Well, another year has passed and, even though I won’t officially be President until Jan. 1, this is the traditional time for the incoming President to say hi!
After 19 months of virtual meetings and not worrying about what to wear on the lower half of my body, it was both exciting and a little stressful to be at ASPPA Annual in person this year. It was certainly great to see a variety of people again but, for this introverted actuary, also a little exhausting. The planning of at least four full outfits including appropriate shoes took significantly more time than normal.
I want to start off by thanking Justin Bonestroo for his dedication and commitment to ASEA over the past year as well as the next 2 months. His thoughtful leadership and willingness to go above and beyond to make sure our tasks were completed is admirable, to say the least. As you may recall, ASEA members recently approved a change in the leadership term to the calendar year. This will align our leadership changes with those of our sister organizations of ARA. So Justin is lucky enough to spend another 2 months at the helm of the organization. He also won’t be riding off into the sunset, not only because he’s way too young for that, but also because he is now on the leadership track for ASPPA, so he will still be very visible and available, and I know he’ll continue to be a strong advocate for ASEA.
The Executive Team was able to have a brief but valuable in-person meeting in September to review the strategic plan that was put in place in 2015. We were joined by Lynn Young, who was on the committee in 2015, to help bring some perspective. We were also joined by incoming Executive Vice President Angie Vadnais. We weren’t necessarily looking to change anything but rather refresh where needed, and use it as a reminder of where we’re going. As I look ahead to the next year, I plan to continue on the path of achieving the goals laid out in the strategic plan, as well as work to complete tasks we weren’t able to fully complete by year-end.
As noted by several of us at the business meeting held at ASPPA Annual this year, we do need to continue to focus on membership growth. I encourage you to start a discussion with those actuaries you come across who are not ASEA members and tell them about the benefits of membership. The Google group alone is a tremendous benefit of membership, but we also work with legislators and the government agencies, which allows us to provide valuable input on new or changing laws and the interpretation and enforcement of those laws, and provide input on the standards of practice to ensure they are appropriate for the work our members perform.
We are always looking for volunteers, whether it’s speakers, writers, or behind-the-scenes doers. We had several people step up at ASPPA this year and hopefully that trend will continue. As we look to the future and as our population ages, we do need younger members to work alongside our sages to bridge the gap when they decide to retire.
I look forward to working with the Leadership Council in the coming year, including new members Martella Turner-Joseph and Mike Eaton, and the executive leadership team, Clint Blankenship and Angie Vadnais, as well as ARA staff Allison, Elizabeth, and Kelsey. Please reach out to any of us with questions or to find out more about volunteer opportunities.
Virginia C. Wentz, EA, FSEA, CPC, is the Director of Actuarial Services at the MandMarblestone Group LLC. She will serve as ASEA’s 2022 President.
- Log in to post comments