NAIFA - Syracuse • 606 State Tower Bldg. • Syracuse, NY 13202 • Phone/Fax: 474-6775 • www.naifanet.com/syracuse/

SyracuSe adviSorThe

SyracuSe

NAIFA-SYRACUSE ANNUAL MEETING

Date: Thursday, June 22, 2017 Place: Justin’s Tuscan Grill 6400 Yorktown Circle Time: 8:00 - 9:30 A.M. E. Syracuse, NY

Speaker:

PATRICK A. MANNION, FLMI, Vice Chair

Columbian Financial Group

Topic: “Status of the Life Industry”

Cost: $10.00 – Breakfast Buffet and Program (Free to Season Ticketholders)

SCHEDULE 8:00 AM Breakfast 8:10-8:30 AM Police Life Savers Award 8:30-8:50 AM Business Meeting 1) Election and Installation of 2017-18 Officers and Directors 8:50-9:00 AM Announcements 9:00-9:30 AM Speakers’ Presentation 9:30 AM Adjournment REGISTER ONLINE AT www.naifanet.com/syracuse/ OR FAX OR E-MAIL YOUR RESERVATION TO THE NAIFA-SYRACUSE OFFICE (FAX #474-6775 or E-MAIL to: cgcrandall@peoplepc.com NO LATER THAN THE RESERVATION DEADLINE. NO PHONE RESERVATIONS PLEASE.

RESERVATION DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017

PATRICK A. MANNION Vice Chair

Columbian Financial Group

Since July 1, 2011, Mr. Mannion has been the Vice Chair of the Columbian Financial Group. Prior to the merger with Columbian, he was the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Unity Mutual Life Insurance Company in Syracuse, New York. Beginning in 1882, Columbian Financial Group and its two main companies, Columbian Mutual and Columbian Life, provide life insurance coverages to working families in all 50 States. Prior to assuming his duties as Unity’s Chairman, President and CEO, Mr. Mannion was the Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President. Prior to that, Mr. Mannion was a partner in various real estate ventures and held administrative positions with the General Electric Company and Syracuse City School District. Mr. Mannion has an MBA from Syracuse University and a BA from the University of Notre Dame, is an FLMI (Fellow Life Insurance Management Institute) and an ACS (Associate Customer Service). He has received numerous awards from various groups including the ACLI Forum 500 Distinguished Service Award, Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management Dean’s Citation, Fayetteville Fire Department (Chief’s Award, FFA President’s Award and Top Responder Award), Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce (Distinguished Citizen Award), and The Syracuse Teacher’s Association Professional Partnership Award. He has also been recognized by the International Fire Fighters Association, Onondaga County Volunteer Firefighters Association, Vietnam Veterans of America, Syracuse Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and Catholic Charities. He recently received Syracuse University’s Thursday Morning Roundtable 2016 Award For Meritorious Community Service. Mr. Mannion is no stranger to industry and not-for-profit boards. He has served on the American Council of Life Insurers Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He is a past chair of the ACLI’s Forum 500 and the past chair of the Life Insurance Council of New York. He currently serves on the Boards of ACLI Services, Inc., Lifetime Health Care Companies, Inc., CenterState CEO (Past Chair), Crouse Hospital (Chair), Syracuse Regional Airport Authority (Chair) and is a founding member of the Onondaga Environmental Institute. He is a Trustee of Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville, New York. He is the Chair of the regional development council for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Syracuse. In addition, he is an active member of the Fayetteville Fire Department where he is an interior firefighter, Emergency Medical Technician, and the Lt.-Public Information Officer. He is the former Board Chair of the Fayetteville Firemen’s Association. Mr. Mannion is married to the former Gwyn K. Heine, and they have six adult children (Brenna, John, Brigid (Graham), Wali, Kristin and Michael) and one grandson, Jameson Patrick. (Updated 04/17)

PRESIDENT’S  PAGE  

In  my  memory,  NAIFA  business  has  always  winded  down  as  the  summer  months  approach,  but  this  year  seems  quite  the  opposite.    There  are  monumental  changes  to  regulation  that  will  be  in  effect  by  the  time  you  read  this,  and  NAIFA  is  proposing  some  drastic  changes  to  our  organization  which  they  would  like  to  vote  on  in  September.    I’d  like  to  touch  on  each  of  these  issues  in  this  month’s  page.  

DOL  Fiduciary  Standard  –  

 I  know  you’ve  all  been  inundated  with  information  on  this  topic,  and  I  doubt  that  I  can  lend  any  insight  beyond  what  your  companies  are  providing,  but  I  do  want  to  update  you  on  what  NAIFA  has  done  and  will  continue  to  do  to  fight  for  our  members  on  this  regulation.    On  May  23rd  and  24th,  over  600  NAIFA  members  went  to  Washington  D.C.  to  speak  with  our  US  representative  from  Congress  and  the  Senate  to  review  how  regulations  are  affecting  our  industry  and  some  of  the  other  challenges  we  are  facing.    The  emphasis  was  obviously  in  the  DOL  ruling,  and  the  timing  was  odd.  Secretary  of  DOL  Alexander  Acosta  announcing  plans  to  move  forward  with  implementation  less  than  24  hours  before  we  arrived  in  DC!  Our  members  met  with  the  offices  of  every  single  US  representative  in  those  2  days!!  

Richard  Cote  Jr.  and  I  were  able  to  attend  the  “Day  on  the  Hill”  and  represent  our  local  association.    We  met  with  staff  from  rep.  John  Katko’s  office,    rep.  Claudia  Tenney  and  her  staff,  and  last  but  not  least,  Rick  was  able  to  spend  some  time  with  Speaker  Paul  Ryan!    Rick  took  advantage  of  this  opportunity  and  jumped  right  in  to  convey  our  concerns  and  objections  with  the  Fiduciary  rule  directly  to  Congressman  Ryan  in  a  small  setting.    He  along  with  everyone  else  we  spoke  with  understood  our  concerns  and  assured  us  they  are  still  working  on  ways  to  reduce  the  impact  of  the  rule,  and  in  many  ways  still  looking  to  remove  it  completely.    One  point  we  wanted  to  drive  home  was  that  the  vast  majority  of  us  SERVE  MAIN  STREET  AMERICA.    We’re  already  looking  out  for  our  client’s  best  interest,  and  implementation  of  this  rule  is  going  to  limit  the  amount  of  people  we’ll  be  able  to  help  and  serve.  I’d  have  to  say  that  our  local  association  was  extremely  well  represented,  but  I  know  we  can  do  better  next  year!  

Proposed  NAIFA  Changes  –    

Our  National  Board  of  Trustees  put  together  a  “QME  Task  Force”  to  put  together  recommendations  to  align  NAIFA  with  their  2020  Strategic  Plan.    Yes,  that  was  a  lot  of  jargon  and  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  summarize  in  a  one  page  address.    The  biggest  changes  would  be  A)  restructuring  of  the  current  system  to  eliminate  formal  local  chapters  allowing  the  states  to  manage  locals,  and  B)  unification  of  the  dues  amount  and  breakdown.    I’ve  attached  a  4-­‐page  document  that  fully  describes  the  proposed  changes  and  the  feedback  they’ve  received  since  first  releasing  it  in  March.    They’ve  opened  a  second  comment  period  that  will  continue  until  June  16th,  so  please  voice  any  concerns  you  have  using  the  form  available  through  a  link  on  page  4  of  the  document  I’ve  attached.    This  is  an  issue  that  will  need  to  be  voted  on,  and  the  vote  could  come  as  early  as  September  of  this  year.    We  will  be  sending  delegates  to  vote  on  this,  so  please  reach  out  to  us  if  you  have  an  opinion  on  this  decision.    Depending  on  the  feedback  we  receive,  and  the  wording  of  the  final  vote,  we  may  hold  a  town  hall  meeting  for  our  members  this  summer,  prior  to  the  vote.      

As  always,  if  anyone  have  any  questions  or  feedback  they  want  to  provide,  please  don’t  hesitate  to  reach  out.  

 

Professionally  Yours,    

Samuel  Chavarria  

8th  Annual  YAT  Golf  Tournament  Brought  to  you  by  NAIFA  Syracuse  

Save  the  Date:    

August  4th,2017  at    

 Travelling  Trophies,  Pride  and  Many  Great  Prizes  are  at  Stake!!!    This  event  is  open  to  all  those  working  in  the  financial  services  industry.        Please  see  enclosed  flyer  for  sponsorship  opportunities  

   

 

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CENTRAL NEW YORK CHAPTER (Your Partner in Continuing Education and Professional Development)

2015-16 WINNER OF THE SOCIETY’S

EXCELLENCE IN CHAPTER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN THE PLATINUM MEDAL OF HONOR CATEGORY

Benefits of Membership: • The Central New York Chapter is an excellent provider of quality continuing education programs

• Two seminars annually with notably acclaimed speakers

• FREE Professional Interest Section • You can begin your CLU, ChFC or CFP studies (7.5 NYS CE Credits per course)

• Subscription to Journal of Society of Financial Service Professionals

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2016-2017

President ............................................... Jon A. Law, CFP, CLU, ChFC, AEP Vice President ....................................... Paul J. Dominski, JD Secretary-Treasurer .............................. Carolyn J. Lawless, CFP Immediate Past President ..................... Peter G. Carchedi, CLU, LUTCF

Chapter Executive .................................. Charlotte G. Crandall

FSP CENTRAL NEW YORK CHAPTER

606 State Tower Building, 109 S. Warren St., Syracuse, NY 13202 Phone: 315-474-6775 • Fax: 315-474-6775

cgcrandall@peoplepc.com  

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2016-17 BENEFACTORS’ PROGRAM CONTRIBUTORS

The support of the following individuals are helping us to continue to provide benefits to our members. Their generosity is greatly appreciated!

VISIONARY LEVEL - $ 500.00 Patrick A. Mannion ADVOCATES PLUS LEVEL - $300.00 Mansukh J. Shah ADVOCATES LEVEL - $250.00 David D. Mirabito James S. Young SUSTAINERS LEVEL - $ 100.00 Edward J. Bailey Dean V. Boucounis Gary F. Cappon Michael J. Herholtz Andrew M. Schaffel Brett J. VanAntwerp ASSOCIATES LEVEL – UNDER $100

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20% DISCOUNT IF 3 OR MORE OPTIONS ARE SELECTED

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TO: NAIFA-SYRACUSE PHONE AND FAX: 315-474-6775 606 STATE TOWER BLDG. 109 S. WARREN ST., SYRACUSE, NY 13202 E-MAIL: cgcrandall@peoplepc.com

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NAIFA 20/20 Quality Member Experience Task Force Report & Recommendations/June 2017 Update

Second Comment Period, June 2-16 QME Task Force Update: Member Feedback & Activities Member Feedback, March-April, 2017 On March 17, 2017, the NAIFA 20/20 Quality Member Experience (QME) Task Force released the first draft of its report and recommendations to align with the direction of the NAIFA 20/20 Strategic Plan. The report was distributed to members for review and comment over a five-week period. During the first exposure period, nearly 80 individuals and six NAIFA associations submitted comment, feedback and suggestions through NAIFA.org. This exposure period followed a series of introductory webinars where NAIFA President Paul Dougherty and CEO Kevin Mayeux explained the QME proposals and answered questions, for hundreds of NAIFA leaders, members and executives. The proposed recommendations from the QME Task Force are:

1. NAIFA is a professional association for insurance and financial advisors, with a national association, state chapters, and local activities coordinated by the states. Members join and pay dues to the national organization, with a portion of dues shared with the state chapter to which a member belongs.

2. NAIFA ensures a baseline of quality member services through established standards for success at the state and national level.

3. NAIFA reduces the number of dues structures from 600 to one. In early May, an executive summary of member feedback was provided to the Task Force and Board of Trustees for review and discussion. Of the three recommendations, the Task Force’s proposal to modernize the Federation structure (recommendation #1) generated the greatest amount of feedback. Most who weighed in on recommendation #1 acknowledged that change was necessary in order for NAIFA to succeed and serve members in 2020 and beyond. However, those who were either opposed or unsure of recommendation #1 expressed concern over how the proposed new business model for locals would impact member services. Commenters also were unclear how the proposed local activities – while free of the burden of governance – would operate without a traditional formal structure. They offered that such a transition for locals could result in one or more of the following:

Accelerate the decline in membership Limit grassroots engagement Limit local member networking and programming opportunities Overburden state associations Reduce the effectiveness of currently effective locals Result in reduced financial support for local activity

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Other commenters said that with no formal board in place at the local level, local activities would perhaps disappear altogether. Some offered alternative recommendations, which ranged from merging “struggling” locals, creating formal local regions or “districts,” and developing criteria that would allow “strong” locals to maintain their current status. The level of member feedback on recommendations #2 and #3 was significantly less. Those who weighed in on the proposals to establish standards for success (#2) and to create a unified dues structure (#3) primarily stated that they needed more information before they could support either recommendation. QME Activities, April-present During and after the exposure period, both the Board and Task Force convened to discuss the feedback at length. The members’ requests for more information resonated strongly with both groups, leading the Board to direct NAIFA National staff to do the following:

Provide a sample of what the NAIFA bylaws would look like under the proposed QME recommendations (effective Jan. 1, 2019)

Provide a sample that summarizes the amended bylaws Provide an example (or “model”) of a NAIFA State Chapter Agreement with National Provide an example of standards for association success

In addition, the Board instructed NAIFA National to seek even more input from the Federation through the establishment of four QME “Working Groups.” Comprised of member volunteers and association executives, the Working Groups are supporting the work of the QME Task force in three ways:

1. Providing more detail on the recommendations, such as standards for success, so NAIFA leaders and members can better understand the proposals

2. Creating a roadmap that will help state and local associations transition to the proposed contemporary structure

3. Suggesting how the QME recommendations could be implemented to ensure that vibrant association activity occurs in local areas throughout each state under a model that envisions one NAIFA organization in each state

The QME Working Groups are: State and Local Structure Working Group Chair: Jason Talley (TX) NAIFA Standards and Accountability Working Group Chair: Tom Cothron (FL) Association Transition Working Group Co-Chairs: Juli McNeely (WI) and Karen True (TX) Association Finances Working Group Chair: Mike Struebing (NE) The Working Groups are scheduled to submit recommendations to the Board in late June.

Page | 4

NAIFA Board Issues Second Comment Period, June 2-16, 2017 In response to the feedback, primarily concerning recommendation #1, the Board has opened a second comment period and has posed two questions to the Federation. The questions are:

1) Would you be in favor of the establishment of Local Area Chapters (which would have “chapter agreements” resembling the states) as long as those local chapters met certain criteria, such as size of membership? Why or Why Not?

2) Do you have additional feedback on the proposed recommendations or the QME activity

that has taken place thus far? Please provide your feedback using the form on NAIFA.org.

Message from the Board of Trustees

Throughout the process and development of the QME Report and Recommendations, the Board has made transparency the number one priority. The member feedback has been critical, and it is informing the decision and direction the Board ultimately will take in its final recommendation to the National Council.

The trustees and members of the QME Task Force are deeply committed to modernizing the NAIFA structure to ensure that NAIFA remains the premiere organization for insurance and financial advisors and the industry. A structure that is streamlined, efficient, accountable and member-centric will deliver a quality member experience and allow NAIFA to continue to be the indispensable voice and professional association for advisors for many years ahead.

The Board wishes to thank the many members, leaders and NAIFA executives for volunteering so much quality time and expertise to advancing the NAIFA 20/20 Strategic Plan. It is our blueprint for change. Success is up to us.

Timeline 6/2/17 Second Comment Period 6/16/17 Second Comment Period Ends 6/30/17 QME Task Force Reviews Comments 7/10/17 Final Recommendations Submitted to Board 9/10/17 National Council Vote 9/2017- Work toward Implementation 12/2018 January 2019 Full implementation of Recommendations

The following applicants have been provisionally elected to membership by our Board of Directors. In accordance with the By-Laws, you have five (5) days from the receipt of this notice to register, in writing, with any officer, any objection you may have to final acceptance of any individual applicant: PROPOSED MEMBER COMPANY SPONSOR Bradley E. Dufrane, LUTCF, CLF New York Life Reinstatement Paul A. Restante, CLU, ChFC, CLTC Community Bank Systems Reinstatement

* * *

Please mark your calendar and plan to participate in our annual NAIFA-Syracuse/Yat Golf Tournament which is scheduled for Friday, August 4th. Don’t miss this fun event!

* * * Our 2016-17 “Build A Package” advertising package options allow you to participate at any time during the year and still receive a full year of benefits. For more information, see the flyer in this newsletter or contact Joe Eppolito at jeppolito@financialguide.com or Charlotte Crandall at cgcrandall@peoplepc.com.

* * *

Get involved with your Association! We are always looking for volunteers to serve on our committees and/or projects. If you are interested, please contact the NAIFA-Syracuse office at cgcrandall@peoplepc.com or call 474-6775. We welcome your participation.

* * *

ADVERTISING POLICY NAIFA-Syracuse realizes that its members are fully aware of their individual contractual and moral obligations. We publish limited advertising in our newsletter from various companies and agencies to keep our entire membership informed. Our advertisers are fully aware that an agent’s own company agency is his/her primary source, and that serving his/her clients is the agent’s primary responsibility. Our advertising policy reflects this awareness.

yourEnjoy

Summer