Maintaining Lifelong Connections with NASBP

Aristotle posited that man is by nature a social animal, needing social groups and society to thrive. Indeed, much science exists to substantiate that human social connections provide substantial physiological and psychological benefits to individuals. Conversely, absence of social connections can diminish happiness, health, and longevity, as numerous studies have concluded.

Fortunately for us, surety is a relationship-driven business in which social and professional connections pay dividends for career progression and satisfaction. As a trade association, NASBP serves to enhance such connections through building a shared identity and community and providing opportunities to gain knowledge, skills, and information, to network among peers, to advocate for interests, and to pursue and demonstrate industry leadership. Being amongst “our tribe” fuels the enthusiasm at our Annual and Fall meetings and is a treasured experience of students at the different levels of NASBP surety schools. Personally, I feel gratified when I hear NASBP members convey their thankfulness for the close social and professional friendships made over the years when attending meetings or serving in volunteer positions on committees.

Realizing the value of such connections and that those connections should not cease or be made more difficult because of an industry retirement, the NASBP leadership initiated a new category of membership in the organization, a first-of-its-kind individual-level, not company-level, membership for producers and underwriters who wish to maintain an active connection with the NASBP community.

This new membership class allows retired surety professionals to remain connected to and to participate in the life of NASBP after he or she no longer pursues surety production professionally. Persons who are fully retired, meaning not engaged in any surety production, and who are former employees of NASBP producer agencies or affiliate managing general agencies, surety companies, reinsurers, or reinsurance brokers with at least 15 years in the surety business prior to retiring are eligible for “retired surety professional” status in the association.

Although non-voting members of the Association, retired surety professional members participate in almost all facets of the life of the Association, such as serving on committees, attending meetings, receiving NASBP communications, and more, providing opportunities for them to share and be appreciated for sharing their wealth of experience and knowledge.

In the coming months, NASBP will be sending out more communications and social media about Retired Surety Professional membership, and a digital brochure has been created to provide further information. As NASBP may not have personal contact information for those who have retired in recent years, please feel free to share contact information for colleagues who have retired or will be retiring and are interested in keeping connections with the NASBP community. Such information can be directed to Dasha Harris, NASBP’s Assistant Director, Membership Services, at dharris@nasbp.org.

Connections built over decades are too precious to lose. I hope the establishment of the new Retired Surety Professionals class of membership will provide the means to ensure lasting connections with the NASBP community that transcend career shifts or culminations.