House Chief Deputy Whip To Address IIABA

House Chief Deputy Whip To Address IIABA

NU Online News Service, Feb. 7, 11:34 a.m. EST?The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America said Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., chief deputy whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, will speak to its national leadership during its annual Washington Insiders' Luncheon.[@@]

The luncheon will be held April 19, on Capitol Hill prior to the start of the IIABA's 29th annual National Legislative Conference. Luncheon participants will include IIABA Executive Committee and Government Affairs Committee members as well as agent and broker leaders from Virginia.

This year's conference will take place April 20-22 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington D.C.

Additional speakers will be announced as they are confirmed, the Alexandria, Va.-based IIABA said.

Mr. Cantor last year joined Reps. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, Richard Baker, R-La. and Sue Kelly, R-N.Y. in introducing H.R. 4634, the Terrorism Insurance Backstop Extension Act. The legislation would extend the program an additional two years through Dec. 31, 2007.

Mr. Cantor also serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which has direct jurisdiction over taxes and health care.

The conference will also include an in-depth issues briefing session, the annual Big "I" congressional reception on Capitol Hill, legislative speakers, and hundreds of meetings on Capitol Hill between attending agents and brokers and lawmakers.

IIABA said young agents and brokers wishing to attend, who have not previously participated in the conference, are encouraged to apply for one of the three scholarships that pay a stipend to a young agent to attend for the first time.

The Big "I" National Young Agents Committee awards a $1,000 Maurice Herndon Scholarship so one young agent can attend for the first time. Two $300 scholarships are provided to each state association to be awarded to first-time young agent and broker attendees. Interested young agents and brokers should fax scholarship application forms directly to their state association.

This Herndon scholarship memorializes Mr. Herndon, who was known as "Mr. Washington" by independent agents and brokers across America while directing the Big "I" Washington, D.C. office from 1949 to 1976.

To be eligible for the Herndon scholarship, an applicant must be an agent or broker member who is 40 years old or younger. They must be attending the conference for the first time, complete an application form, and submit a maximum 500-word essay describing why he or she should receive the scholarship.

Application forms should be submitted to the IIABA for the attention of Leslie Mularski by fax at (703) 683-7556 or e-mail at leslie.mularski@iiaba.net.

The recipient of the Herndon Scholarship will be notified by March 5.

Maurice G. Herndon Scholarship applications and state scholarship application forms are available on the IIABA Web site at www.independentagent.com under the "Events and Conferences" tab.

The submission deadline for each scholarship is March 1.

Young agents and brokers should contact Ms. Mularski at (703) 683-4422 with questions about scholarships and young agent activities, and Tabitha Gass at (202) 863-7000 with general questions regarding the conference.

Online registration and hotel reservations can be reached at www.independentagent.com using the "Events and Conferences" link. Downloadable copies of the event registration and hotel reservation forms are available at this section.