GUAA :: Risk Review

Doesn't growing up in Iowa automatically make you one of those creepy
“Children of the Corn” that Stephen King warned us about?
Stephen King did try and warn people about Iowans. I don't consider myself that creepy though.

Tell us about your family.
I have been married to my wife, Jan for 18 years. We have 3 wonderful children. Brad is 14, Amanda is 12 and Andy is 8. They were all also born in Iowa, so they have that going for them. All 3 are very involved in athletics, the boys especially into baseball and our daughter stays busy with volleyball. Brad is also a wide receiver on the freshman football team this year.

Tell us about your duties at Minnesota Mutual.
I am primarily involved with sales at Minnesota Life. I manage and have responsibility for the Northeast part of the country for sales and some service of are large employer clients.

What is your primary role as GUAA's President?
I think my primary role as President of GUAA is making sure the rest of the Board gets along. Just kidding, we have a great group of people who form the GUAA Board of Directors. It is not a glamorous job and can be a lot of work in preparing for our 2 meetings a year. The role of the President is to generally make sure the association is running smoothly and assisting in managing all functions, from programming to the financials of the organization. We meet face-to-face three times a year to coordinate the direction of GUAA. We also participate in several conference calls throughout year. We operate on behalf of our members and strive to bring together the best meetings we can at a strong value. We are proud of the job we have done in working with our committees to bring value to our members. I think the system works pretty well.

Where would you like to see GUAA as an organization in 3 years?
I am extremely proud of the work we have done in the last several years and would like to see the growth in membership and attendance continue. Our joint meeting this past May with the Society of Actuaries was a tremendous success and I see us partnering with them again. While we started over 30 years ago as an association, we obviously were catering to the group underwriter. While we have evolved over the years to move a bit outside the true underwriting function, we have always tried to stay in that circle as much as possible. Moving forward, I would like to see the association retain this base, yet widen the circle a bit. I think what we have to offer can attract and benefit others who may be in the group insurance industry, but not directly involved in the underwriting function. Our partnering with SOA is a good example of that and I would like to see that continue to evolve.

What do you see as GUAA's biggest challenge?
I think the biggest challenge that we have is to continue to provide a high level of value for our members. While we all have paying jobs that we need to spend the vast majority of our time with, we all strive to make GUAA the best it can be. Value for our members is at the forefront of that effort. The other challenge that I have seen and that we are working right now to overcome, is making it easy for our members to register for meetings. Many will agree that we have lagged in that area and I am proud to say that we are working diligently on this and our members can expect to see some changes for the better very soon, including a true way to register and pay on-line.

You've been attending GUAA for years.
Do you have a favorite GUAA story or memory?
Wow, yes, I have been attending for years. About 10 or 11 now. Probably too many stories to go into detail with here. I could mention names, but I won't. I think some of the most memorable times for me have involved the speakers that we have been able to retain in the last several year. Most notably, Bob Woodward. Who would have thought that we when he spoke to us, we were only a few year away from discovering who "Deep Throat" was. Meeting some of these people has been very memorable for me personally.

Can you explain why you're a Red Sox fan when you live and work in Minnesota?
From an ousider's perspective, it doesn't make any sense.
You are right, it does not make any sense. An Iowa farm boy, living in Minnesota, being a Red Sox fan. I am also proud to say that my kids have followed in my footsteps. We had the chance to meet some of the Red Sox players this year, and we got a chance to go down to their locker room after they played the Twins here this summer. Now, with the best movie ever made, "Fever Pitch" now out on video, the fun continues. In terms of explaining it, I guess it goes back to who I liked as a little boy. My favorite players were Jim Rice, Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans and I never quit believing. I've been a big baseball fan all my life and played in high school and college. While I did not wait the entire 86 years for a World Series championship, I do feel like I waited a long time. And, to all those Yankee fans who belong to GUAA, we won't wait near that long for the next one.