One of the things I've learned from being a lifelong resident ofthe great state of Louisiana has been the importance of community.Every state in the nation values it, but when you live below sealevel in the path of periodic killer hurricanes, the bonds betweenneighbors grow even stronger in the face of adversity—no matterwhere that is.

As professional insurance agents, we compete with each other butare drawn together by common purposes. We need more markets. Weneed to partner with quality carriers. We want to be sure thatlegislation and regulation doesn't hurt our agencies, or give ourdirect-writer competitors an unfair advantage. We have anobligation to our communities to protect them.

Every decade or so, consulting firms predict the demise of theindependent agency distribution system. Most recently, McKinseyproclaimed “the end of an era for the local insurance agent.” Butsuch attempts by our competitors to sound the death knell forindependent agents never succeed, because customers continue tovalue what we provide.

PIA conducted research in conjunction with our agency-companycouncil, The PIA Partnership, on the preferences of personal linesinsurance customers nationwide. The findings showed that we providewhat these customers want. PIA is conducting similar research intothe preferences of small- and midsize-commercial insurancecustomers, with results slated for release in 2015.

The continuing success of the agency distribution system comesdown to one word: local. While banking is conducted globallybecause currency is fungible and can be traded around the world ata keystroke, insurance will always be local, because all insuredrisk is local. That's another reason why people will always valuetheir local insurance agents.

Being a professional insurance agent is a noble calling. It isone in which we can make a good living helping our neighborsprotect their property, their assets and their lives. It doesn'tget any better than that.

So as I humbly but proudly accept the baton of the national PIApresidency, having been chosen by my peers to serve PIA and ourprofession for the next year, I find inspiration and perspectivefrom a quote by Pope Francis: “Being elected is not a reward orhonor, but a call to service.” Amen to that!