When I accepted the nomination to the Executive Committee, I was both humbled and honored. I’m humbled to stand on this stage and to have the opportunity to represent all of you, the members, and continue to work for you in this most important MDRT volunteer assignment. Four years ago I promised that I would work diligently to help keep MDRT relevant, essential and meaningful. In working with my fellow Executive Committee members and senior staff, I feel that we have done so as an organization, and we will continue to do so.

Lord knows everything else around us has changed. We, as an organization, have changed and adapted as necessary. Our businesses, our personal lives, our involvement with each other all changed radically in ways no one could have envisioned. But the important thing is that, as an organization, we have changed and adapted, remaining relevant while staying true to our principles.

MDRT, what have we been doing for members? Allow me to highlight just a few accomplishments. MDRT is creating a new digital training program, the capability program that will deliver best in class, online on-demand educational content. This new online learning program will supplement our live events and provide year-round resources for members to learn, grow and earn recognition as professionals. We are currently in the pilot phase. You’ll be hearing more about this soon.

Throughout Asia Pacific we are delivering localized content and membership information to 11 markets and over 50,000 members. Through this effort we increased localized language content by 300 percent. MDRT members are interviewed by local journalists who create articles and videos, which are distributed on the website and in the MDRT app in 10 languages. This content is promoted by monthly market-specific digital newsletters, a regional LinkedIn group and market-specific Facebook pages. In 2022 we’ve added additional social media channels and expanded this effort to include China. We’ve seen excellent engagement thus far and look forward to continuing to deliver customized value for members throughout Asia Pacific. We’ve also developed a similar relationship in Latin America as part of the effort to localize and personalize content for our members around the world.

If you are not taking advantage of this great member benefit, I urge you to start now. We’ve embarked on a five-year digital transformation that is 100 percent focused on leveraging technology to personalize and enhance your MDRT member experience.

We redesigned the MDRT website, which has enhanced abilities to personalize content and send you the right information at the right time. We want to help you through every step of your journey as an MDRT member. The MDRT mobile app is available in nine languages. It is an excellent way to tap into MDRT-level expertise, inspiration and motivation on your device.

Some of the greatest excitement has been occurring locally through our Membership Communications Committees around the world — good old MCC driven by the passion and commitment of your peers to build and sustain our membership communities. These committees have launched book clubs, organized local events — both virtually and in person, welcomed and celebrated new and returning members, engaged with companies and other industry partners and supported charitable causes through the MDRT Foundation and also represented the needs and concerns of their fellow members.

There is no better example of remaining relevant than the new MDRT family of brands. The family of brands consist of MDRT, the MDRT Academy and MDRT Global Services. Aspiring members can engage with the MDRT Academy and learn the tools and strategies to achieve MDRT-level production. The MDRT Academy is now available in four languages. This will also become our platform for more efficient mentoring. Created exclusively for those who lead teams or are otherwise part of management in our profession is MDRT Global Services. Global Services is in the second year of its pilot and has members from more than 70 companies in 22 countries. Earlier this year MDRT Global Services launched the Culture of Excellence Awards, setting a new global standard of success in financial services, leadership through criteria focus, not on just meeting agency goals, but also in embracing our signature Whole Person philosophy. We’ve launched Global Services member study groups, which provide the opportunity for peer sharing among agency leaders — MDRT Global Services for those in the financial services profession who primarily are helping others achieve MDRT production.

We have covered growing, achieving and then going beyond. So what about our meetings? As an organization, we could not meet in person for two years. However, that is where MDRT members really showed how important connecting was to us. We connected in more ways and different ways than ever before through study groups, book clubs, MDRT Gives Days and other interactive virtual means. Members of the MDRT community continued to forge meaningful connections. Our membership grew, which demonstrated to us how strong MDRT connections are and can be whether they occur in a meeting room, across the dinner table at a restaurant or around the world via the internet. That is the essence of MDRT.

And I want to thank our MDRT staff, who had to learn how to adapt and change and react to the world situation that we dealt with in the last few years. It’s one thing to not be able to have an in-person meeting with clients, but imagine having to pivot from expecting 10,000 members to be gathered in Anaheim, California, to executing an award-winning virtual event in just 75 days. Our staff did that.

It’s my personal style and philosophy to look to the future, not necessarily to reflect on the past. But having said that, let’s take a moment to reflect on some moments we missed. We were scheduled to be in Anaheim, California, on June 7, 2020, for our Annual Meeting. We couldn’t have that meeting. We were scheduled to be in Dubai in August for our second Global Conference. We could not get together. We were scheduled to meet in New Orleans on June 6, 2021. We did not gather. We were scheduled to be in Singapore on August 29, 2021, to celebrate our third Global Conference. It did not happen. But what did happen was a dedicated team of MDRT members and staff working on program development, working on PGA and preparing for those meetings up until the moment we knew they would not happen. Then, when we knew they had to be virtual, both teams pivoted and made it a meaningful experience for us all.

Back to today, the present moment, we are indeed together again. Isn’t it great? Let’s not stop celebrating — not even when you get home; then it’ll be gratitude.

Your ongoing engagement is what helps us remain relevant. There has never been a more exciting or more meaningful time to be a member of MDRT and our growing MDRT family of brands. You are all leaders. You are leaders in your communities, your businesses, your companies and anything you become a part of. How does one lead a group of leaders? It has been said that you don’t; the best one can do is represent them well. I trust I have represented you well in my time on the Executive Committee. I will continue to work diligently and thoughtfully to make sure that MDRT remains relevant as an organization, essential to us as businesspeople and meaningful to us as individuals. We are MDRT.