In addition to providing a premier networking and meeting venuefor member firms, the 2015 NAPSLO Mid-Year Leadership Forum—set forFeb.23-25 in Miami—will also offer attendees insights into animportant issue facing many insurance-industry leaders.

The challenge of effectively recruiting bright new talent intothe E&S industry is daunting. The question of how to not onlyrecruit and train the next generation of leaders but also how tomaximize their potential within an organization are mountingconcerns for many firms. NAPSLO Mid-Year Leadership Forum attendeeswill hear from an expert in how to best leverage the strengths of amultigenerational workforce during the event's LeadershipSession.

Kim Lear, director of content at BridgeWorks, will deliver thesession's keynote address. Lear is a strategist and researcher whoprovides research-based solutions for leaders looking to understandthe varying needs and desires of each generation in today'sworkforce. By doing so, she helps leaders bridge gaps amonggenerations in many organizations.

Members will also learn effective ways to harness the power ofthe Millennial generation as they enter the workforce and willeventually become an important piece in the succession-planningpuzzle. After Lear's session, attendees will be offeredon-the-ground insights from a panel of NAPSLO wholesale broker andcarrier leaders from various generations who encounter thesegenerational divides in their own businesses.

In addition to this session planned for the Mid-Year LeadershipForum, NAPSLO provides members with tools to help address thischallenge year-round. Our Career Awareness and Internship programsare first steps in that process. The NAPSLO team and members of theCareer Awareness and Internship Committee work to educate studentsat universities across the country about career opportunities inthe E&S industry. During 2014 these volunteers presented tomore than 2,000 students on 25 college campuses. These programsmake studentsaware of career opportunities in various facets of theindustry and increase their understanding of the uniquecharacteristics that make the surplus lines segment interesting andrewarding as a career path.

Additionally, during these visits students learn about NAPSLO'sinternship program, an important step for many in beginning asuccessful career in the E&S business. Since 1981 the NAPSLOInternship Program has annually awarded paid summer internships tocollege students interested in an insurance career. NAPSLO and itsmember firms host 15 interns, who spend nine weeks with our memberfirms getting hands-on training to learn all aspects of the surpluslines insurance industry. We know that this experience is criticalto helping young, energetic students elect to enter the E&Ssegment of the business, and it's mutually beneficial as internhost companies also gain access to these talented young people.

Aside from the challenge of building and managing themultigenerational workforce of today's world, NAPSLO also activelymonitors state and federal legislative issues that impact surpluslines as part of our effort to maintain the health and strength ofthe industry. Our Board of Directors continues to focus on keylegislative issues including an ongoing effort to help clarify thedefinition of private flood insurance, the reauthorization of theTerrorism Risk and Insurance Act and passage of legislation toenable the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers.These and other legislative issues will be a focus of NAPSLOleaders during 2015 and at the Mid-Year Leadership Forum inMiami.

I hope that NAPSLO members will plan to join us in Miami inFebruary, as we look to providing new information to members abouthow to sustain our industry into the future and work collectivelyto integrate professionals from all generations into a workforcethat will help the E&S industry continue to innovate fordecades to come.

Brady R. Kelley, executive director of NAPSLO, isresponsible for the overall management of NAPSLO's staffactivities, services to members and business operations. Beforejoining NAPSLO, he was chief financial and business strategyofficer for the National Association of Insurance Commissionerswith oversight of the finance division, products and servicesdivision, technical services division and financial regulationstandards and accreditation program. Contact him at [email protected].