Trusting Relationships: Our Pathway to Meeting Challenges and Seizing Opportunities 

Everyone was pleased with the record turnout at the NASBP Annual Meeting at the Broadmoor last month and the programs provided. In fact, NASBP attendees rated the  breakout sessions and the continuing education program very high. Then, there was the band! American English was a fabulous way to close the Meeting. Once again, Spence Miller, Matt Cashion, and the entire Annual Meeting Program Committee are to be commended on a job well done. As I write this, my 2012 Annual Meeting Program Committee co-chairs, Paul Amstutz and Tracy Tucker, are busy working with the Committee to plan next year’s meeting, April 29-May 2, 2012, that will be held at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida. Having heard of some of their great ideas, I am excited already for it to take place.

The initial focus for the incoming NASBP President is always the President’s first speech as NASBP President and, of course, the President’s theme. I felt the pressure, to say the least. Many of you could tell I was nervous, yet I had prepared. I rehearsed over 30 times in front of my family, including my yellow Labrador, Roxie. What stays with me about my preparation was the abundance of encouragement from so many NASBP colleagues and friends right up to the moment that I gave my speech. I want to thank you and express how much I am looking forward to being your President this year.

I believe that we are fortunate to be part of such a great business providing bonds to so many and to make a substantial impact on our clients’ business success. The world of surety is small compared to other business markets, but this is what makes it unique. We know there has to be a financial basis for any extension of surety credit; however, without the shared trust and absence of any kind of relationship, the bond does not get written. My theme, “Trusting Relationships,” is really the framework of our industry. In this coming year we will have both challenges and opportunities presented to us. These are interesting times. Loss ratios the past few years have been solid to say the least, but at the same time the economy, especially the construction markets, pose great uncertainty. I believe that the long-term relationships we have established between agent, surety, and client will prevail and help us meet those challenges and seize the opportunities presented to us in the coming year.

NASBP offers you many of those opportunities. One we should all recognize is the NASBP William J. Angell Surety School that will be offered in Chicago July 31 – August 5, 2011. Level I is full, and only seven seats remain for the second class of the Level II School. (The first class of the Level II School filled up weeks ago.) The Schools provide real value to hundreds of graduates. At each School, relationships are forged among the students and faculty continue to mentor many of these young professionals even after they have graduated from the School.

If you have not attended any of the Schools recently you may not recall that the current NASBP President is responsible for teaching a class on ethics. If we are to maintain trusting relationships with our partners, we must be vigilant when it comes to ethical business behavior. Sometimes this point becomes lost and the focus diminished in our hectic daily schedules. NASBP will continue to make sure that ethics remains a priority. Already, NASBP has made plans to improve the content of this section of the School’s curriculum. For those recent graduates, please make a point to become involved with NASBP!

An opportunity for the younger leaders in the industry is the NASBP 5-15 Leadership Circle, which is a great place to start your involvement with the Association. We have some of the industry’s brightest and best on this newly formed NASBP committee, and we continue to provide benefits and opportunities geared toward these Committee members’ needs. NASBP provides the 5-15 Leadership Circle members unique access to top-level managers from both the agency and underwriting sides of the business as well as discounts to various NASBP meetings. To learn more, please contact me, and I will be happy to discuss this personally with you.

Opportunity also awaits you at the NASBP Region 8, 9, 10 and 11 annual meeting coming up July 21- 24 in Boston. What a great venue for a meeting! The Regional Directors, Brian Ayres, Wayne McCartha, and Kevin Garrity have worked hard to make sure the program offers great value to all. The NASBP Regional meetings provide one of the best opportunities to visit with local business associates and friends. If you are going, please encourage another member, affiliate, or associate to join us. The NASBP associate members that came to the national meeting were very impressed, and I am sure all of the NASBP associates would enjoy the NASBP Regional meetings just as much. While I am on the subject, we still have only 20 associate members. My goal is to have over 50 by the time I hand my Presidency over in the spring of 2012. CPA’s can be a great additional advocate for us, and their presence and participation can only help. I ask you to pick up the phone and talk to one of your trusted CPA firms and ask them to join NASBP. The first NASBP associate is from my backyard in El Paso. Their partners have been enthusiastic about the information they receive from NASBP, whether it be through Pipeline, NASBP SmartBrief or the many other any other NASBP communications.

Last week I was fortunate to attend both the NASBP Federal Contracting Workshop and the NASBP Fly-in. NASBP staff, Ann Latham and Cathrine Nelson, did a fabulous job of bringing together industry leaders for the Workshop panel. Included among the expert presenters were Heather James, Esq. and Martha Perkins, Esq. of the Washington, DC office the law firm of Whiteford, Taylor, Preston LP and Gehrig Cosgray, CPA with Clifton Gunderson of Beltsville, MD. These presenters had incredible knowledge of virtually all aspects of the federal procurement arena including the impact the SBA’s 8(a) changes could have on our clients. The format provided for plenty of opportunities for questions and discussion, which I found most beneficial.

On Thursday, I attended the NASBP Legislative Fly-in, another great opportunity for the entire NASBP membership, that was a great success with over 70 attending. NASBP’s Fly-in demonstrated that we can and must be proactive on the Capitol Hill. NASBP staff including Mark McCallum, Larry LeClair, Vanessa Stevens, and Bethany Jones should be given credit for a job well done as they assembled Congressmen, their staff, and federal agency officials to speak to the NASBP membership. It is one thing to read about the political challenges facing us in the Wall Street Journal, but hearing about it directly from these leaders in Washington, DC, such as U.S. Representative Richard Hanna (R-NY) and U.S. Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) was an unusual opportunity for us and highlights the value added by NASBP.

That afternoon I met with Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). They, along with their staff, were eager to meet with me. I provided them the NASBP “one-pager” that summarizes NASBP’s 2011 Legislative Agenda and is overall non-partisan. I stressed to both that our industry continues to advocate for small business, including emerging and minority contractors. I found strong support and interest for NASBP’s Agenda from both Reyes and Hutchison. At the NASBP Fly-in reception that evening, I was pleased to learn that my NASBP colleagues had similar experiences during meetings that day with their legislators.

We have legislative challenges before us but I believe that trusting relationships that we develop with our legislators through regular, educational meetings with them will help us combat the threats to our product. Walking through the House and Senate buildings was an exhilarating experience and I look forward to repeating it next year. Remember that 2012 is an election year, and it will be important we return once again to the NASBP Fly-in. I encourage all of the NASBP membership to join us and advocate for the surety industry by voicing our opposition to legislative initiatives that increase bond thresholds, waive bonds, and threaten our industry.

In closing, based on comments NASBP and I have received, NASBP members, affiliates, and associates believe that the value NASBP delivers today is better than ever. I want to thank NASBP CEO Mark McCallum and the entire NASBP staff for a job well done. I also appreciate their constant encouragement and support. Here we go!

John M. Rindt
NASBP President

John M. Rindt is Executive Vice President of JDW Insurance in El Paso, TX. John can be reached at jrindt@jdw-insurance.com.