Members of the Minot Affiliate, Kimberly Lee, Lyle Kraft, Jacob Thrailkill, Kim Albert, Stacy Norton, and Paul Siebert, are gathering in Kim Albert's office for three consecutive Tuesdays over the noon hour to complete the Grassroots Engagement Series. Everyone brings their own laptop and registers individually, and all will have their Financial Security Advocate badge before Congressional Conference! Thank you to all who are attending.

Jessica Westgard Larson, MBA, RICP, AIF is a Financial Representative, Registered Representative and Financial Advisor at Principal Financial Group® in Fargo. While a student at Concordia College in Moorhead, she started working part-time as a file clerk for her father, Les Westgard, who was also an agent for Principal® at the time. Following graduation, Jessica found herself continuing in a full-time administrative role for Les and pursuing her insurance and securities licenses so she could dig deeper into a customer service role. In 2007 she took the leap into an agent/advisor role, as her father was nearing retirement. They worked through a multi-year transition plan for her to take over his client block. In the years since, she has enjoyed making the practice her own and taking it to the next generation.

Terry Kraft, LUTCF, has two jobs on his resume: Lawn mowing and American Family Insurance Agent. Terry started with American Family in 1983 while he was finishing up his Business Administration degree and playing basketball at University of Mary (or as he has stated, taking up space on the bench of the basketball program at UM).

Greetings NAIFA-North Dakota Members.  As we wind down on the first quarter of 2022, I hope the year is going fabulous for you, your family, and your business.  2022 is shaping up to be a great year.

Lindsey Vogel, LUTCF is a licensed insurance agent and financial advisor with Witthauer Financial Group in Jamestown. After graduating from University of North Dakota and living and working in Grand Forks for a while, she moved back to her hometown in 2014 to work in the “family” business. Her grandfather, Herb Witthauer, started in the insurance industry in the mid-60s, and her father, Paul Witthauer, joined in 1984. Working in the insurance industry and following in the footsteps of grandpa and dad was always on the back of her mind, and although it took a while to make that decision, since 2014 she has not once looked back.

Not every successful financial professional was a two-time All-Conference quarterback at North Dakota State University. But Steve Walker, LUTCF, a loyal NAIFA member since 2009, believes some of the traits that made him a standout for the Bison on the football field have contributed to his success as Vice President and Senior Insurance Consultant with Gate City Insurance Agency in Fargo, ND. They also make him a worthy recipient of Advisor Today’s Four Under 40 award.

The Board of Directors for the North Dakota chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has been announced.

Join NAIFA-North Dakota for North Dakota Connect before each NAIFA Live presentation! You will hear up-to-date information from state leaders about what is going on in your local area, the state, and NAIFA Nation. Click the button below to register and receive your link. 

Happy New Year NAIFA-North Dakota Members. I really hope that you had great holiday time with your families and are excited about 2022.

Advisor Today, the official publication of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), is pleased to announce that Steven Walker, LUTCF, of Gate City Insurance in Fargo, ND, loyal member since 2009, is a winner of a 2021 Four Under Forty award. Additional winners this year are J. Cal Anderson, CFP, CLU, of Ameriprise Financial in Alpharetta, GA, loyal member since 2008; Joanna Dellosa, LUTCF, FSS, RICP, LACP, CLU, of Wilshire Group Financial Services in Los Angeles, loyal member since 2012; and Rebecca Schulter, LUTCF, of UCL Financial Group in Memphis, TN, loyal member since 2015.