As the incoming president of IASA, I am filled with manyemotions. As a volunteer at IASA for years, I have seen manypresidents serve their terms, and am humbled by their legacy. As aninsurance professional for over thirty years, I am honored to beselected to head up the premier education organization in ourindustry.

My first official duty as the president-elect was to pick atheme for next year’s conference that we would use all year uponreturning from Nashville. As I pondered the theme for my year, Ithought about what it is that has uniquely allowed me to get tothis place—what has informed my life and my career and could bestset the context for my presidency.

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As I look back at my career, I know that many things havecontributed to my achievements and accomplishments. I thought aboutmy education, my intelligence, my people skills, and just dumbluck. But at the end of the day, I believe that what has made themost difference in my effectiveness is my attitude. I am one ofthose people for whom the glass is always half full; I always seethe future as filled with possibilities. And I work to engenderthat attitude in everyone who works with me.

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So I knew that I needed a theme that reflected this orientation.I needed a theme that was “aspirational” if notinspirational. And so, Achieve Greatness is ourtheme for the upcoming year. It really resonates for me on manylevels. It implies that greatness is attainable. It implies thateveryone can attain it. And it sets the bar at a very high place—fome, for you, for IASA, for your career, and for your life.

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Achieving Greatness requires much. It requires hard work, itrequires passion, it requires integrity, it often requirescollaboration and creativity. It requires believing—in yourself, inyour goals and in your capabilities. I hope you will all join methis year in aiming high, dreaming big, and living your life likeit makes a difference. And I hope you will partner with the IASA tohone your skills, to make new connections, to identify new bestpractices, and to contribute to your colleagues and to the industrythat sustains us all.

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