Carmel, Indiana - April 2, 2012
13th Annual Community Service Award Winners Announced Gary V. Trippe, CIC and James R. Pender, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, ARM BB&T – Oswald Trippe and Company.
The Rough Notes Company, publisher of Rough Notes magazine since 1878 – a monthly magazine for independent insurance agents, is pleased to formally announce the winners of the 13th Annual Community Service Award for Independent Agents for 2012.
Gary V. Trippe, CIC and James R. Pender, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, ARM of BB&T – Oswald Trippe and Company of Ft. Myers, Florida are the co-winners of the 2012 Community Services Award for their dedication, organization, development and implementation of the non-profit Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers (DVIC) organization. The mission this philanthropic organization is to recruit, educate, train and generate meaningful employment opportunities for physically disabled veterans within the property/casualty industry. Qualified veterans will be formally trained as either personal lines sales associates or customer services representatives for insurance agencies and insurance companies. Participating veterans will work from home by telephone and computer to minimize or eliminate their physical limitations.
Gary Trippe and Jim Pender have been friends and business partners for more than 30 years. The both are intimately familiar with issues that affect individuals and families who are dealing with disabilities and the challenges they face. Gary’s older brother was born with cerebral palsey and had severe physical and mental disabilities while Jim’s son was injured in a boating accident and suffered multiple disabilities. These personal experiences in part were the impetus for planning and organizing Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers to help returning vets prepare for meaningful careers within the insurance industry.
The DVIC program is designed to prepare disabled veterans for personal lines sales and personal lines customer service representatives. DVIC will recruit participants through veterans groups and community service organizations, and it will work with the Veterans Administration Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service to identify qualified candidates. After the veterans have completed their education and training program and obtained state licenses, DVIC will attempt to place the with agencies or insurance companies.
DVIC will create a wonderful win-win situation ….provide jobs for disabled veterans while filling a need for qualified personal lines sales associates and CSR’s for the insurance industry.
The new program to help disabled veterans will allow returning Heros an opportunity to be gainfully employed. The DVIC program will assist disabled veterans to overcome the daunting physical, emotional and economic obstacles when returning from places like Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas where our troops are deployed. The program will allow the retuning disabled veterans to work from home in our new electronic age eliminating or minimizing their physical limitations. Most young veterans are already familiar with computers and other electronic devices and will adapt easily and quickly to working at home.
We salute Gary Trippe and Jim Pender for their incredible thoughtfulness in developing the wonderful new program to help physically disabled veterans.
Gary and Jim were honored in Indianapolis on March 21, 2012 in conjunction with Rough Notes magazine’s 26th annual Marketing Agency of the Year celebration. The Rough Notes Company will make a donation to the Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers in the amount of $5,000 in the names of Gary and Jim. The winners will also receive and engraved Eagle statue commemorating their involvement with DVIC.
