NASBP Is Excited to Debut New Format For Its Fall Meetings This Year 

Did you ask, “When is my regional meeting?”

Surprise! NASBP will no longer host regional meetings. The nature of the surety business has transformed dramatically over the past couple of decades, and our relationships as producers and underwriters have experienced growth and consolidation that have expanded beyond regional boundaries.

We are excited to reveal our new structure of hosting two Fall Meetings. Changing from Regional meetings to Fall meetings is not too complicated. There are two basic structural changes to the meetings: 1) We will have two Fall Meetings instead of the three Regional meetings; and 2) You Are No Longer Tied to Attending the Meeting Based on Your Geographic Territory or Your NASBP Region.

With this change you now have the freedom to select the Fall Meeting of your choice based on schedule preferences and geographic locale that best fits your interests! If you have the desire to attend both to see your friends who might be attending just one of the meetings, you are welcome to attend both meetings.

When the NASBP officers were considering making this change there were a couple of items that we felt were particularly important to address. The first consideration was the deteriorating ratio of producers to surety company representatives. The continued consolidation of our members has created a reduction in the number of producers that have been able to attend the meetings, making it a less desirable environment for our surety partners to participate in. I am happy to report, that based on our recent registration numbers, it appears that this concern has been remedied and the ratio is almost 50/50 for both meetings. The second consideration that we wanted to address is the quality of the program. The NASBP officers are now fully involved in the structure and implementation of the Fall programs.

The meeting content for both meetings will be similar but not identical and will include engaging panel discussions with surety executives weighing in on current industry trends. We will also be examining current industry topics such as cyber security and project delivery challenges, blockchain technology, and infrastructure advocacy.

Chicago Meeting

The first Fall Meeting (referred to as the NASBP East Meeting) will be held in Chicago from September 15 to 17. The meeting will be held at the Westin Michigan Avenue in the heart of vibrant downtown Chicago. We are excited about implementing for the first time a live broadcast of the first day of the Chicago program. This will also be recorded and available for playback for your convenience. The panel discussions will only be available by attending the events and will not be recorded or broadcast live. Thursday afternoon will be wide open to allow you an opportunity to network with friends and enjoy the sights of Chicago. One possible tour is a boat ride along the Chicago River that highlights some of the spectacular architecture and history along the riverfront.

Note that NASBP’s number one priority is the health and safety of the meeting attendees, presenters, and our staff. NASBP has created a readiness plan and COVID-19 Event Protocols in accordance with CDC Guidelines, City of Chicago and State of Illinois regulations and guidelines, and the current health and safety protocols at the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago, as designated by Marriott Corporation.

San Diego Meeting 

San Diego will be the site for our second Fall Meeting (referred to as the NASBP West Meeting) which will be held from October 27 to 29. The hotel for the conference will be the recently completed Intercontinental San Diego, situated on the waterfront along the San Diego Bay. The contents of the program will feature similar content to the Chicago meeting, but we will have different surety executives participating in the panel discussions. We will have an optional golf tournament that will be held Thursday afternoon at the nearby Coronado Golf Course.

We have all experienced a myriad of unexpected challenges over the past 18 months. During this time we have learned how to execute virtual meetings, and I am amazed that our staff did such an outstanding job of planning and executing our virtual annual meetings and seminars and making Mark Munekawa’s theme of “Being Present” a reality this past year.

The NASBP officers hope to see you in Chicago and/or San Diego as we move to in-person meetings. We are cautiously excited about these meetings and having the opportunity to renew relationships and “Being Better Together.”

Tracy Tucker is President of Tucker Agency, Ltd. in Fort Worth, TX. He can be reached at tracy@tuckeragency.com or 817.336.8520.