A mission-minded message

As we reach the end of my 2017-2018 term, I want to personally extend my gratitude to all the MAIA members, board members and executive committee members that have made this an amazing and eventful year for our association. It has been a privilege and honor to serve as president of this wonderful association. Through MAIA, I have seen what is possible when we connect our members’ passions with identified goals and efforts.

Today our organization thrives with independent producers, agency owners and their staffs who aspire to grow personally and professionally through our engagement with each other. Through this engagement, our association has had an impact in our community and in our industry.

At the annual planning meeting in May, part of what the board of directors worked on was revising MAIA’s mission statement to reflect what we do and where we want the association to focus its efforts going forward. The result was this: "MAIA educates, informs, promotes and advocates for independent agents and their clients, encourages networking, high standards, and works to perpetuate the independent agency system." There are many members at MAIA that assist in our success and they work very hard to ensure that we are accomplishing the mission of our association.

My admiration and gratitude go to our 2017-2018 board of directors and executive committee for their leadership and commitment. They have worked hard to ensure MAIA continues on a remarkable path. Their guidance, knowledge and ability to go above and beyond have been an inspiration to me.

A big thanks also goes out to our 2017-2018 committee members for volunteering and helping our association to be a wonderful place for our members to lift each other up to become the best they can be. Their input is vital to planning conferences and education programs that provide agents with valuable information and networking opportunities. And the articles written by committee members that appear in each Missouri Agent magazine provide a wealth of information.

To our MAIA CEO Matt Barton and MAIA staff, who continue to work tirelessly for our association and its continued success ... my gratitude.

Someone once said, "Excellence is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution and the vision to see the obstacles as opportunities."

You all have been the anchors in encouraging me to believe that anything is possible. My hope is that you feel as proud of being a part of this amazing association as I do and what we are able to accomplish in our state and industry.

My sincere thanks for all your support of MAIA this past year, and what I’m sure will be your continued support to keep the association moving forward toward a bright future. Best wishes for a successful and prosperous future.