The National Fraternal Congress of America announced that JosephJ. Annotti, currently senior vice president, public affairs forProperty Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), has beenhired as its new president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Annotti is due to take up his position with the Oak Brook,Ill.-based group on March 24.

During his tenure at PCI, Mr. Annotti served as the group's mainspokesman and was responsible for the overall management of theassociation's public affairs and media relations activities, anddeveloped and delivered public policy messages on the association'skey issues to the trade, business and consumer media.

Prior to joining PCI, Mr. Annotti served as vice president ofmarketing communications for American Business Insurance insurancebrokerage. He spent more than eight years with IndependentInsurance Agents and Brokers of California as vice president ofpublic affairs.

Mr. Annotti fills a position vacant since May of last year whenFrederick H. Grubbe resigned. Since that time, the management ofthe NFCA has been overseen by Interim President and CEO Bob Huxel.Mr. Annotti will work together with Mr. Huxel to ensure a smoothtransition into this office, as Mr. Huxel will resume his post asNFCA government affairs director.

“Working with the NFCA members and staff, I hope to contributeto the expansion of the fraternal system and to make certain thatpublic policymakers at all levels understand the importantaltruistic and economic contributions made by these organizations,”said Mr. Annotti.

The 122-year-old NFCA includes 74 not-for-profit fraternalbenefit societies with 10 million members and 37,000 chaptersoperating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada,including such groups as the Knights of Columbus and Thrivent.

Fraternal benefit societies provide their members withleadership, social, educational, spiritual, patriotic, scholarship,financial and volunteer-service opportunities. The NFCA'smember-societies maintain more than $329 billion of life insurancein-force and, in 2006 alone, contributed almost $410 million tocharitable and fraternal programs and volunteered nearly 95 millionhours for community-service projects.