Welcome
back to a New Year, a Happy and Healthy one to all. I had
a wonderful time at our holiday party, which was well attended,
and a good time was had by everyone I spoke to. The music
was great and the atmosphere was festive and enjoyable.
This event is certainly an excellent opportunity for those
offices that do not have their own party to make one at
the TCIIAA event.
Each year TriCounty raises money for the Interfaith Nutritional
Network (INN). INN addresses the issues of hunger and homelessness
on Long Island. Between donations and the 50/50 raffle we
were able to send the INN over $1000 this year, thanks to
all of you who contributed. The representatives from INN
spoke for a few moments to express their appreciation of
our past help over the years and to convey, with examples,
of where theses funds go to in helping individuals and families
in need.
Terry Flood of the Flood Group and Angelo Mangia from Standard
Funding introduced us to a most worthy cause that they have
been involved with, Bridges to Community, a community development
organization which takes groups of volunteers to developing
countries to work, learn and reflect. They are traveling
to Nicaragua in March to help build homes for families in
need. I want to compliment them on such a humanitarian task
and thank them for making a presentation at the party. I
know that John Natale of First Adjustment Group was one
among those at the party who accepted the call and will
be taking the trip down. Good luck to all of you: We look
forward to your safe return and some great stories.
Has anyone set there 2008 sales goals yet? I’m still
trying to figure out where I stand from 2007. It was a rough
year for sure for many of us, especially in personal auto.
I see no indications of changes to this soft market coming
soon, although Progressive has indicated some changes to
their programs that may include rate increases in certain
classes. We’ll see.
We’ve all had discussions with people over the price
of auto insurance from us vs. direct writers; on how you
get what you pay for, the value, the quality, etc, etc.
Over the holidays I was looking for a case for my new video
iPod (greatest gadget!). I saw a nice one on a shelf, picked
it up. It was leather, had a fold-over cover - a very nice
quality feel. I asked the price and was told $39.00. That’s
not much to spend overall, but at that moment I didn’t
feel the desire to pay that much for a case. I just wanted
a basic protective case.
I later found myself in the aisle for these at the office
supply store. I saw one that looked simple enough, should
do the job, and I bought it for $9 bucks; not bad. Within
2 hours I realized that I got what I paid for. What looked
nice all wrapped in the plastic package, turned out to be
too delicate - not complete garbage, but not too durable.
