WHAT BIG I MEANS TO ME PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
I’m thrilled to be your incoming President of Big I Oregon. This association means so much to me; to tell you why, let me share my story. Ever since my first By: Lyndsay Kooistra convention, Big I has Big I Oregon President had a special place in LaPorte Insurance my heart. I was first introduced to Big I in 2004 when I was hired as a Sales & Marketing Manager for Allied Insurance at the age of 24. I still wonder what they were thinking; at my first agency visit I didn’t even bring in a pen and paper. I’ve learned a lot since!
It was at my first Big I convention that I met Adam Harris and his wife Karen. We built a friendship from there. At one point in my career, he and I were having lunch and he said, “When you’re ready to become an agent, let me know – we’d love to have you.” Who would have thought that I’d reach out to him 11 years after our first meeting, when I was ready to come to the agency side and start my career as an agent? At my first Big I convention, my husband Marcus took the opportunity to propose to me. He was just out of graduate school, and a three-day getaway to Sunriver was the nicest place we were going to be in a long time, so he seized the opportunity. It is exciting to be going back to Sunriver this August 2022. I spent a lot of time at the Big I conventions as a carrier participant. I played golf, sponsored a hole, worked booths, asked for glutenfree food and reminded servers of all my allergies, gone to hear keynote speakers, shook hands, drank free drinks, heard comedians, saw magicians and gave away goodies to those that stopped by to say hi. My favorite part of Big I as a carrier person was all of the networking. I learned about the CNA
opening from an agency principal at the 2007 convention which took my career to new heights!
When I left the carrier side and became an agent, I was nominated to be part of a group of people that might be interested in starting back up Young Agents in Oregon. You know I was! The Young Agent Committee (YAC) built up an amazing community of aspiring agents. For two years I Chaired YA and was Past Chair for two as well. With the YAC we organized Brewery Tours, CE courses, Top Golf Events, Mini Putt Putt tournaments at Convention, and incorporated local nonprofits, especially Make-A-Wish Oregon, into our commitment to give back. This NextGen Committee (FKA YAC) has taken the group far beyond what I could have imagined. Being Chair of YA made it possible for me to be a Big I Board Member. I remember my first Board Meeting and over preparing to present on what the YAC had done since we started. I remember the faces of all the board members looking at me incredulously. Once I finally came up for air someone said to Jim, “Well, I think we just need to get out of their way.” Being able to serve on the Board has been a highlight of my insurance career and now as President, an honor. There is so much to look forward to in 2022. We have our Connect & Educate Symposium (FKA Mid-Winter) March 10th & 11th. I look forward to returning to Washington, DC to lobby on behalf of Big I and our industry. In August we head back to Sunriver, where it all began for me, to come together, play golf, learn, network and celebrate our community, our family. I look forward to seeing you all there. This January marks my 20th year in the insurance industry; I can’t wait to see what is in store the next 20, with all of you, and Big I Oregon. | Q1 2022 | 5
