David S. Lenaburg, president and chief executive officer of Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York (now retired), was presented the 2009 Douglas Mooers Award for Excellence at a special awards dinner held November 13, 2009, as part of NAILBA 28.
The annual award, which is the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies’ most coveted and prestigious accolade, honors distinction in brokerage and is bestowed upon the individual deemed most committed to furthering independent life brokerage as a distribution system.
In presenting the award, Doug Mishkin, NAILBA immediate past chairman, said, “David Lenaburg embodies all of the qualities the award represents. Not only has he supported the brokerage industry as a whole, he has been fi rm in his commitment to NAILBA and its charitable foundation. This commitment, both individually as a foundation director, and fi nancially, through the support of his companies, has been instrumental to the success of the foundation.
“Lenaburg’s use of high-profile contributions has provided between 30 and 50 percent of the funds for charitable foundation grants each year for the last four years,” Mishkin added.
With three degrees in mathematics, culminating in a PhD from Louisiana State University, Lenaburg worked in education before making the transition 30 years ago to private industry. He began with a managerial position in a corporate actuarial department and eventually moved up the ranks, until he was named president and CEO in 1987.
In his acceptance speech, Lenaburg credits his mentor, Pasquale Porcelli, an LSU mathematics professor, for pushing him to excel with a sort of “no excuses, tough love.”
“Pat, as we called him, was the most honest man I’ve ever known, and if he said he’d do something he would surely do it,” said Lenaburg. “That was a lesson I’ve taken and modeled into other business decisions, and if it weren’t for him, I don’t think my life would’ve turned out the same.”
Lenaburg pointed to NAILBA and to previous Mooers Award recipients as examples of the best and brightest in the industry. “I look at the people in the past who have won this award and I am truly honored to be named in the same company,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone here who doesn’t understand my love for NAILBA and what they’ve done for me and for the industry.”
Paige Broadwater, senior underwriter, The ASA Group, Knoxville, TN, was the recipient of the 2009 NAILBA Chairman’s Award. New in 2009, the award was developed to recognize efforts of a NAILBA volunteer who has performed “over and above” normal expectations during the chairman’s term.
According to Chairman Gary Dworkin, “Paige has never once failed to roll up her sleeves to bring an idea to fruition. Whether it was through her tireless work on behalf of the professional development committee, her commitment to the success of the Executive Forum and Agency Management Institute, or her ability to contribute to NAILBA whenever and wherever needed, she epitomizes the can-do spirit of a NAILBA volunteer.”
The honor came as a complete surprise to Broadwater, who has been active in NAILBA for more than 13 years. “Being the fi rst recipient of this award is a huge honor for me, and I am blown away by the whole thing,” she said. “My involvement in NAILBA is something I do out of passion and joy. Sure, I have a sense of responsibility to the brokerage community, which has been really good to me and allowed me to have this wonderful job that lets me do what I enjoy doing. But for me, being involved is not an obligation, because I enjoy participating in those kind of activities.”
Broadwater has worn many hats during her time with NAILBA, serving on the communications committee, the education committee and the membership committee.
