Ten — An Adaptive Society

Chapter 10 The Adaptive Society

Kevin A. Marti

President and CEO June 11, 2012, to present

On June 11, 2012, Kevin A. Marti became the ninth President and CEO in Gleaner Life history. His selection by the Board of Directors, after a nationwide search with more than 200 applicants, marked the fi rst time a Society leader had been chosen from outside its existing leadership. While a newcomer with a chance to view the Society with fresh perspective, Marti also was a home-grown Midwesterner. His background in actuarial science included a degree from Ball State University in Indiana, and industry experience in Frankenmuth in Michigan’s Thumb area — the cradle of the Society. After actuarial and executive roles at several successful life insurance companies across the Midwest, most recently he had built a new life insurance company Patriot Life Insurance Company (a member of Frankenmuth Insurance) from the ground up in 15 months before joining the Society.

The immediate challenge of rebuilding members’ surplus lost in the Great Recession was not easy. The Society ended 2012 with negative net income of $832,428 after freezing its employee defi ned-benefi t pension plan, and its surplus fell by more than half a million dollars to $80.8 million. The picture improved in 2013 as surplus increased more than $2.25 million on positive net income of $2.1 million.

At the 56th Biennial Convention in 2013, delegates elected Margaret Noe and Todd Warner as Board Directors, replacing Dudley “Dud” Dauterman and Chairman Bill Warner as they retired from the Board, and reelecting Richard Bennett and Suann Hammersmith.

The trend of surplus growth slowly moved forward throughout the rest of the decade despite the growing challenge of historically low interest rates. Rates declined from 3% for 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds at the end of 2013 to a record low of 0.5% in July of 2020. The decline put pressure on life insurance companies and others having outstanding annuities that, in many cases, had long-term guarantees of 3% or higher. Society leaders mitigated the interest rate risk in 2019 and 2020 by entering into reinsurance agreements that covered these higher-interest rate guarantee annuities.

The decade preceding the 2020s produced changes in virtually every aspect as the Society sought to meet members’ needs while remaining focused on the founding principles of benevolence, protection and fraternity. All three of those ideals were represented symbolically in 2013 when Gleaner Life fi rst introduced its mascot, Benevolence (shortened to “Benny”), a cartoon lion. The story of how Benny was adopted as a cub and showered with love was an illustration to young and old alike. Helping others by protecting them helps create a sense of family and also leads to more members practicing acts of kindness.

Bill B. Warner, former Director and Chair

David Sutton, former Director and Chair Richard Bennett, former Director and Chair

Daniel Sutton, current Director Terry L. Garner, current Director and Chair

Elvin Wills, former Director Mark A. Wills, current Director and Vice Chair

Another 2013 initiative shows how diff erent groups share the Gleaner name. Gleaner Day became a way to draw attention to the problem of hunger and to raise donations for the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. Although the name is shared by several food banks — including the Michigan group founded in 1977 and an Indiana group founded in 1980 — the food banks have diff erent origins and are completely independent of Gleaner Life Insurance Society. By 2020, in place of an annual drive, the Society encouraged arbors to regularly support their local community food banks and pantries.

The decade also saw signifi cant leadership changes. The Society had gained its fi rst female board chair in history when the Director Suann Hammersmith was elected chair in 2014. Hammersmith had fi rst been elected to the Gleaner Board of Directors in 1997, and later became vice-chair. At the time, she was president and CEO of the Lenawee Community Foundation and a longtime

Chairman and Director Emeritus Bill Warner, left, receives his 50th anniversary pin from President and CEO Kevin Marti.

Three presidents — Kevin Marti, Frank Dick and Ellsworth Stout — joined Jan Goulart at her retirement celebration. member of South Fairfi eld Arbor (Ohio). She served on the Board until 2017, a span of 20 years. A year before Hammersmith’s tenure ended, the Board lost another longtime member in 2015 with the death of Richard Bennett of Napoleon, Ohio, a Board member for 22 years. Director Dan Sutton was elected in 2015 at the 57th Biennial Convention as his father — the Society’s longestever serving Board Director, Dave Sutton — retired after 42 years. Director Donna Baker was appointed in 2016 to fi ll the remainder of Director Bennett’s term. In 2017 at the Biennial Convention, Director Russell Cunningham was elected by the delegates, and Todd Warner, Donna Baker and Margaret Noe were re-elected. Terry Garner was elected chair, and Mark Wills vice chair in November, 2017, by their fellow Directors.

Two longtime Gleaner Life employees who were familiar to many members both retired in the spring of 2016. Vice President of Human Resources and Administration Jan Goulart retired after 38 years dating to when the Home Offi ce was in Birmingham, Michigan. She became a key fi gure for the Society in its new home in Adrian. Her replacement is current Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Offi cer, and Secretary Deborah Elliott. A couple of months later, Vice President of Fraternal Operations Sherry Nino retired after 35 years. She oversaw arbor development and other fraternal activities for her fi nal eight years. The now-renamed Community Engagement Department is under the leadership of Vice President, Member and Community Engagement Jaime Linden. Almost 20 arbors started since her arrival at Gleaner in 2015, with a goal of adding more as the Society expands in other states.

On a sadder note, the Society lost longtime Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff rey Patterson in July of 2020 after an 18-month battle with cancer. He had provided Gleaner Life with outstanding fi nance and insurance operations service for 32 years. Todd Warner was hired as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial and Investment Offi cer to replace Patterson. In addition, Kaylene Armstrong was promoted to Vice President – Finance, Controller and Treasurer. Replacing Todd Warner as Board Director in April of 2020 was Stephanie Andresen, a longtime member and a former agent who previously had served on the Supreme Arbor.

Creating eff ective ways for members to protect their families’ fi nancial security continues to be a priority as

Women of Gleaner

Suann Hammersmith

Suann Hammersmith became the fi rst woman to serve as board chair in Gleaner Life history, yet her 20 years of service with the Board of Directors was just a part of her contributions to the Society and her community.

Her involvement with non-profi ts such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Northwest Ohio and other groups dates to 1984. She actively helped on both sides of the Michigan-Ohio border, the same fertile ground where her South Fairfi eld Arbor is among the Society’s oldest arbors. Hammersmith was elected in 1997 to the Society’s Board of Directors. She was chosen as vice chair in 2002 — one year before Society assets surpassed $1 billion — and also served throughout the trials of the 2008 recession. She served her tenure as chair of the Board of Directors from 2013-17.

While continuing to serve Gleaner faithfully afterward through South Fairfi eld Arbor community activities, Hammersmith added another fi rst in 2020. She was selected as Michigan’s fi rst executive director of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, bringing the same vital integrity to state voter redistricting that she did to Gleaner leadership. investment conditions and cultural trends change. A consequential move came in 2017-18 when Gleaner introduced its fi rst indexed fi nancial solutions. These helped members expand their fi nancial footing despite the unpredictable nature of stock market returns, with guaranteed minimums when the market falls. The new off erings included the Strategic Choice Indexed Universal Life (IUL)® and the Strategic Choice Indexed Annuity®. Gleaner was believed at the time to be only the second fraternal society to off er these fi nancial solutions.

Agent growth and new business production strengthened with the hiring of Anthony “Tony” Golden in 2017, who was promoted in 2020 to Senior Vice President of Sales, along with the expansion of our team of regional sales directors. The combination of moves helped Gleaner Life grow 100% in new business life premiums in 2019 and 54% in 2020. In addition, growth of 60% in annuity premiums was achieved in 2019, and another 20% in 2020.

“Our emphasis the past several years has been on recruiting seasoned nancial advisors who truly value the Gleaner fraternal proposition,” Golden reported in 2021. “A number of these advisors have been instrumental in helping charter new arbors, as they recognize the impact our members can have in making their own communities better places to live and work.”

Changes also occurred on the fraternal side, and Gleaner continued to share its expertise with other U.S. fraternal groups through the American Fraternal Alliance. Many wanted to know about the Society’s leadingedge technology, products, sales force, Samaritan program, Home Offi ce procedures and operations. It has always been Gleaner’s practice to share our ideas and knowledge with fraternal brothers and sisters to help them and the industry prosper. President Marti served on the Alliance’s board of directors from 2015 to 2020 and, in 2017, he was elected chairman of the Alliance’s board.

Within the Society, the Samaritan program, named after the biblical story about the “good Samaritan,” continued strong. It was introduced to Gleaner arbors in 1995. Serving as both recognition and encouragement, the program gives compensation to arbors based on their service within their communities. The program was designed to recognize arbors for the benevolent acts and the community outreach they perform. Arbors complete activities that

Attendees posed at the 2013 convention at French Lick Resort, Indiana.

make an impact in their community each month. Based on the number of activities completed, arbors receive compensation to donate and complete other projects.

Throughout the early 21st century, the way in which people communicate evolved rapidly, providing Gleaner with opportunities to modernize how the Society communicates with agents, existing members and prospective members. The Marketing Department and Communications, led by lifelong Lenawee County resident and Marketing offi cer Chuck Monahan, changed the formatting of Forum Magazine to focus not only on Gleaner news and events, but also lifestyle content, like family-friendly travel ideas and tips for home gardening. Gleaner First Lady Korinne Marti followed in the footsteps of her predecessors by contributing a recipe and letter to members in each issue of Forum Magazine, highlighting her trademark wisdom and charisma.

Digital marketing and social media continue to be a focus for the Marketing Department, while also improving the quality of print marketing materials. In 2018, the Marketing Department coordinated with the Information Technology and Insurance Operations Departments to introduce Gleaner’s fi rst online distribution model — an electronic application for Gleaner’s classic Just For Kids® convertible term life insurance plan.

The Gleaner Scholarship Foundation also continues strong. Eligibility was tightened a few years after the Great Recession to require applicants to be benefi t members. That resulted in fewer applications and the overall number of scholarships being changed based on evaluations of interest in the foundation’s holding account, but it also emphasized the benefi t of becoming a Society member. The Foundation marked its 40th class of recipients in 2019, having awarded thousands of scholarships during its fi rst four decades.

Home Offi ce employees, striving to be good neighbors, gained a new tool in 2016 with the Gleaner Life Gives Campaign. The program matched employees’ contributions, and each employee was able to designate which local nonprofi t organizations their gift would assist through the Lenawee Community Foundation. Employee contributions and matches totaled $64,876 in the campaign’s fi rst year, and in subsequent years quickly reached $100,000 per year.

In 2017, a new program called Give and Grow was begun to provide individual members ages 12 and older funding to buy supplies, create a team and carry out their own community projects. Examples of projects included assistance for quilters whose work benefi ts the elderly and others; beautifi cation at a natural park; building a community playground with local Girl Scouts; and a Veterans Day project to assist military families who have someone being treated at a VA hospital. Also in 2017, Gleaner began off ering members a chance to make family memories through regional activities called Family Days. In addition to discounts and special programs, the events retain a key feature from the old picnics — a free, family meal. The growth of Family Days was shown at the July 20, 2019, Family Day at Cedar Point where 750 members and guests enjoyed the amusement park, its adjacent water park, and a meal.

These and virtually every type of activity was aff ected in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. Events were canceled, and agents and Home Offi ce employees made eff orts to work from home. Many members learned how to navigate virtual arbor meetings on the internet and assisted their communities as lockdowns and layoff s created hardships. To comply with social distancing, Give and Grow rules were temporarily eased to remove the requirement for team projects, and funding was allowed to be given directly to charities.

One reason that the Society was able to adapt during the period from 2013-2020 was its ongoing upgrades to technology. The eff orts were led by now Senior Vice

President, Chief Operations and Technology Offi cer D. Arell Chapman, hired in 2013. New virtual technology and “hyperconverged” infrastructure was installed to replace the IBM-based data center that by 2015 was nearing the end of its lifespan. The change also enabled Gleaner Life to migrate its 40-year-old, COBOL-based software used for its Vector system to modern, object-based computing language. The Vector migration was successfully accomplished in November 2020 at the height of the pandemic, extending the life of the Vector system by 10 years or more and saving the Society millions of dollars compared with purchasing and installing a completely new system. New product introductions became much more organized and timely. The Society’s member and agent webpage/portals were signifi cantly upgraded, as were the agent’s now web-based new business illustration systems. An all-electronic application for new business submissions was put in the works for 2021.

These eff orts earned the Society an additional strong rating when a second rating agency, Kroll Bond Rating Agency, was added in 2018. It awarded “A-/stable” ratings four straight years. The pandemic’s death toll and economic eff ects created concern for everyone including those in the life insurance fi eld. Some ratings agencies gave the entire life industry a negative outlook for 2020. Yet, when the year concluded, Gleaner Life had grown new life business premiums by 54%, annuity new business premiums by 20%, and its member surplus to $124.9 million. These achievements refl ected dedicated work by agents and employees, as well as faith in our member-owned organization. We continue with zero debt, and are focused on growing our life insurance and annuity businesses to secure a sound future for Gleaner’s next 125 years of community engagement and member service. The challenge of the pandemic and its economic eff ects was not fi nished as of this writing, and there certainly will be more to write about the future of Gleaner Life Insurance Society. Gleaner today serves customers in a record 19 states, with arbors in fi ve of those, and looks toward further growth following expansion into Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in 2021.

The Society celebrated another milestone on Oct. 2224, 2021, when delegates and many other members attended the 60th Biennial Convention at the Belterra Casino Resort in Florence, Indiana. Just as the Society

Give and Grow funding helped Julie Tison and a Girl Scout Troop beautify a park in Addison, Michigan.

John Bulmer’s Give and Grow project enhanced a nature park in Saline, Michigan.

Sharon Kennedy assisted the Dorcas Quilters group in Evert, Michigan, with a Give and Grow project.

Mid Michigan Arbor (MI) donated 30 classroom ags and were given a tour of classrooms and cleaning supplies used to keep children safe. Shown at center with a ag is Tom Matuszewski, the Society’s 2021 Fraternalist of the Year.

had weathered prior pandemics, the convention showed membership’s resiliency intact. A full weekend of activities as well as business was enjoyed with appropriate safety measures. All four members of the Board of Directors up for election — Stephanie R. Andresen, Donna K. Baker, Russell E. Cunningham and Margaret M.S. Noe — were voted to fresh terms. Voters also passed a Constitutional By-Law change to eliminate the title of Chairman Emeritus from the Board of Directors. In accordance with their traditional progression of service, the Supreme Arbor Officers advanced as Supreme Chief Gleaner Dick Hadden gaveled the meeting to a close and stepped down for newly elected Supreme Chief Gleaner Norma Garner. Also elected were Linda Ruehrmund, Supreme Vice Chief Gleaner; Fernando Rivera, Supreme Chaplain; Cheryl Jones, Supreme Conductor; and Glen David Trabenkraut, Supreme Guard.

The highlight of the convention was a special openingnight tribute to Frank Dick. He was introduced by President Kevin Marti and received a special medal from Board Chairman Terry Garner. Not only did Frank Dick serve as the Society’s President and CEO for 21 years, he continued to serve another 20 years as Chairman Emeritus and the Society’s most eff ective ambassador. His humble beginnings on an Ohio farm and service as a Purple Heart veteran in World War II led to a lifetime of gratitude for the opportunities and blessings he received. At age 95, he exhorted a theater of Gleaner members to remember Winston Churchill’s admonition to “Never, never, never give up,” and his own urging to fi nd all the ways to do all the good one can.

Recognition that the Society is on solid footing was tempered by acknowledgment of the challenges America’s benefi t societies continue to face. Speaker Allison Koppel, CEO of the American Fraternal Alliance, spoke of recent trends among fraternal benefi t societies. She noted that Gleaner consistently ranks among the top 10 largest such societies. Together, during the pandemic, benefi t societies have donated more than 30 million

Above: Retired Gleaner Life Insurance Society President and CEO Frank Dick, center, was shown with Board Chair Terry L. Garner, left, and President and CEO Kevin Marti after receiving a medal and special tribute during the 60th Biennial Convention on Oct. 22, 2021.

Below: Frank Dick expressed gratitude for opportunities he has received throughout his lifetime, and encouraged Gleaner convention attendees to make use of their fraternal bene t features to help other people.

Left: Friends gathered with retired Gleaner Life Insurance Society President and CEO Frank Dick after he was honored Oct. 22, 2021, at the Belterra Casino Resort CenterStage Showroom in Florence, Indiana, during the 60th Biennial Convention. Shown with him from left are friends Janet and Gary McDowell and former Gleaner Life President and CEO Ellsworth Stout and his wife Mary Stout.

hours and millions of dollars. “Fraternals have helped fi ll this void that the pandemic has created,” Koppel said. Yet she also pointed to a steep decline in the overall number of fraternals. “When I started 15 years ago, there were 80 fraternal benefi t societies,” Koppel said. “Now there are just over 50.”

Perhaps as an answer, the authentic purpose of Gleaner members — to protect their families and communities — was shown to be very much alive as arbor after arbor shared examples of unique and innovative ways they’re making a diff erence. These included food drives for local pantries, snow sledding trips for children, kitchen classes to make authentic German pretzels, free laundry cleaning days at laundromats, and much more. The convention concluded with more than 60 totes of items being donated by Gleaner arbors to charities in the Switzerland County, Indiana, area. Proceeds from a silent auction netted $9,000 for the Community Foundation of Switzerland County, and Gleaner Life matched that dollar for dollar to produce an $18,000 donation.

Such actions continue to emphasize the Society’s original purpose. As a fraternal benefi t society, Gleaner’s core identity and purpose for existing are exemplifi ed in the Common Bond — a statement of purpose that is included in every application for a Gleaner certifi cate which unites members. Just as Gleaner has modernized its fi nancial solutions, technology and arbor-related programming, the Society also modernized its Common Bond in 2021 to feature more inclusive language. The updated Common Bond maintains the tenets of its earlier versions while being broad enough to include the diverse life experiences of Gleaner’s members:

COMMON BOND

Gleaner Life Insurance Society was founded in 1894 on the principles of Benevolence, Protection and Fraternalism. The values of hard work, steadfast loyalty and a cooperative spirit have their roots in the agricultural heritage of the Society. These values continue with the Society and its members today.

• Benevolence: The Society is guided by the charitable spirit of our members. We believe that each of us is our neighbor’s helper. We work together through service projects to do good things for others and make our communities better places to live.

• Protection: We believe in promotion of economic independence, nancial security and dignity.

• Fraternalism: We nd strength in community. We join together to accomplish more than what we can do individually.

All of our goals are guided by the Gleaner motto Prudens Futuri, which means “Thoughtful for the Future.” Inspired by the biblical story of Ruth, Gleaner members carry out these principles guided and strengthened by their belief in God. All Gleaner members are united by this common bond, demonstrated by our commitment to the principles and values of our organization. Individuals wishing to become members must apply for membership and con rm their common bond and desire to become a part of the Gleaner community. Those who are approved for membership are assigned into an arbor (local service club) in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of Gleaner Life Insurance Society.

What the future has in store is unknown, but trials and tribulations are certain and each family will face crises. Harnessing new solutions to time-tested principles is exactly what farm families did in the 1890s. What Grant Slocum and the original Gleaner members demonstrated was that cooperation built on the principles of benevolence, protection and fraternity helps protect families from whatever challenges time may bring.

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