MARCH OF THE ACRONYMS By Jennifer Jacobs In in the fall of 2011, I found myself on the sidelines of a debate that began in 1993 when our association merged with PIA and became the PIIAI. That year, the convention was labeled as the first PIIAI convention, and marketing materials and press releases were promoting that year of the merger as the date the association was founded. Jack Payan, who had spent many years in service to the industry as President of three organizations: the Chicago Board of Underwriters; Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois; and Independent Insurance Agents of America, took offense at the new founding date. Jack’s history of the association went back much farther than that and he couldn’t fathom not bringing forward the history of the IIAI when we merged with the PIA. In a letter to Tom Walsh, who was newly installed as PIIAI president that year, Jack wrote about his “consternation when I attended my 36th consecutive Illinois annual convention in 1993. That convention was billed as the 1st Annual Convention of the PIIAI. It should have been the 94th annual convention of the newly combined organization. I was in shock, but quickly realized that nobody seemed to care how I felt about the subject.” Jack’s tenacity finally paid off and he found the right audience in the Executive Committee. It was agreed that the association should adhere to the original founding date of 1899, and at the same time, Jack landed a book deal that ensured he would have access to association resources in exchange for volunteering his time in writing and researching the association’s history. I quickly went from sitting on the sidelines to being declared the research assistant on this project. In addition to receiving a printed carbon copy of every piece of correspondence Jack sent related to the book and its publication, I was charged with digging through the association archives (boxes and boxes of photos and documents) to locate the images and lists he requested. It was tedious work, but I truly enjoyed being immersed, so to speak, in the association’s history. Countless hours of research and several months later, I met with Jack over egg salad sandwiches at his kitchen table in Palos Heights and finalized the materials for publication. The finished product, March of the Acronyms debuted at the association’s convention (the 113th annual event). Jack attended the Past Presidents Dinner and a special book signing event to much fanfare and celebration. Two months later, Jack was laid to rest and left us with a lasting legacy. I am grateful to have worked with him on the history book. What follows is my edit of Jack’s original research on the association history. If you would like to read March of the Acronyms in its entirety, please reach out to me at jjacobs@ilbigi.org or (217) 321-3013 and I would be happy to mail you a copy.
Jennifer Jacobs, SHRM-CP, is Big I Illinois Director of Human Resources and liaison to the Board of Directors.
14
Insight
January 2024
