Views (October 01, 2006)

The annual McLarens Canada Volleyball Tournament was held on Aug. 16 at the Balmy Beach Club in the east end of Toronto. Once again, there was a spectacular turnout of vivacious volleyers, observers and fans. Congratulations go out to Zurich Canada, which, with the help of McLarens Canada adjusters Scott Mastromatteo and Tara Drabik, cleared the field to bring the championship trophy home.

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Delegates from across Canada gathered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the 9th Annual CARSTAR Industry Conference in mid-August. The conference brought together key stakeholders in the automotive and insurance industries. Special guest speakers included: Dr. Chris Bart, professor of strategy and governance at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University; Nora Hohman, vice president, claims, and Ken Boulton, program coordinator, of The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co.; Rocco Neglia, vice president, claims of The Economical Insurance Group; Paul Hicks, assistant vice president, claims procurement of Aviva Canada Inc.; Norman Rose, president of Exel Sales Consulting; Michel Caron, national accounts district manager of Collision Repair Services/Audatex and, for the first time in Canada, George Avery, claims consultant of State Farm Insurance, USA. Speakers included members of CARSTAR’s executive and management team. The conference also featured a Business Partners Expo, as well as the annual frachisee O.S.C.A.R. Gala Awards presentation for CARSTAR. Several awards were presented, including the coveted President’s Club Award. Winners for 2006 included Windsor CARSTAR Collision, Windsor, ON; Carrosserie Mont-Bleu CARSTAR, Hull, QC; Concordia CARSTAR Collision, Ottawa, ON and Maritime CARSTAR Collision, New Minas, NS.

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“And they’re still around…” Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Annual “Coffee Club” Golf Outing on Aug. 15-16, the ‘Coffee Club,’ a group of now-retired insurance company vice presidents, played the Highlands and Valley courses of the Horseshoe Resort in Barrie, Ontario – including numerous 19th holes. The Coffee Club includes a group of company marketers who, in their heyday, met quarterly to “discuss the industry.” The tournament winner is the one shooting closest to his age. This year’s winner was Doug Craib. According to Iain Galbraith (the unofficial ‘media liaison’ for the group), the group photo above “…was taken early in the day while we were all standing.”

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Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC) and ING Insurance teamed up again this year to challenge brokers, employees and others in the industry to raise money for WICC. True to form, participants rose to the challenge and collected an incredible $48,884 (141% more than last year!), easily surpassing the goal of $30,000. “When we set the 2006 target at $30,000, we thought it was a bit of a stretch. But we were confident we would come close,” ING Insurance regional vice president of Durham Region Tracy Laughlin (who first initiated the Ontario-wide challenge in 2005) said. “I was absolutely amazed when I saw the final total raised! It was really impressive to see both the team and individual contributions towards the campaign.” Mack Rooney raised over $6,000 and helped his team, Toronto Region, win the challenge between ING regional offices for the second year running. Rooney got a great response from the broker community to help him raise so much. Since 2005, the WICC Challenge at the ING Ottawa Marathon has raised almost $68,000. “WICC is so grateful to all the participants who reached out to their friends, families and colleagues,” WICC executive director Lyna Newman (who is also the vice president of operations and human resources of KRG Insurance Brokers) said. “100% of these pledges will directly go to worthy cancer research projects that we hope will make this dreadful disease a thing of the past.” Special thanks is happily awarded to the 12 teams and over 60 runners, as well as all the staff, brokers, friends and family who pledged them.

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The Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC) was the run-away winner at the 3rd Annual Night at the Races, hosted by Fred DeFrancesco of Fairview Insurance Brokers (2006 WICC Lew Dunn Memorial Award recipient) and Bill Blakeney of Blakeney Henneberry & Murphy. With over 300 people in attendance, the evening of fine dining and thoroughbred racing – which included live music – raised $23,000 for WICC. That brings the three-year total for the event to more than $70,000!

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In addition to a trade show, supported by many well-known claims market providers, delegates were presented with a captivating story from ‘Ground Zero’ in New York. Delegates at the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association (CIAA)’s 22nd Annual Conference, held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, heard a heroic and moving ‘first-responder’ account – “9/11 A Survivor’s Story” – presented by FDNY Firefighter, Robert Senn.

At the beginning of harvest season, delegates from across the country met at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario for the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association (CIAA)’s 22nd Annual Conference. Held at The Pillar and Post Inn Sept. 7-10, the conference featured educational and business sessions, as well as a welcome reception at Stonechurch Vineyards, where attendees sipped a wide selection of tasty offerings from the region.