Kansas' Bob Fee, president of Fee Insurance Group Inc. in Hutchinson, was sworn in as 2021-22 Big “I" chairman at the recent Big “I" Fall Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
Fee has held numerous positions at both the state and national level for the Big “I." At the state association level, he has served on the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents (KAIA) Board of Directors and as the Kansas director on the national association board. He has also served on several KAIA committees, including the Government Affairs Committee, and was the 2007-2008 KAIA president. At the national level, Fee has been a member of the Government Affairs Committee and the Trusted Choice® Board of Directors, including a term as the Trusted Choice board chairman. He received the Big “I" Chairman's Citation in 2011.
John Costello, USI Insurance Services, Rochester, New York, was installed as chairman-elect and Michael McBride, Mason-McBride Inc., Troy, Michigan, became vice chair. Fee succeeds chair Jon Jensen, of Correll Insurance in Spartanburg, South Carolina, who will remain on the Big “I" Executive Committee for an additional year as immediate past chair.
The Fall Leadership Conference also marked the 125th anniversary of the Big “I" and included a celebratory dinner hosted for past and present leaders of the association and many company partner sponsors. At the event, Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I" president & CEO, moderated a panel of Big “I" luminaries including Jensen, former co-CEO Jeff Yates and past president Alex Soto. They discussed the history of the Big “I" and its impact on the industry and independent agents.
Premier sponsors of the event participated in a tribute video for the milestone, and dozens of former Big “I" presidents, chairs, and award winners reflected on the accomplishments and culture of the association in a Big “I" Legends video that also debuted at the dinner.