NextGen CE Trivia & Karaoke

A Fun Night of CE Trivia & Karaoke

Twelve teams of insurance agents, company representatives, industry friends, and Le Moyne College insurance students battled it out for bragging rights at NextGen CNY's annual CE Trivia & Karaoke event.

After ten rounds– hosted by Big I NY's Tim Dodge– three teams were tied. No one answered the tie-breaker correctly, so of course NextGen CNY determined a sing-off was needed. Three amazing performances but in the end Holly Martin, Ali Lalonde, Melissa Frawley, Robyn Barrette, and John DeNicola were crowned champs by roaring applause. They took home the coveted trophies and have bragging rights... until next year's event.

Everyone enjoyed networking, food, and earning 1 CE. Many also donated non-perishable items to support NextGen NY's statewide food drive. The donated items will benefit the Food Bank of CNY.

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Thank you to our sponsors!

Platinum

Capital Premium Financing • Finger Lakes Insurance Agency: An Office of Insurance-on-Hudson • Great American

Gold

Dryden Mutual • Erie & Niagara • NBT Insurance • NYCM • Preferred Mutual • Progressive • Travelers • Utica National • Wayne Co-operative

Silver

Broome Co-operative • Hanover • Key Bank • Liberty Mutual • National General, an Allstate Company • Paul Davis Restoration • Selective •

Solvay Bank Insurance Agency • USI • W.H. Greene

Meet Other Young Insurance Pros & Smile for the Camera

A total of 55 agents brought great energy to another fabulous networking event, leaving with three new headshots and plenty of new connections. Dozens of school supplies were donated to be given to Mary Nelson Youth Center's annual back-to-school drive.

Special thank you to all our sponsors for this event! This wouldn’t be possible without you all.

Rain or Shine, A Great Day on the Greens

Golfers teed off at Timber Banks in Baldwinsville on June 24th to raise money for local charities

For the first time ever, Big I CNY held a 9-Hole Golf Social for new-to-the sport and recreational golfers. Six teams braved the sideways rain to play golf, help each other learn the game, and have fun.

More than 120 golfers participated in the 18-hole tournament. The rain dried up and the sun came out for a warm day of play. Golfers enjoyed several contests to show off their skills:

• Mike Woodham won Closest to the Pin at 4' 1 1/4"

• Kasey Vaughan had the Longest Drive for the women

• Zak Ottman took the Longest Drive for men

• David Wicker won the 50/50 Tee Shot

Paul Staring, Bill Gallagher, Josh Watkins, and Dan Connors placed second with a score of 61 (11 under par).

The first place team is Matt Briggs, Zak Ottman, Brett Bushinger, and Annalaura Werner with a score of 56 (16 under par).

Golfers enjoyed lunch, a social reception, and a chicken and steak dinner. Proceeds from the tournament and the raffles benefit local charities. Big I CNY wants to support your favorite charities.

Please email Allison Just at ajust@biginy.org with the name of your favorite local charity to be considered.

NextGen Shot Clock Social 2024

Talk about team spirit!

More than 60 agents and company representatives enjoyed the second annual Shot Clock Social at Press Room Pub on March 21st. They enjoyed cheering on their favorite basketball team, comparing brackets, and making new business relationships. Herb Escher from Dale Carnegie Training led the group in an interactive training exercise on networking and building connections. Everyone had a chance to fill out a bracket to win $250 cash and have a $250 donation made in their name to ED23HOOPS, a foundation started by former SU basketball star Eric Devendorf.

Celebrating the New Year With Friends

More than 100 agents and company reps celebrated the new year at Coleman’s on Thursday, January 11th. Everyone enjoyed great conversations, meeting new business partners, food, and drink. As is tradition, attendees donated bags of new winter hats, gloves, scarves, and other apparel to St. Lucy’s Church. The church then distributes the clothing to families in need. More than $160 in financial donations were also also collected.

Thank you to the Syracuse CPCU Society Chapter for co-sponsoring this fun event!

Agent Advocacy Works

Agents, company representatives, and state lawmakers came together on Friday, December 1st to discuss the important issues facing our industry. At this year’s annual Big I CNY Legislative Breakfast, Big I NY’s Scott Hobson, AVP of Government Relations, recapped our legislative victories (the photo inspection bill!) and prepped agents on the priority issues for 2024, including the unfair underwriting practices bill, excess lines modernization, and state of the NY insurance market.

The breakfast wrapped up with a champagne toast to celebrate the hard work everyone put into getting the photo inspection bill signed into law.

Advocacy is critical to our industry, and every voice matters. Find out how you can get involved.

Thank you to Syracuse CPCU for co-sponsoring!

Big I CNY Golf Tournament 2022 Recap

It was a wonderful day for our sold-out 2022 Big I CNY Golf Tournament! We enjoyed picture-perfect weather and time to connect with friends, enjoy the course, and have fun. Thank you to our tournament sponsors who helped make this event possible!

Winners

First Place team with a score of 59: George Busch, Anto Almasian, Tom Lynch, Rich MacDonald

Second place team with a score of 60: Jen Winter, Joe Headd, Jeff Mirabito, Matt McGraw

50/50 Tee Shot winner: Joe Headd from Liberty Mutual. Donated his $290 winnings to the charity pool.

Longest Drive Men: Nick Masterpole

Longest Drive Women: Lindsay Richards

Closest to the Pin: Sean Sullivan

AirPod Pros and SU football tickets were also also awarded.

What’s Your Favorite Charity?

The Big I CNY Golf Tournament is a lot of fun, but we are serious about giving back to our community. After every golf tournament, we donate to local charities picked by YOU.

Email Allison Just at ajust@biginy.org the name of your favorite charity. We want to learn about all the great work they're doing and help them in their mission.

Survey

We want to hear about what you loved and what we can improve for next year’s tournament. Please take a moment and fill out our survey!

Big I CNY Membership Spring 2022 Newsletter

Looking Good, Gentlemen!

The Travelers Leadership Conference had two familiar faces. Big I CNY’s Joe Latella and Jim Poindexter attended last month’s conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

2020 Big I CNY Holiday Party Recap

More than 100 people attended the 2020 Big I CNY Holiday Party, enjoying food and camaraderie. 281 new hats, gloves, and scarves were donated to St. Lucy's Church to be handed to families in need. Attendees also donated $284 to St. Lucy's Church. If you would like to donate new hats, gloves, or scarves or make a monetary contribution, please email Tim Toomey at Banach & Toomey at tim@banachtoomey.com.

Door Prize Winners

Craig Van Epps at Haylor, Freyer & Coon won a bottle of wine courtesy of Trade-Mark Restoration
Debbie Hulchanski of Mirabito-Gresham Insurance & Bonds won a bottle of wine from Fire & Water Restoration

Save the Date!

Go Big 2020: Future-Proof Your Agency
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Hosted by Big I NY. David MacLachlan of Dominick Falcone Agency in Syracuse will be installed as the new chair of the board of Big I NY. The event will feature presentations and workshops by Dr. Billy Williams and Manny Barbosa. Last year's Go Big event sold out - don't miss this year's event to prepare your agency for the future and celebrate one of CNY's agents as he becomes chair.

Big I CNY's Golf Tournament
June 22, 2020

Registration is now open for Big I CNY's Golf Tournament on June 22nd at Drumlin's in Syracuse, which raises money for Project InVEST and local charities. Last year, we gave away $1,000 to 12 local charities picked by you.

Even if you're not a golfer, show your support by attending the social hour and dinner and/or buying a tee & green sign. Sponsorships available - contact ajust@biginy.org.

Next Gen

Stay tuned for exciting Next Gen events being planned this year, including a March madness mixer, CE trivia, and a speed networking event. Come out and meet other young insurance professionals in CNY. If you want to learn more, please complete the registration form below.

Next Gen CNY Toys for Tots 2019

Thank you to Next Gen CNY for organizing a Toys for Tots drive, collecting 299 toys. The following agencies/companies participated:

Property Restoration – 80

Haylor, Freyer & Coon - 66

Delmonico Insurance Agency - 45

Security Mutual - 40

Big I NY - 25

One Group – 23

Travelers - 20

Thanks to all who participated, and a shout-out to Property Restoration for collecting the most toys!

Big I CNY Legislative Breakfast 2019 Recap

Big I CNY held their annual legislative breakfast on Tuesday, November 19th, which was attended by local members and state legislators and their staff. The event featured a presentation by Scott Hobson, Big I NY's Director of Government Relations, who discussed the legislative accomplishments of 2019, Big I NY's ongoing legal challenge against the DFS's "best interest" regulation, and priorities and challenges in 2020. He called on agents to attend Big I NY's annual Independent Agents Advocacy Day in Albany on March 3rd, 2020. Legislators in attendance offered their views on the upcoming session and spoke to the importance of agents building relationships with their elected representatives.