September Luncheon Information
  • Wednesday, September 25 at 11:30 am | Embassy Club Downtown (Ruan Center)
  • Speaker: Bobby Shomo, Shomo Madsen Insurance, Marshalltown, IA
  • Topic: "When Disaster Strikes - Lessons Learned and Disaster Planning."  Bobby will discuss the Marshalltown tornado of July 2018. Their agency is located on the square in Marshalltown, very close to the courthouse that was heavily damaged. Learn more about this event and Bobby at this YouTube video.
  • Luncheon includes: the usual Embassy Club buffet with something for everyone!
  • The meeting is free for paid 2019 Society members. For all others, registration is $25.

Register for September Luncheon
President's Message

Welcome back! I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable summer. Although we take the summers off from our regular Chapter luncheons, several great events took place over the past few months, including: 

  • CPCU Charity Classic. Thanks to all the golfers and sponsors who made this event a tremendous success. We will be donating the proceeds to the Blank Children's Hospital Fire Safety House. Our golf event chair Marcus Treimer and assistant Abby-Jaye Dawson hosted a great event, despite a little rain at times. 
  • New Designee Reception. Many of our new designees and board members got together a few weeks ago to learn about the Chapter and celebrate their accomplishment. Thanks to Barnes Kelley for organizing and hosting this year's reception.
  • Champions Luncheon. Board members from various companies met to discuss the revival of our Champions program, in conjunction with the Society program coming soon. Look for more information about this program in future ChapterGrams.
  • Regional Leadership Meeting. Board members from the Iowa Chapter, Grinnell Subchapter, and North Central Iowa Subchapter joined others from Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to discuss Chapter best practices and new programs at the CPCU Society. 
With the summer behind us, we turn our attention to fall and the four great events we have planned. Find information about these events in this ChapterGram, and be sure to sign up for as many as you are able. We expect our usual large crowd in September at the Downtown Embassy Club to hear about the Marshalltown tornado. 

Finally, do you know someone who would be a great volunteer board member for the Iowa Chapter? Or maybe that's you, a potential future Iowa Chapter volunteer or even President? Please contact me at anytime at murpc1@nationwide.com if you'd like to get involved. As we reconfirmed at the Regional Leadership Meeting, the Iowa Chapter is one of the best chapters in the country due to our great board members dedicated to serving our 500+ members.

Thanks for your support of the Iowa Chapter. We hope to see you soon. 

Chris Murphy, CPCU Iowa Chapter President
New Designee Spotlight
Tyler Guard, CPCU
Personal Lines Underwriter, IMT Insurance


I am from a small town in central Iowa called Radcliffe. I graduated from Iowa State University in 2014, majoring in Marketing and Management. Go Cyclones! I currently live in Des Moines with my wife, Alex. I work for IMT Insurance as a Personal Lines Underwriter. I knew once I started in  this line of work that I would want to pursue my CPCU designation. I could see that a lot of people that I aspired to be like in the Property and Casualty industry had their CPCU designation.  
 
My desire to obtain this designation was only strengthened after joining IMT. There are many CPCUs at IMT, so it really helped me to observe the success other CPCUs had achieved in their careers. I was fortunate in my journey to always have others around me that could give me advice and answer any questions that I had. The knowledge I have gained over the course of getting my CPCU has certainly helped in my work. I feel much more well-rounded as an insurance professional and an underwriter after learning about all aspects of the insurance industry. 

I have to thank my wife for motivating me to study and get through my CPCU as quickly as I did. She is a medical school student at Des Moines University and I would always see her studying non-stop outside of her school work. So while she was working to be the best she can be, I would want to match that and be the best that I can be. We even made it a tradition almost every Saturday morning of getting up early and going out to a local coffee shop, getting breakfast and a coffee, and working on our study work together. It felt really good to go back the first Saturday after I was all finished without a textbook in hand and I could swear the coffee tasted just a bit more satisfying.
 
Now that I am done I enjoy having time to get outside more, golfing, fishing, cheering on Iowa State, and spending time with my wife and my dog, George. I will be joining other CPCUs in New Orleans for the annual meeting and ceremony. I am counting down the days. New Orleans has been on the top of my vacation wish list for a while now and was definitely a motivator in finishing this year. I am pretty excited for the food as I love all Cajun food and plan to try as much as I can.
Join Us in New Orleans - Iowa Chapter Reception
If you're headed to New Orleans for the CPCU Society Annual Meeting, mark your calendars to join us at the Iowa Chapter reception. Meet Iowa Chapter new designees, grab an appetizer and a drink, and bridge the gap between the end of the Monday sessions and your dinner decisions. We hope to see you there!
Burkhalter Award Nominations Due Soon
The Iowa Chapter is seeking qualified recipients for its prestigious Burkhalter Award. If you know of an individual or organization who has made an outstanding contribution to our profession, please let us know.  To nominate an individual or organization, please send your submission by email to Chris Murphy, murpc1@nationwide.com, by October 15. 

For more information about the Burkhalter Award, visit our Awards site. 
Fall 2019 CPCU Events
Registration is now available for fall 2019 meetings. Our I-Day agenda is being finalized and registration will be available soon.
  • November 14, 8:00 am | I-Day at Ron Pearson Events Center
    • Registration Coming Soon!
Please keep in mind that registration will be open until just prior to each meeting. If you are unsure of your availability to attend, please wait until closer to the event to register. Thank you.
Iowa CPCU Society Chapter | iowacpcusociety@gmail.com | https://iowa.cpcusociety.org/
The Iowa CPCU Society Chapter is dedicated to meeting the career development needs of a diverse membership of insurance professionals who have earned the CPCU designation.
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