenda is created for each GUAA meeting.

I encourage all of you who are not yet involved in one of our committees to think about what you would like to get out of our meetings. The best way to ensure that you get all you can out of the conferences is to get involved. Not only will you have a say in to what is presented, but you will enjoy an increased level of interaction with your peers. Networking is the second most cited reason our members state they value from being a GUAA member. Being a committee member heightens your experience on so many levels. With that, I'll say Westward Ho! See you in Denver!

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