NEWS RELEASE - For Immediate Release

Please contact Kitty Ambers, CPIA, CIC, CISR, CPIW, Executive Director with any questions. Call 877/674-CPIA or visit www.aimssociety.com.

ALABAMA INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS ASSOCIATION

GRADUATES FIRST CLASS OF

CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE AGENTS

April, 2006 – Birmingham, AL - The Alabama Independent Insurance Agents Association recently graduated the first class of Certified Professional Insurance Agents (CPIA) in the state. The Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) designation is comprised of a series of Insurance Success Seminars. These 3, one-day workshops teach practical "before", "during", and "after" the sale techniques for insurance producers, sales managers, account managers and company marketing representatives. The debut of the Insurance Success Seminars in Alabama took place on April 4-6, 2006 at AIIA Headquarters in Birmingham.

Ted Kinney, CPIA, CIC, CPCU, ARM, AU, AAM, AAI, Director of Education and Technical Affairs for AIIA served as the facilitator for these programs. Kinney explained that the CPIA program provides a strong addition to the AIIA educational curriculum and gives Alabama agents the opportunity to learn new concepts for developing new business and successfully servicing existing accounts. Additional seminars will be held September 27-29, 2006 in Mobile and on November 28-30, 2006 in Birmingham. For details, contact Mr. Kinney at 205/326-4129 or visit www.aiia.org.

“The CPIA designation program has helped me vastly improve my sales skills. Plus, the Society has provided me with a large network of agents who are now friends and who I can call upon for help,” stated a new CPIA designee.

Another seminar participant stated that the AIMS Society “is an organization that makes an active effort to ensure that its sales training materials are current and takes into consideration today’s agency sales approaches.”

The following individuals achieved the CPIA designation during the April seminars and will be recognized during the national CPIA conferment ceremony schedule for March 3, 2007 in Tucson, AZ:

Alabama Public Auto Insurance / Carrileen Price / CPIA, CISR / Birmingham / AL
Alabama Public Auto Insurance / Dolores Ann Frederick / CPIA, CIC, CISR, CPIW / Birmingham / AL
Alabama Public Auto Insurance / Gail Tolleson Todt / CPIA, CIC, CISR, CPIW, DAE / Birmingham / AL
American Resources Insurance Company / Lawrence F. Boland / CPIA / Owens Cross Roads / AL
Aronov Insurance, Inc. / Kimberly Ann Bates / CPIA, CIC / Montgomery / AL
Aronov Insurance, Inc. / Allen Richard Williams / CPIA / Montgomery / AL
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC / Debra Laureen Davis / CPIA, CISR / Birmingham / AL
Burns & Wilcox, Ltd. / Cynthia A. Simmons / CPIA / Birmingham / AL
CIMA / Adam M. Cochran / CPIA / Gardendale / AL
Cubs Insurance, Inc. / Kathryne L. Brugge / CPIA / Birmingham / AL
Elliott & Associates / Rudene Talley Christian / CPIA, CISR / Opelika / AL
Elliott & Associates / Rickey Dale Elliott / CPIA / Opelika / AL
First Capital Insurance, Inc. / Wanda Graben McCollum / CPIA / Lineville / AL
Genesee General / Christopher Paul Crowell / CPIA, CISR / Alpharetta / GA
Harleysville Insurance Co. / Clinton Bothwell / CPIA, CIC / Atlanta / GA
Harleysville Insurance Co. / Donald Harper / CPIA / Nashville / TN
Insurance Express, LLC / Lynne Ernest / CPIA / Gilbertown / AL
Insurance South / Linda Riley Sully / CPIA / Birmingham / AL
J. Smith & Co. / Mary Cathy Rickman Parkin / CPIA / Birmingham / AL
J. Smith Lanier / Gloria Lett Ingram / CPIA, CISR / Birmingham / AL
Marsh USA Inc. / Dawn B. Colby / CPIA, AIS / Birmingham / AL
Marsh USA Inc. / DeVon A. Harmon / CPIA, CISR / Birmingham / AL
McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc. / Stacie J. Aldridge / CPIA, CISR, CPIW / Birmingham / AL
O.M. Hughes Insurance Inc. / Marcus K. Hughes / CPIA, CIC / Birmingham / AL
Pinckard Agency / Stacy Hand Dew / CPIA, CIC / Troy / AL
Robinson Adams Agency / Barbara Ann Harper / CPIA / Birmingham / AL
S.S. Nesbitt & Co., Inc. / Tammie R. Cutchen / CPIA / Birmingham / AL
St. Paul Travelers / Tracey Rogers Wilson / CPIA / Fitzpatrick / AL
The Cone Company / Matthew Millett Rainer / CPIA / Montgomery / AL
The Frederick Agency / William V. Hamner / CPIA / Montgomery / AL
The Insurance Network / Johnye H. Woodrow / CPIA, CIC / Pelham / AL
Trammel, Harper & Williams, Inc. / Cindy Lynne Bili / CPIA / Trussville / AL
Truitt Insurance Agency / Cynthia Herndon / CPIA, CISR / Birmingham / AL
Virgil B. Fowler Insurance Agency / Jason Stansell Fowler / CPIA / Cullman / AL
Zurich Financial Enterprises / Phillip Frank Mangina / CPIA / Birmingham / AL

About the AIMS Society

Founded in 1968 and based in Richmond, VA, the AIMS Society originally was known as the Fire Mark Society – an organization that recognized property-casualty insurance agents for their sales excellence and professionalism. With a network of more than 500 members and over 1,600 CPIA designees, the AIMS Society’s mission is to provide networking opportunities, and interactive marketing and sales resources to insurance professionals.

Contact the AIMS Society office at 877/674-CPIA (toll-free) or visit www.aimssociety.com for more information regarding the Society’s membership benefits and sales and marketing training opportunities.

The organization will host the 20th Annual PRO-to-PRO Producer Idea Sharing Event from March 1-3, 2007 in Tucson, Arizona.

Alabama Independent Insurance Agents Association hosts first CPIA seminars in Alabama.

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