From October 4-5, TJ Starkey, senior programmer; Chris Jones, senior programmer analyst; and Jenny Beatty, sales specialist II, all made the short trip from the SIS office in Gahanna to the Columbus Hilton to demonstrate the new Partner XE system at the Ohio Big I 109th Annual Meeting and Trade Show. Agents and carriers enjoyed lunch while being treated to a sneak peek of the new features and functions that Partner XE has to offer. This is the largest meeting of independent agents in the state of Ohio, bringing lots of networking opportunities to agents, carriers and vendors.

For more information, please visit www.iiaba.net.

Anne Brooks, sales specialist II, and Jenny Beatty, sales specialist II, participated in the well-attended Massachusetts Association of Independent Agents Annual Convention from November 2-5. With more than 1,800 attendees, this event proved once again that it is the premier event for the insurance community in the Massachusetts area.

"As SIS continues to gain users on the east coast, it is clear there is a need for us to get involved with this event," commented Brooks.

In conjunction with The Big Event, the National Association of SIS Partner Agents (NASPA) held a regional user group meeting. Gary Milliken, president of Harrington Insurance Agency with 11 locations in the Massachusetts area (read more about Harrington Insurance Agency in the Agency Focus section of this issue), served as the group leader and organizer for the meeting. The meeting centered on the new Partner XE system and also covered pricing and conversion questions as agents prepare to move to XE. "We plan to hold another regional meeting in 2007 and hope to increase attendance and participation of users in the area," said Milliken.

For more information, please visit www.massagent.com.

Held at the Kellogg Center on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, Michigan, Brad Ristas, director of business development, and Jenny Beatty, sales specialist II, attended the informative Great Lakes Automation Day (GLAD) event on November 8. For the second year in a row, SIS was not only an exhibitor at this show, but also a bronze sponsor. Steve Anderson, publisher of the TAAR Report, kicked off the day with a timely discussion about how to provide quality client service in the Internet age.

"This event is a great way for agents to get up-to-date information on technology and automation issues that directly impact their daily business," said Ristas.

For more information, please visit www.michagent.org.

Anne Brooks, sales specialist II, and Darlene White, agency automation specialist III, represented SIS at the Indiana Big I 108th Annual Convention from November 11-13. This was the largest show in more than five years and included a total of 135 exhibitors. Anne and Darlene stayed very busy giving demonstrations of the new Partner XE system to both agents and carriers in attendance.

"Agents were really excited to see Partner XE and particularly liked the new Doc Box feature, which allows an agency to go paperless," commented White. "In addition, the ability to receive direct bill commission download and the tightly integrated accounting system were top features attendees wanted to see."

Attendees also enjoyed a keynote address by Mr. Lou Holtz, former head football coach of the University of Notre Dame.