“There are so many memories from the past 20 or 25 years. Many of them indicate why PAMIC means so much to me professionally and personally.
My introduction to insurance industry associations started with PAMIC back in the 1990s. Larry Kauffman was the leader at the time and was a wonderful mentor and guide to the industry. I learned a lot from him and from those conferences and seminars. Some of the friends and connections I made then are still going strong 20+ years later.
A few years after joining PAMIC I learned that the annual convention was a family event (unlike so many other trade associations). I brought my wife and young daughter to the convention. What an experience! So many of the members helped our young family out. One night in particular, I remember several company CEOs putting down their dinners and helping us navigate the dinner buffet, balancing plates of food while trying to keep tabs on our toddler! I have another memory of Greg Grace, may he rest in peace, sponsoring and planning “The PAMIC Attack'' 5K runs each year at the annual convention. I still have some of the T-shirts from those days. What a fun and kind man!
Speaking about what a welcoming group this is, when I chaired the financial management committee, I thought I was simply “doing my job” and “what was expected.” PAMIC’s leadership saw it differently. They appreciated the effort. The sincere thank you’s from the leadership group were really appreciated and so unexpected. I realized what a special place PAMIC was.
PAMIC is an organization that provides a significant amount of industry knowledge to its members, while also facilitating wonderful networking opportunities, and this results in members building friendships. I can't think of a group that has helped me develop so many great business relationships (and so many of those relationships turned into friendships). The member companies as well as the associate members and the PAMIC staff approach relationships in the same manner. People come first. It’s not just the bottom line.”