Brunch of Distinction featuring The Carpenters
Sunday, June 17 / 11:30am - 12:30pm
Theirs is like a love story straight from the movies...and in fact, it is the subject of the 2012 hit motion picture "The Vow." Kim and Krickitt Carpenter are the real life true story behind the #1 Box Office smash and are also the authors of the New York Times #1 Best Selling Book, The Vow-The True Events that Inspired the Movie. The Carpenter’s have shared their story to a worldwide audience reaching an estimated 400 million people, and they will be personally sharing their inspring story with attendees at the Annual Convention during Sunday's Brunch of Distinction. They have spent the past 12 years interviewing globally and presenting as national speakers. Their story has become the subject of more than 400 interviews worldwide to include multiple appearances in People Magazine, the Today Show, Dateline NBC, Inside Edition, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and Dr. Phil.

Kim and Krickitt Carpenter
In 1992, Kim and Krickitt Carpenter met, fell in love and were married the following year. Kim Carpenter says, "It was like I had known her all my life." 

But less than ten weeks after their wedding, their vows were put to the ultimate test. The couple survived a near fatal car crash but Krickitt awoke in the hospital married to a stranger. The trauma she had suffered to her brain caused retrograde and posttraumatic amnesia - erasing from her memory virtually all of the 18 months prior to the accident and 4 months after. Kim was heartbroken the day he heard his wife say she wasn't married. She had no memory of her husband either in her head or in her heart.

What followed was a stressful period of rehabilitation and intense struggles in their relationship as they tried to find memories of each other and put their life back together. Many couples might have chosen to give up and go their separate ways, but Kim and Krickitt had had made a vow to each other and were committed to the future. So the couple began dating again to reestablish the emotional bonds that develop in the early days of a relationship. New memories and new love emerged. On May 25, 1996, they married again, exchanging new vows and rings. "Only one thing can surpass forever the painful events we have felt. That is the love I have for you," Kim promised.

Now, though they experience ups and downs like every other couple, they know that the love they share, a love based on their faith and to one another, can overcome all adversity. Today, Kim and Krickitt live in Farmington, New Mexico with their two children. Kim serves as the CEO of San Juan County and Krickitt is a substitute high school teacher. Click here to learn more about their inspiring story.

Recapture Market Share with the Consumer Agent Portal (CAP)
Monday, June 18 / 8:45am - 9:45am
This week, 75% of personal insurance consumers will begin their search for new coverage online. Will they find your agency? If you are participating in Project CAP, they will! Backed by the IIABA, Trusted Choice and key insurance carriers, Project CAP is an industry initiative with the vision to recapture personal lines market share for the independent agency channel...to make sure these online consumers find independent agents like you. 

In this session, you will learn about the new Consumer Agent Portal and the web-based tools available to help Big "I" agents recapture your part of the personal lines market and meet the needs of the next generation of insurance consumers, those who are researching and purchasing personal insurance products online. By participating in Project CAP, you will have more online impact, more insurance prospects and more agency growth. Click here to learn more about Project CAP.  

Marty Agather, CPCU, ARM
Vice President, Project CAP
Marty Agather is the Vice President of Client Development for Project CAP and a leading authority on digital marketing for the insurance industry. Prior to joining Project CAP,  Marty held senior roles in sales, marketing and management for several leading technology organizations including Applied Systems, Inc. When Applied Rating was acquired by MI-Assistant, he stepped up to assume a leadership role as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MI. A graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in Economics, Marty also holds industry designations as a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Risk Management (ARM).

Perpetuation Planning and Young Producer Compensation
Monday, June 18 / 9:45am - 10:45am
Insurance agencies have proven to be one of the best performing assets that anyone could own. But, they have also proven to present challenges when it comes time to transition ownership, particularly if the desire is to do it internally. In this seminar, Bobby Reagan will talk about the options available to agency owners and why remaining privately held may be the best option and how it can be accomplished if the desire is to head in that direction. He will also discuss the opportunities for young people (particularly producers) to be a part of that perpetuation process.

Bobby Reagan, CPCU
Chairman and CEO, Reagan Consulting
Bobby Reagan brings more than three decades of insurance industry experience to the company that bears his name. After graduating with high honors from the University of Tennessee, where he earned BS and MS degrees in Industrial Engineering, Bobby joined a Southeastern regional insurance brokerage firm as a commercial property and casualty producer. During his 10 years with the firm, he served in regularly ascending capacities, including COO. Bobby received his CPCU designation in 1980. In 1984, he joined the consulting firm of Hales & Associates and, the following year, opened its Atlanta office. Two years later, in 1987, he became president of the firm and, in 1992, was elected Chairman and CEO. In April 1995, Hales & Associates underwent reorganization, and Reagan Consulting was formed as a result.

Bobby’s expertise and integrity have ensured his reputation as a true authority within the insurance industry. He has consulted with many of the country’s most successful insurance agents and brokers, and worked with many leading financial institutions on their insurance initiatives. He is also in consistent demand as a speaker and author, with speeches delivered to more than 100 insurance industry groups and associations, and articles published in the majority of the industry's trade publications.

No Property Market in North Carolina...Could It Happen??
Monday, June 18 / 11:30am - 12:45pm
Agents and consumers across the state are being affected by the changing property market in North Carolina. Companies are withdrawing from the homeowners insurance market place and making guidelines very restrictive due to the current rating system in place. The recent increases in catastrophes have changed the risk model that reinsurers use, and the resulting consequence is under pricing of property insurance. Listen to this highly qualified panel highlight the issues from their different perspectives as they point to some possible solutions to consider.

Tommy Cook, CIC
President, John T. Cook & Associates
Tommy Cook, an independent agent from Myrtle Beach, SC, has worked in the insurance industry since 1973. He started as a commercial underwriter after graduation from the University of South Carolina. Several years later, he began his career as an independent agent and opened his own agency, John T. Cook & Associates, in 1983. Tommy and his wife, Bonnie, operated the agency for 27 years until it was sold to Correll Insurance Group. They continue to manage the Myrtle Beach office.

Tommy has been very involved with the insurance industry during his career dedicating 15 years of service to company and association boards. He has served as both President and National Director of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of South Carolina. He has also served on several insurance company advisory councils and served as the National Chairman for the advisory board for Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company. Tommy was recognized for his commitment to the industry and his community when he received the 2005 IIABSC Agent of the Year award and the 2008 IIABA Chairman's Award.

Willo Kelly
President, NC 20
Willo Kelly is the Government Affairs Director of the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® and the Outer Banks Home Builders Association. In addition to advocating the legislative policies of each association for six years, she publishes a weekly Legislative Briefing that is distributed to over 1,400 members, keeping them up-to-date on local and state issues. She is a founding member of NC-20 and currently serves as President of the organization. NC-20, a coalition of individuals, business and government entities, works to further the common environmental and economic development interests in North Carolina's twenty coastal CAMA counties.

Willo's involvement in property insurance issues began fourteen years ago when she was President of the Currituck Chamber of Commerce and she has conducted extensive research on the subject since then. In 2008, facing ever-increasing rates and fewer markets, property insurance became the major focus of NC-20, OBAR and OBHBA. Willo has testified before the NC Study Committee on Property Insurance Rate Making, given presentations to NC legislators and has become the lead speaker on the issue throughout eastern NC.

Willo has served on numerous local and regional boards over the years and is the current Chair of the UNC Coastal Studies Institute Foundation Board. She resides in Nags Head, NC with her husband Mike, a local restauranteur.


John Miletti
Vice President and Government Relations Counsel, Travelers
John Miletti currently serves as Vice President and Government Relations Counsel for Travelers where he has primary responsibility for managing Travelers’ Personal Insurance legislative and regulatory affairs countrywide.  Prior to joining Travelers in 1994, John served as Counsel to the Insurance Association of Connecticut where he represented the interests of Connecticut insurers before the Connecticut Legislature and various state agencies. Prior to that, John held positions as a litigator in the Staff Counsel operations of The Hartford Insurance Group and as an Associate in a Hartford-based law firm specializing in insurance related litigation.

John currently serves on the Governing Boards of the Texas FAIR Plan, the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association and the North Carolina Beach and FAIR Plans. He received the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina “Company Professional of the Year” award in 2009 for his efforts relating to Beach Plan legislation. He has also previously served on the Governing Boards of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.

John graduated with honors from the William Paterson University of New Jersey and the Western New England University School of Law, where he served on the Editorial Board of the school’s Law Review. He has been a member of the Connecticut Bar since 1983 and is a former law clerk to the late Justice Arthur Healey of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Gina Schwitzgebel, MBA, CPCU, ARM, CIC, CRM, AIC, AMIM
General Manager, NC Beach & Fair Plan
Gina Schwitzgebel has 25 years of extensive experience in the insurance industry. She was recently named General Manager for the North Carolina Joint Underwriting Association and the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NC Beach & Fair Plan) which provide insurance coverage to 254,618 policyholders generating $329,729,935 in premium. Gina spent 15 years of her career with Great American and Ohio Casualty in the roles of Underwriting Manager, Business Center Manager, National Umbrella Product Manager, and Assistant Vice President. Some of her responsibilities included managing operations in ten states with approximately $208 million in premium volume, coordinating a corporate reorganization of processing and support activities for five regional offices, and participating on a Strategic Planning Project focusing on Agency Expectations. In 2006, Gina accepted the position of Assistant Vice President with Builders Mutual where she was responsible for establishing and managing all underwriting policies, practices and procedures. During her tenure at Builders Mutual, the company expanded operations from four states to nine states, and transformed from writing primarily home builders to writing risks involved in all areas of construction.

Gina has a Master of Business Administration from the John E. Weems Graduate School of Meredith College, a Master Certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University, and obtained her undergraduate degree from Emory University. During her undergraduate studies, she had the opportunity to work for two national insurance brokerage companies as well as for the Insurance Committee of the Georgia House of Representatives. She is a former president of the Eastern North Carolina CPCU Chapter, and has taught numerous CPCU insurance courses.