IIAT Conference Highlights New Officers, Award Winners

The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas elected new officers and recognized outstanding members at the association’s recent 116th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Dallas.

Bill Henry, chairman and CEO of MHBT Inc., was honored with the Drex Foreman Award. It is the highest honor IIAT bestows annually to an independent agent who has contributed greatly to the independent agency system and is named after Drex Foreman, who served as IIAT’s chief executive director for more than 30 years.

Henry’s insurance career began in 1972 selling and servicing Fortune 1000 accounts for Texas Employers’ Insurance Association, national accounts division. He became manager of national accounts in 1979 and remained in this position until 1983 when McQueary & Henry Inc. was formed. He became president of the agency in 1987 and chairman when the agency merged with Bowles Troy & Associates in 1996. Today, MHBT is the largest insurance agency in Dallas and the second largest in the state.

Henry has served as a regional vice president of IMPACT, IIAT’s political action committee, for 14 years. He has worked with both local and state associations representing the interests of independent agents in the area of workers’ compensation.

Don Whitaker, president and owner of Whitaker Insurance Associates Inc. in San Antonio, was elected to serve as IIAT chair for 2013-2014. His term begins Sept. 1.

Whitaker is president of Associated Insurance Agents (AIA) and is chair of IIAT’s Budget and Finance Committee and the IIAT Services Co. board. He has served as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of San Antonio, and in 1995, he received the Ben R. Binford award from the San Antonio association.

Pat Arthur, shareholder at McQueary Henry Bowles Troy in Dallas, will serve as chair-elect for 2013-2014.

Arthur has been in the insurance and risk management professions since 1982. He has held executive positions with two major insurance companies — one domestic, one in the U.K. — and he served as COO of a major brokerage firm in the South prior to joining MHBT.

Arthur served on the board of directors for the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas from 2003-2006 and was the 2007-2008 IIAD president.

Mark Lee of Swantner & Gordon Insurance Agency in Houston was named the Andre P. Juneau Young Agent of the Year. This award is given annually to a young agent in Texas who has achieved success through hard work, community engagement and industry participation in a manner that would be considered exceptional for a person of his or her age.

Lee has served as chair of IIAT’s Young Agents Advisory Council and has been a member of the council for five years. He participates in IIAT’s annual Community Service Project hosted by young agents and is an active member of IIA of Houston.

Delia (Dee) Randall, personal lines ACSR at Duncan Fraser & Bridges Insurance Agency in Pampa, was named the Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) of the Year. This award is given annually to an ACSR in Texas who exemplifies outstanding leadership and service to the independent agency system and to the public.

In addition to receiving the award, Randall received $1,500 from Myron Steves and the chance to win the national competition later this year.

Fort Worth independent insurance agent Al Boenker won the Paige Eiland Award, which is presented to the person whose political involvement has most benefited independent insurance agents. The award is named after former IIAT member Paige Eiland, a tireless supporter of IIAT’s political action program, IMPACT, and a respected voice for independent agents.

Boenker started his first agency in 1972 and became an independent agent eight years later. Today, Al Boenker Insurance Agency is in the top one percent of independent insurance agencies in the U.S. In 2003, Boenker founded Empower MGA.

Topics Texas Agencies Training Development