Dear Friends of IEI:

Welcome to the first issue of our redesigned publication for donors and supporters (formerly CEO Update). We owe our existence to the generosity of our donors, and we count on your continued support for maintenance and growth of our programs.

Several of our donors have remarked to me during my initial visits that they haven’t been receiving enough regular correspondence from IEI to keep them abreast of the Foundation’s activities. We want you to feel “plugged in” while not overwhelming you with mail. Therefore, we have three communications scheduled specifically for you this year, in addition to our newsletter for educators. We are hopeful that this increased level of communication will help to keep you informed and feeling better about the programs you are funding.

I look forward to meeting many more of you at upcoming professional events or during private visits where they can be arranged. In the meantime, I welcome your feedback about this publication or about other ways IEI may address your needs. Thank you for your past support and for taking a leadership role in the Foundation’s mission to educate the public about the role of insurance in society.

Sincerely,

William J. Howell, CLU, ChFC, CAE
Executive Vice President and CEO


STAFF CHANGES
IEI welcomed Bill Howell as Executive Vice President & CEO at the end of 1999 to assume the duties held by retiring President Bob Harrison. Bill is a Philadelphia native and graduate of Temple University who entered the profession as an agent for Connecticut Mutual. He was on the staff of The Society of Financial Service Professionals (CLU &ChFC) for 19 years and has held leadership positions with both SFSP and ASAE. 

In February, Deb Kelleher was hired as Foundation Manager in response to the resignations of long time Executive Director Nancy Coleman and Marketing Manager Paige Slover. Deb is from Indianapolis and has just returned to the area after twenty years with the Arthritis Foundation in Cincinnati, most recently as Chairman of the Board. Deb brings much needed background in fundraising and association management to IEI.

Foundation Assistant Carol Silvey has been promoted to Program Coordinator with responsibility for institute, insurance educator-of-the-year, and school administrator programs. Carol is now the “veteran” on staff with one year of service.

IEI IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Joint Industry Forum in New York City was a platform for IEI in January. IEI Chairman Bob Bischoff presented the first Crystal Apple Award to General Bob Herres, Chairman and CEO of USAA, in recognition of his leadership and devotion to youth education, notably in the insurance and financial services field. General Herres was instrumental in fostering our cooperative venture with Junior Achievement, reported below.

IEI also received coverage in the January 31st issue of National Underwriter responding to an editorial that called for the industry to reach out to teach secondary educators about insurance.


INSTITUTE REPORT
The Foundation will support six institute programs this year. Sites remain at Drake University, Illinois State, The College of Insurance, University of Alabama, Florida State, and California State in San Francisco. Administrators from all six schools participated in a two-day planning session in December with IEI staff and board members to evaluate the program. It was decided to continue to concentrate on the traditional curriculum, while allowing each school to have flexibility in structuring delivery of the core hours. The Foundation did change the target for attendance at each site to 35 students based on attendee and instructor feedback that said the smaller class size made for a better learning environment. The grant from IEI remains constant at previous levels, which effectively provides an adjustment for inflation and increased marketing costs that was also desired by the participating schools.


COMMUNICATIONS
The IEI newsletter, The Insurance Educator, is being redesigned based on responses from the readers and advice of our vendor partners. We will expand the frequency of the publication as well as provide more graphics, interactive features and reproducible copy for classroom use. We have found that teachers look forward to receiving the newsletter and that it is often their only source of insurance information. Providing more activity based articles will enhance the value of the publication for teachers and students alike.

The IEI web site will be the focus of discussion when IEI hosts the National Advisory Council of Secondary Teachers (NACST) in July. This group is helpful in testing the relevance of our programs and giving the Foundation direction on the best tools and techniques for teachers. We will be looking for ways to provide lesson plans and other teaching tools on line to extend the reach of our message.


COLLABORATION
The cooperative venture between IEI and Junior Achievement is about to yield long lasting dividends for students around the country. The Foundation provided a three-hour module on insurance for the JA economics curriculum. The pilot program was evaluated in three San Antonio high schools in the 1999-2000 school year and is scheduled for nationwide distribution beginning in 2001.