Yesterday, during the Emerging Leaders Luncheon at the 2023 Legislative Conference, the Big “I" recognized the achievements of its young agents. 

Cassandra Koegel, assistant vice president, business development at Eastern Insurance Group in Stoughton, Massachusetts, received the Young Agent Champion Award. The award is selected by the Big “I" national Young Agents Committee (YAC) and is given to a deserving individual in recognition of their dedication and service to young agents and to the industry. 

Koegel (pictured above with Elliott) has been an active participant in the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) YAC since 2017, advocating for involvement in their state association, sharing her passion for insurance with others, and advising young professionals on development opportunities. After being appointed to the national YAC in 2019, Koegel has worked tirelessly to support YAC programs. She is currently co-chair of the MAIA YAC and is a representative on the Liberty Mutual Business Lines Agent Advisory Council. 

Brock Elliott, chair of the Big “I" national Young Agents Committee and producer and partner at Elliot Group in Louisburg, Kansas, presented Koegel with the award. "This young agent is a leader at our national events," Elliott said, noting that she is a “true champion of our program" and has "formed lasting relationships with our incredible Young Agents sponsors and supporters." 

During the Emerging Leaders Luncheon, Nathan Riedel, Big “I" vice president, political affairs, also announced that Ivie Isler is the recipient of the 2023 InsurPac Young Agent of the Year Award. 

Isler, pictured right with Riedel, is the assistant vice president and marketing analyst supervisor at McGriff in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Technology & Social Media Committee chair for the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents (AIIA). She was instrumental in helping AIIA win its first InsurPac Eagle Award, which recognizes states that surpass a fundraising average of $100 per member agency. 

"Last year, her state set its eyes on becoming an Eagle state for the first time, and she was a driving force to make this happen," Riedel said, describing how prior to AIIA's Young Agents Conference last year, “she reached out to each attendee to educate them about the importance of InsurPac and personally ask for their support," he said. “That paid off, as they more than doubled the number of contributions from young agents in the amount raised." 

The Big “I" also recognized Lydia Ramos, account manager at FUSA Insurance Agency in Denver, (pictured, left, with Elliott) after she was awarded the Young Agent Scholarship Award. 

Presented each year to one young agent who is a first-time attendee to the Big “I" Legislative Conference, the Young Agent Scholarship enables the recipient to attend the conference free of charge. This scholarship was established in 2003 to honor Maurice Herndon, who was named head of the Big “I" national's Washington, D.C. office in 1949. Herndon coordinated the Big “I" state associations and built the government affairs and grassroots operations via his extensive travel, education, passion and hard work. 

Elliott presented Ramos with the award, adding that her “energy and dedication is what makes our young agent community so special and so powerful." 

In her application, Ramos said that “the chance to be a part of something that will so positively influence my career and personal growth" was one of the biggest reasons she hoped to attend this year's conference. Ramos also noted that she spent a large part of her childhood on her grandfather's ranch in Texas and wants to “keep that closeness and way of life at the forefront of legislation in America." 

AnneMarie McPherson Spears is IA news editor.