WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 5, 2018 –The Council Foundation announced today that it is awarding $375,000 in academic scholarships to 75 college students interested in pursuing careers in insurance brokerage.
Students will receive $5,000 towards their college education. Since 2006, the Foundation—formerly known as the Foundation for Agency Management Excellence (FAME)—has awarded $2.2 million to 450 students across the country, including $1 million to 200 students in the last three years alone.
The Foundation’s Scholarship Program partners with the internship programs of member firms of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. The program exposes college students from across the country to the commercial insurance brokerage sector with the ultimate goal of keeping them in the business after graduation. Of the 125 students who received scholarships over the past two years, nearly 53 percent have been hired or repeated an internship with a Council member firm.
“Recruiting the next generation of industry leaders is perhaps the biggest hurdle our industry faces, and being able to make a difference in the career trajectory of these students—particularly within the walls of our member firms—is both exciting and rewarding,” said Ken A. Crerar, president/CEO of The Council.
The mission of The Council Foundation is to bring fresh, diverse talent into the brokerage sector by way of internships with CIAB member firms. Students must be formally nominated by the respective brokerages at which they worked. In awarding the scholarships, an independent selection committee looks for candidates who have the potential to excel as leaders and contributors in the commercial insurance brokerage business sector.
“I am extremely appreciative and elated to know that I was selected for this scholarship,” said Doris Silva, a scholarship recipient who interned at Bolton & Company. “It will definitely be a huge help during my last year at school. This summer has been life changing at Bolton, and now more than ever I cannot wait to graduate and get my career started. Thank you to the entire Council team and to Bolton for the amazing opportunity.”
Firms whose interns won scholarships include: Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.; AP Intego; Arlington/Roe & Co.; Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.; Assurance Agency, Ltd.; AssuredPartners, Inc.; Bolton & Company; Borislow Insurance; Broadstreet Partners, Inc.; Brown & Brown, Inc.; BXS Insurance; Cottingham & Butler, Inc.; CRC Insurance Services, Inc.; Cross Insurance; Crystal & Company; Glatfelter Insurance Group; Hays Companies; Heffernan Group; Insurance Office of America, Inc.; Johnson Kendall & Johnson, Inc.; Lockton, Inc.; M3 Insurance; Marsh & McLennan Agency; Pritchard & Jerden; RCM&D, Inc.; Risk Strategies Company; Roach, Howard, Smith, and Barton, Inc.; The Crichton Group; The Plexus Groupe LLC; and TrueNorth Companies.
“This truly is a program that moves the needle,” said Jim Henderson, chairman and CEO of AssuredPartners, Inc. “The Council Foundation’s support in attracting and rewarding new talent into commercial brokerage is immensely valuable. We certainly need to continue to attract the best and brightest to this industry, and this program is making a difference in those efforts.”
The Council Foundation is a 501c(3) organization administered by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. Contributions made to the Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
The 2018-19 scholarship recipients are listed in the file attached.
