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Happy Holidays to you and your families. As 2011 wraps up, there is time for refection on the year gone by and planning for the year to come. I hope this has been a great year for each of you and that there will be great things to come in 2012.
I want to brief our membership on the NAIFA National Business Meeting and some of the remarkable speakers that we heard. Some were great industry speakers who educated and motivated. Others were speakers who were not specific to our industry, but still inspired and challenged us to be leaders and serve others.
Jim McCormick, an accomplished business executive, is one of only 400 skydiving exhibitionists and holder of 5 world records. Jim showed us how to use intelligent risk-taking as a strategy to achieve performance improvement. Jim is the author of Business Lessons from the Edge and The Power of Risk.
Firefighter Richard Picciotto was our speaker on Sunday, September 11th. Following the terrorist attack, Picciotto rushed inside the World Trade Center to rescue those inside, but soon found himself trapped in the smoldering rubble of the North Tower after its collapse. Buried for more than four hours, he emerged almost unscathed and was the highest-ranking firefighter to survive the collapse. Chief Picciotto detailed his story demonstrating life saving leadership and courageous decision-making.
On Tuesday September 13th, General Colin Powell spoke for several hours on leadership. General Powell is an experienced leader having led troops as a military leader and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and having served as Secretary of State. But, General Powell believes a leader is more than just his or her title. He drew on examples garnered from experience as both a leader on the world stage and as eyewitness to leadership in action. General Powell illustrated precisely what it takes to be a leader, providing strategies for taking charge during times of great change and great crisis.
One of my favorite speakers was our first on Saturday, September 10th, Keni Thomas, a Task Force Ranger and Bronze Star for Valor recipient. Keni was an engaging motivational leadership speaker whose story captivated the audience from beginning to end. The highly successful movie, Blackhawk Down, is based on his company’s mission in Mogadishu, Somalia. Keni gave us moment-by-moment details of the fight to save the lives of his fellow Rangers and Delta soldiers. He detailed instances where soldiers displayed heroism, teamwork and leadership. In his book, Get It On, he reminds us that we as individuals do indeed matter, that we are anything but ordinary, and that we are fully capable of carrying out life changing assignments at any level and in any situation. We can make a difference in this world.
Happy Holidays and may God bless you and your families during this Holiday season. It is my hope that you will lead your respective communities and make a difference in 2012.
NAIFA - Now More Than Ever!
Ted Erck
Ted Erck
President 2011 - 2012
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