In a year when "growth" has meant"flat" and economic recovery remains frail, the fact that almost1,000 attendees came to Kansas City last week for the Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet) TENCon, theannual meeting of the Applied Systems users group, proves theorganization's success and the resilience of its volunteer members,who represent more than 80,000 insurance professionals in 11countries.

The commitment of ASCnet volunteers helped drive significantimprovements in usage and training over the past year, saidoutgoing ASCnet chair Mike Montgomery, senior associate developmentconsultant for Lockton Companies, LLC, in a keynote addressWednesday. Gains included more than 18.7 million real-timetransactions, increased educational opportunities, and improvedrelationships with carrier partners. And a new program, the"Real Time 21 Day Challenge," is designed to helpagencies improve workflow and fully utilize their systems.

Montgomery said the proliferation of committee activity duringhis tenure demonstrated the commitment of ASCnet volunteers. Forexample, the education committee developed more than 50 new courseofferings for TENCon, as well as webinars and other learningexperiences for members throughout the year.