Director Elect
How an Unexpected Journey Led Me to Embrace Leadership and Discover the True Value of Giving Back
To say that the story of my election to my current role as Director of the Agent/Broker Division did not go as planned would be an understatement. For starters, I hadn’t planned on being a candidate for the director role at all—at least not last year. And that wasn’t necessarily because I couldn’t see myself in the position. In fact, I had been wanting to become more involved with the AIA, but it never seemed like the right time.
The main reason I hadn’t planned on running was because one of my dear friends and colleagues was already a candidate, and I knew she would do a great job if elected. It wasn’t until she withdrew her candidacy due to personal reasons that I began considering the role myself. After receiving some encouragement to apply, I gave it serious thought.
When the position was described to me, it genuinely seemed like a great fit. I was assured the commitment would be minimal: two meetings per year and the quarterly Binder article, which I could outsource if needed. It was also mentioned that the board met biannually in London, which excited me, along with the opportunity to write the Binder article, as writing is one of my strengths—or at least I like to think so—and a skill I don’t often get to showcase.
I quickly and carefully submitted myself for consideration. By the time of the annual conference, where the election would take place, I remained the only candidate on the ballot. It should be noted that my predecessor had also been the sole candidate during her election.
After arriving at the 2025 annual AIA conference, I anxiously awaited the election while trying to play it cool. Other brokers and underwriters occasionally congratulated me on my candidacy or asked how I felt, to which I usually responded with a mixture of nerves and excitement.
Of course, I had prepared a few words to introduce myself before the vote, but since I was the only candidate, the election felt like a formality. While I remained nervous due to my natural tendency toward anxious perfectionism, I kept wondering: what could possibly go wrong?
As it turns out, more than you might expect.
It was finally the day of the election. Everyone attending the conference had already endured a full eight-hour day in the notoriously cold ballroom of the Omni Resort at ChampionsGate, complete with breakfast, lunch, and continuing education sessions. I had been trying not to let my nerves get the best of me and had avoided thinking too much about the election.
Looking back, the root of my anxiety was really my relative lack of tenure in the industry, especially compared to many of the people I had met at the conference. This wasn’t surprising. I knew many attendees were industry leaders with careers longer than I’d been alive. I was intimidated, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.
Despite my nerves, I was confident I could do the job well—and I still am.
At the beginning of my career, I had neither insurance nor aviation experience. But after serving as an assistant to an agency owner and former Director of this division, I learned an incredible amount in a short time. That agency owner, David Hampson, was generous with his time, always willing to answer questions and share his knowledge, and I took full advantage of that opportunity.
After three years in the industry, I was promoted to Operations Manager, where I became involved in many different areas of the business and worked on a wide variety of accounts. All of it led me to this moment: my organizational skills, industry knowledge, and problem-solving abilities were finally ready to be put to use.
The Agent/Broker Division meeting began at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, and I was actually the first person to arrive. As people filtered into the room, several assured me that I would do great.
Here is how I had been told the meeting would go: we would go around the room introducing ourselves, then I would give my introduction, leave the room for the formal vote, and upon returning, we would finish the meeting by mingling and sharing knowledge—without, of course, revealing any closely guarded industry secrets.
When the meeting began, everything unfolded as expected. Everyone introduced themselves, and finally, it was my turn. I walked up to the podium and spoke from the heart. I shared parts of my background and tried to convey my genuine love for the industry.
Ordinarily, public speaking is something I feel fairly comfortable with, but this time it was all a blur.
As I walked out of the room, David Hampson offered a few supportive words, and I stepped outside while the vote took place. That’s when things began to go differently than I had anticipated.
I stepped out the door, took a breath, and wandered over to a nearby exhibitor table. At first, I stood there feeling proud and excited, but those feelings soon began to fade.
After about a minute, it dawned on me that the vote clearly wasn’t unanimous.
I’d love to tell you that I was thinking something witty, like, Wow, my speech was that bad, huh? But honestly, there were no coherent thoughts at all. My mind felt more like an animated cartoon filled with scribbled squiggles of panic. I paced, rubbed my hands together, and tried to stay calm.
“Maybe they’re just voting one by one,” I thought, desperately trying to hold on to my optimism.
After what felt far longer than it probably was—likely around 15 minutes—I was finally ushered back into the room and announced as the official Director-Elect.
Following a brief round of applause, members resumed several spirited discussions that had apparently continued while I was outside. Over time, I pieced together some of the concerns that had been raised during the vote. The primary issue was a desire for greater involvement within the division, along with more candidates from a wider variety of agencies in future elections. People also hoped to gain more value from the division meetings themselves.
While I appreciated being told that this position would require only minimal commitment, I personally believe that anyone who holds this role—or any volunteer leadership position within an industry organization—should strive to contribute far more than two annual meetings and a quarterly article.
Our association relies on this role to provide meaningful resources through both the Binder and our annual meetings. At its core, it is a volunteer position, and those who seek it should be motivated to share their time, skills, and knowledge generously.
The moral of the story is this: the world as we know it is changing. We have to become the change we want to see, and sometimes that means stepping up, raising our hands, and doing the work when no one else will.
Now, about a year after the events described in this article, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I have gained just as much from this volunteer position as I have contributed—if not more.
It has been a tremendous honor, and it has been well worth the journey it took to get here.
