Opportunities and Benefits for North East Ohio FPA Members

President’s Message

Dear Members of the FPA of NE Ohio,

Just want to start my comments by thanking our members for the opportunity to serve such a wonderful group of professionals. A special thank you go out to Eric Schwarz and Russ Rosen who have volunteered to handle the Pro Bono committee and for Karin Stifler who agreed to meet with Eric and Russ to bring them up to speed.

Remember take the time to get involved, attend the monthly meetings. It is one of the best ways to meet your peers. The more members you get to know the better idea of who you may be available for assistance to bounce ideas off of and see if there is a better way to handle a situation you are facing. Through members I have met, I have found those that I have been able to refer business to and have received referrals from. You can do the same. Show up, meet people, and develop relationships that are win-win. This way we all benefit.

Nancy Radzyminski continues to put the finishing touches on the speakers for our symposium. Look for more details in the coming months. We ask your support in lining up sponsors for this event. If there is a vendor you feel would benefit from partnering with the FPA, please contact Lynn Bracic. Lynn can give you specifics on the opportunities but your personal call to a vendor will go along way to obtaining their participation. We ask you to make the call only because you have the relationship with the vendor; Lynn does not.

As many of you may know Ohio is becoming a Partnership State in terms of Long Term Care. Those of you that sell Long Term Care now will need to take an eight-hour class in order to write Long term Care Insurance after September 1, 2008. We are looking into making this class available to our members. Whether that is for FPA only or as partX•¸¸ÿÿÿÿ Ù/ of a coordinated effort with other financial service professional organizations.

We are also trying to put together a Media Relations program after the Ethics Meeting on September 18th. This will provide information for existing members and those of you looking to participate on this committee. We are trying to line up Bruce Hennes to provide a workshop that will help you deal with the media. If you are interested in either or both programs, block out time on September 18th.

As I write this column the markets have calmed down for the time being. Be diligent stay in touch with your clients, keep them focused on their long-term goals. Also, we all need to stay on top of the regulatory environment. It is important to voice your opinion either through the surveys you receive, emails sent to the FPA Board and the FPA PAC. One thing is certain; changes are coming. Hopefully, they are what we are looking for.

Enjoy the spring and summer months. Make every day count by making a positive difference in the lives of the people we meet.