The Lynette Owens & Associates Insurance Advisory Council is still going strong, marking its 17th year of gathering to discuss financial industry issues as they relate to incentive programs—and to get updates from the meeting properties in the portfolio of Lynette Owens & Associates, a hotel marketing firm. Council members are senior executives in insurance and financial services companies.

This year’s meeting was held over the summer at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C. Top of mind was reinforcement of incentive conference attendance as the primary way for corporate leaders to build relationships with top producers, and to hear what’s on their minds. When asked what influences their decisions to hold incentive conferences, Owens reports, “They told us that the simple answer is: competition demands it. But the more studied answer is that an incentive conference is a time to reward loyal producers for their efforts, a time to develop quality business relationships with producers, to listen to sales leaders, and to educate and motivate.”

Council members participating in the 2009 Summer Meeting were: Tom Schori, principal, Axia Strategies; Damian Salvi, vice president, team advantage, Baltimore Life Insurance Company; Joe Choma, vice president, operations, Baypark Financial/MetLife; Franci Neill, vice president, meetings & conferences, Brokerage Concepts, Inc.; Mike Belz, president & CEO, Catholic Life Insurance; Keith Smith, relationship development manager, Beneficial Financial; Bob Thomas, senior vice president, marketing, Chesapeake/TexasLife/Wilton Re; Tom Nicholson, vice president, sales & marketing, DakotaCare; Ed Carroll, president, Carroll & Associates; Brian Bulakites, sales vice president, financial institutions, Genworth Financial; Steve Koza, national sales director, IAP Life; Ed Ledford, vice president, business development, Foresters Financial Partners; Mark Kemp, president, Police and Fireman’s Insurance Association; Pat Kenney, vice president, sales & marketing, Assurity Life; and Bill Hess, Columbia Financial.

Hotels currently represented by Lynette Owens & Associates are: Walt Disney World Resorts; Hammock Beach Resort, Palm Coast, Fla.; La Quinta Resort, La Quinta, Calif.; Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, Ojai, Calif; Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, Farmington, Pa.; Ponte Vedra Beach Resorts, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, Calif.; Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa, Maui, Hawaii; Balboa Bay Club & Resort, Newport Beach, Calif.; The M Resort, Las Vegas; Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, N.C.; Hilton Marco Beach Resort, Marco Island, Fla.

The LOA Insurance Advisory Council held its 2009 Annual Meeting at the Pinehurst Resort.