SPEAKER:                 Bob O’Shea Jr., PE

Applied Materials Technologies, Inc.

TOPIC:                      Engineering Technology and Litigation

DATE:                        Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

LOCATION:              Clock Tower Resort andConferenceCenter

                                    7801 East State Street,Rockford,Illinois

TIME:                        

Registration & Hors D’oeuvres:                    Begins at5:15

Business Meeting:                                           Begins at6:15

Dinner:                                                              Begins at 6:30

Speaker:                                                           Begins at7:00

Event Sponsor:                    Applied Materials Technologies Inc. 

Mr. O’Shea is a Principal Engineer at Applied Materials Technologies Inc. He specializes in marine engineering and compliance, materials engineering, welding technologies, accident reconstruction, failure analysis, marine failure analysis and fire cause and origin determination.  Mr. O’Shea was a senior consultant and held numerous other positions at Engineering Systems Inc. (ESI).

GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING:

Please note that starting in September, at our first meeting after the golf outing, three procedures will be changing in regards to our monthly meetings. First and foremost, non-members will be charged a higher amount (to be determined) for the monthly meetings. Members will continue to have a $20.00/meeting fee. Secondly, if you have RSVP’d that you will be attending a meeting, you will have until10am, the day of the meeting, to let us know that you will be unable to attend. Otherwise, you will still be charged for the meeting. Lastly, if you show up to a meeting and have not RSVP’d, you will have to do an embarrassing dance to gain entrance to the meeting. Just kidding, but you will be charged a small fee (to be determined) for not RSVP’ing in a timely manner. Fiscal conservatism is of the utmost importance to me and our board to keep our association in a healthy economic state. We hope that you can both understand and appreciate this!

We are looking for an event sponsor for this month’s meeting, if you are interested, please contact me (niaapresident@hotmail.com).  Also, if you are interested in assisting with the check-in table, let us know! It’s a great way to get some promotion and get to know fellow members.

Remember – our very own Frankie Wolsfeld of ServiceMaster Restoration by DSI, aka, Frankie the Chi-Town Hitman, will be wrestling this Saturday, the 28^th, to Benefit the Easter Seals (Autism) at the Bureau County Fairgrounds. Doors open at4pm, bell time at5pm. $10/ticket or a family pack of 4 for $25.00!

Click “continue reading” to register…

May 2012 Meeting

SPEAKER:                   Dick Allender – Illinois Department of Insurance

Supervisor Property & Casualty, Consumer Services

Topics to include: IllinoisInsurance Laws, Regulations & Revisions.

DATE:                        Thursday, April 5th, 2012

LOCATION:              Clock Tower Resort andConferenceCenter

7801 East State Street,Rockford,Illinois

Figgs Room

TIME:                         Registration &

Hors D’oeuvres:                    Begins at 5:15

Business Meeting:                 Begins at 6:15

Dinner:                                   Begins at 6:30

Speaker:                                 Begins at 7:00

Event Sponsor:                      Paul Davis Restoration

Dick Allender has been has been anIllinoisinsurance regulator for all property/casualty lines since 1980, and is now an assistant deputy director in the IDI’s P&C Consumer Assistance Division.  Before joining the department, Mr. Allender worked as an independent insurance producer inIllinois, selling all lines of coverage for 10 years. Mr. Allender has been a regular speaker at the NIAA and we look forward to his insights as to the current status of insurance regulations inIllinois. Be sure to invite others who may be interested.

NIAA April Meeting

The 2012 NIAA Golf Outing Taste Test will be April 26th, 4:30pm at Cliffbreakers in Rockford, IL. Please see the events page (link below) to view the menus and to register for the event.

http://niaasite.com/events

The NIAA would like to express it’s care and concern for our treasurer, Lynn Layman, whose grandson Ethan recently sustained a severe laceration to the face from a dog bite. A card and a Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card will be sent to Ethan on behalf of the association. We have been told that he loves to play sports and hopefully this little token of our love will help cheer him up! We are thinking of you and your family Lynn! 

Again, a huge thanks to Sean Hamilton for all of the hard work he has done on our directory this year. They will be available for you at the April meeting. Please stay posted for more info on how to order online and have them shipped directly to you. 

As you may have noticed, this email is being written by myself, the president, but being sent from the secretary’s email. As the association first starting implenting new technology, getting mass emails out was only done from the secretary’s email account. Therefore, all of our email addresses that we send to our stored ONLY in the secretary’s email account.  Since we have upgraded to a much nicer website, we are in the process of learning how to best use it. One of the features we will be implementing in the next week will be mass emails, such as the newsletters, from the website. Please note that you should get a test email. If you do not receive a test email within the week, please feel free to contact myself at niaapresident@hotmail.com or reply to Jodi, our secretary, by hitting reply. Hotmail has caused us some issues and delays in the past with getting information out to our members. We hope that by using our website, we will be able to rectify these issues! 

In the spirit of utilizing technology, we have also started using other social networking sites in an effort to keep everyone up to date and even try to recruit new members. Please see our links below. Be patient with us as we are still learning how to link everything together cohesively and how to share local and international insurance issues with our members.

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/N_I_A_A
 
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NIAA-Northern-Illinois-Adjusters-Association/114021054536
 
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4316030&trk=hb_side_g

 Please stay tuned for more information regarding our golf outing this year as well as our April meeting in which we will be hosting Dick Allender from the Department of Insurance. He always draws a big crowd so be sure to RSVP early once the newsletter goes out! 

As announced at our last meeting, and I add this here as a reminder for those in attendance, and as ample warning for those not in attendance. The NIAA board has voted to raise the meeting prices for NON-members to $30.00/person after the 2012 Golf Outing. We believe that membership should have it’s privileges and this is one of the initiatives we have taken on this year. If you have any other suggestions regarding this, please contact me. Also, it should be noted that non-members will also be paying more to attend the 2013 Golf Outing. While the details of that portion are yet to be decided, please note that this is coming down the pipeline. 

Lastly, I share this last bit with you and hope that you will support our very own secretary, Jodi Brutto in her efforts to raise money for a great cause, the Children’s Memorial Hospital.  I admire Jodi for all that she does and how much of herself she gives to others. Please support her in this endeavor if you can!!! 

Best Regards,

Your NIAA President – Adrianne Sessions, AIC – Rockford Mutual Insurance

 Dear Friend,
Each year more than 146,000 young patients are treated at Children’s
Memorial Hospital. These sick children come from every part of
Illinois, all 50 states and 36 countries, all seeking the expert care
that has been Children’s Memorial hallmark for more than 125 years.

On Saturday, March 3, I will be participating as a member of the
CHICAGO Dance Marathon, a group of people dedicated to raising funds to
help the kids treated at Children’s Memorial. I invite you to support
our team by joining in our belief that access to the best possible
healthcare is a necessity for all children. CHICAGO Dance Marathon
members will work together to raise over funds for Chicagoland’s
sickest children; with your support, we can reach this goal.

Children’s Memorial is the place where kids come first, and is the
Chicago region’s leader in 20 pediatric specialties. They receive the
benefits of family-centered care at a facility that is nationally
recognized for caring for children with even the most complex and
difficult to treat conditions. The hospital offers children and their
families the expertise of more than 1,100 top pediatric specialists in
70 specialty areas, as well as access to cutting-edge clinical trials
and the most advanced technology. Children’s Memorial also believes
strongly in caring for the entire child by addressing his or her social
and emotional needs and providing a child-friendly environment that
promotes and speeds healing.

Please support my efforts and donate today.

All donations are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged by Children’s
Memorial Foundation with a receipt for tax purposes.

Thank you!

SPEAKER:                   Heather Becker

CEO from the Conservation Center in Chicago  

Speaking on: Strategies in handling fine arts losses

DATE:                        Thursday, March 1st, 2012

LOCATION:              Clock Tower Resort and Conference Center

                                     7801 East State Street, Rockford, Illinois

                                     Wallingford Rooms

 TIME:                         Registration &

                                      Hors D’oeuvres:                    Begins at 5:15 

                                      Business Meeting:                 Begins at 6:15                                

                                      Dinner:                                   Begins at 6:30 
                    
                                      Speaker:                                 Begins at 7:00

                                      Event Sponsor:                Flood Pros

DATE:                          Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

LOCATION:           Clock Tower Resort and Conference Center

                                    7801 East State Street, Rockford, Illinois

                                    Wallingford Rooms

 TIME:                       Registration and Hors D’oeuvres:       Begins at 5:15 

                                    Business Meeting:                                 Begins at 6:15                                

                                    Dinner:                                                    Begins at 6:30 
                    
                                    Speaker:                                                  Begins at 7:00

                                   Event Sponsor:                                        RAC Adjusting

Mr. McGreal is a Registered Professional Engineer, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and a Master of Science degree in Fire Protection Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).  Mr. McGreal has an extensive professional and academic background in the areas of Mechanical Engineering and Fire Protection Engineering.  He has performed forensic investigations since 2004 and has been retained as an expert in over 500 cases with losses ranging from $1,000 to $500,000,000.

Within the field of Fire Protection Engineering, Mr. McGreal has expertise in the design and failure analysis of fire sprinkler, fire detection & alarm, and commercial kitchen fire suppression systems. He has experience conducting litigation support services, code consulting, computational fluid mechanics fire modeling (CFD), and plan reviews.  Additionally, he has been awarded with patents for a fire safety product he conceived of and developed.
 
He has experience and expertise in the Mechanical Engineering design, testing, failure analysis and manufacture of components and systems within the automotive, consumer electronics, agricultural, telecommunications, power generation, defense, industrial power tools, musical equipment, consumer appliance, and medical equipment industries.  Mr. McGreal has been awarded with a patent for a power transmission he conceived of while employed as a design engineer.
 
Mr. McGreal has experience with the equipment and processes used in the manufacture of products including machine tools (lathes, mills, drills, grinders, saws, presses), injection molded plastics, extrusions, sheet metal fabrication, rapid prototyping processes, adhesives, magnets, human factors, and product packaging.

R.S.V.P.                      at   www.niaasite.com

February Meeting

PRESIDENT

Adrianne Sessions

(Rockford Mutual)

800-874-9976

niaapresident@hotmail.com

VICE PRESIDENT

Sean Hamilton

(Perfection Cleaning and Restoration)

815-378-3003

niaavicepres@hotmail.com

TREASURER

Lynn Layman

(Cincinnati Insurance Company)

815-977-4347

niaatreasurer@hotmail.com

SECRETARY

Jodi Brutto

(Servicemaster)

630-675-0323

niaasecretary@hotmail.com

3 YEAR BOARD MEMBER

Carissa McClure

(State Farm)

815-332-6500

carissa.mcclure.ce48@statefarm.com

2 YEAR BOARD MEMBER

Barbara K. Warner

labellelaide@hotmail.com

1 YEAR BOARD MEMBER

Kyle Paulson

(Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc.)

708-408-0158

krpaulso@rimkus.com

PAST PRESIDENT

Tom Cox

(RAC Adjustments, Inc.)

815-968-7686

tcox@racadj.com

DATE: Thursday, January 12th, 2011

LOCATION: Clock Tower Resort and Conference Center       
7801 East State Street, Rockford, Illinois
Wallingford Rooms

TIME: Social Hour: Begins at 5:15 Dinner & Elections Begins at 6:15

We are having a Sports Theme and would like everyone to dress in your favorite team attire.

January Board Elections

We are currently accepting applications for membership and directory advertisers for the 2012 Northern Illinois Adjuster’s Association.  The directory is read by over 1000 people in the insurance industry each year and is a great way to advertise your company. We will also place your name and ad on our Website.  A membership allows you to further professional and social contact between you and those associated with claims on a day to day basis.

 We had the following information for your company last year.  Please make any changes you would like for the 2012 directory on this application and return to us as soon as possible.

  2012 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Name     ____________________________________________________________

Title        ____________________________________________________________

Firm        __________________________Phone # _________________

Mailing Address ____________________________________________________

Email Address ______________________________________________________

 D I R E C T O R Y    A D S

$   55.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/4 Page               [  ]

2 x  4 ¾   

 $  85.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ……………… . . . . 1/2 Page               [  ]

4 ¾ x 3 ¾  

$140.00 . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ……………….. . . . . . . . . .Full Page              [  ]

7 ¾ x 4 ¾

$200.00. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Divider                [  ]

7 ¾ x 4 ¾

*SEALED BID  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   .  .  .  .  .  .   . Inside Front Cover       [  ]

*SEALED BID  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   . Inside Back Cover        [  ]

*SEALED BID  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   . Outside Back Cover      [  ]

$100.00  COMPANY MEMBERSHIP  [   ]

$20.00    INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP  [   ]

Sealed bids must be more than $200.00.

Please send a copy of your ad along with your ad on a disk to NIAA only if you plan to make changes from last years directory.

MEMBERSHIP AND AD PAYMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THURSDAY December 1st.

Current Member Recommendation Signature         

Your signature _____________________________________________________

Date: _____________________   

Date Received _______________________

Date Accepted by Board _____________________________________________

Your membership becomes effective when your dues have been received.

Forward your application and payment made out to NIAA to:

NIAA P.O. Box 1774 Rockford, IL 61110

SUBJECT:              Claim investigations using the Internet and social sites.

DATE:                      Thursday, November 3, 2011

LOCATION:           Clock Tower Resort and Conference Center

                                    7801 East State Street, Rockford, Illinois

                                    Wallingford Rooms

 TIME:                      Social Hour:                              5:15 – 6:15 p.m.

                                    Business Meeting:                    6:15 – 6:30 p.m.

                                    Dinner:                                     6:30 p.m.

                                    Speaker:                                   7:00 p.m.

                                    Social Hour Sponsor:                RAC Adjustments

 R.S.V.P.                  To: Jodi Brutto at jodib@smdsi.com or this e-mail by November 1^st. 

Many of us have seen Matt Booker give this presentation, and it is both informative and entertaining.  Please be sure not to miss this one.

Save the Date…December 1st for the holiday party…more information will be sent soon!

November Meeting