Happy New Year NAIFA-North Dakota Members. I really hope that you had great holiday time with your families and are excited about 2022.
I would like to start this message with a big thank you to both Hank Prien and Dan Peterson. After many years, these individuals are no longer on the Executive Board. They have given their time, knowledge, and experience to the board for many years. They will remain active in NAIFA but with different roles. We cannot thank them enough.
Steve Walker, Kim Albert, Paul Siebert, Stacy Norton, Julie Phillips, and I had the pleasure of attending the National Leadership Conference in Washington DC early in December. The highlight of the event was Steve Walker receiving the “Four Under Forty” award. This award goes to 4 people in all of NAIFA. This is a tremendous award for Steve and NAIFA-North Dakota. Congratulations, Steve. There was excellent leadership training, and NAIFA is in a great position going forward. We also had the opportunity to go to all 3 of our national delegate offices. Our relationship is strong and your investment in IFAPAC is money well invested at both the state and federal level.
The NAIFA 2020 Strategic Plan was very successful, and the NAIFA 2025 Plan is in place and is working well. This plan focuses on Membership Growth, NAIFA Brand Amplification, and Member Experience. We will also continue to build relationships and be strong in advocacy. Your leaders will be working on the North Dakota Plan soon.
Thank YOU, for your NAIFA membership, and for renewing when the notice hits your mailbox. Membership in NAIFA, whether you are active or not, is extremely important for the future of your business. NAIFA works diligently in all levels of government to protect your business and to protect your clients’ benefits. We saw this firsthand in DC with some outstanding panel discussions. Your membership is essential to your business and to your clients, we are #NAIFAproud. I want to encourage all members to continue to attend at least one NAIFA event each month. You might be surprised how your business will grow and the relationships that will be built.
New in 2022 – On the 3rd Thursday of every month at noon, we are inviting every member to join Zoom and be part of the NAIFA North Dakota Connect. You are welcome to join 15 minutes (11:45 am) early if you want to have fun catching up and visiting with fellow members. Then at noon you will hear highlights from all the leaders to keep you informed with what is happening with NAIFA. We are planning for this to take 30 minutes and really hope you can join us. We are using this as an opportunity for new and current members to be involved and informed. A link will be sent out in the next couple of days. Please accept and add to your calendar and we hope to see you at our inaugural NAIFA-North Dakota Connect on January 20th!
I can go on, but in closing, I would like to thank all of you for allowing me to serve a second year as your State President. I am humbled and honored. I am extremely proud of the leadership team that we have, (I announced them last month), and I know that everyone one of them will put their best foot forward in making 2022 another great year for NAIFA. We also wish all of you a great year.
Lyle M. Kraft
President
NAIFA-North Dakota
701-721-5228
