In the summer of 1983 I had been politely encouraged by the University of Missouri to pursue my academic endeavors elsewhere, so I did what any entitled silver-spooner would do and provided my father the opportunity to subsidize my appetites with pre-tax dollars by attending his place of business in a somewhat official capacity. At some point he decided to see if there was, perchance, some unseen value in this activity and presented me with a list of advertising sales leads which he had determined I could do little if any harm in pursuing.
I believe sincerely that through some act of divine providence one of the names on that list was Sam Lane, Fairlane Financial Corporation, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. More than 30 years ago, Sam Lane became the first person to whom I sold an ad—and an every-issue schedule on the inside front cover—and my father decided maybe I should give this whole magazine thing a shot.
From that day forward, Fairlane Financial is the only company that has advertised in every issue of Broker World.
Sam Lane was born on November 16, 1922, in the nondescript backwoods town of Felsenthal, AR. In 1941 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. He was stationed in Guadalcanal in the South Pacific and brought the first radar to that area. He made Master Sergeant rank in just three years.
Following the conclusion of the war, Sam started one of the first television/electronics businesses in Chicago. IL. In 1953 he relocated to South Florida to retire (at 34), but ended up developing amusement parks.
In 1955 Sam started Fairlane Financial Corporation as an investment company. In 1960 he entered the insurance business as sales consultant. In 1971 he became part owner and sales director for National Trust Life. In 1973 he became partner in Funding, Inc., a mutual fund/life insurance conglomerate.
In 1976 Sam developed the first National Marketing Organization (NMO) for Capitol Life Insurance Company, Colorado’s oldest and largest stock life carrier at the time. In 1980 he took that marketing concept to other carriers and began developing annuity products for independent life carriers, recruiting 20,000 agents and giving birth to Fairlane Financial as it exists today.
In 1990 Sam turned the daily operation of Fairlane over to his son Ronald J. Lane and grandson Ronald D. Lane. From 2000 –2015 Sam remained CEO/Chairman of Fairlane Financial and was pleased to celebrate the company’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, their Diamond Jubilee. He continued to consult with staff and was always first in the office—he usually had the entire Wall Street Journal read by 9:00 A.M.
As Sam was building the national wholesale distribution of annuities back in the 70’s and early 80’s, deferred annuities became the new, en vogue products and Fairlane was at the forefront of the product distribution. Sam’s vision and drive were integral to the future of product creation and independent agent recruitment. He spoke, wrote and advertised the merits of fixed annuities, an insurance product that was simply a warehouse for money that guaranteed consumers’ tax-deferred returns. Agents across the nation took notice.
When Sam dealt with insurance carriers and agents alike, a few things were abundantly clear: Sam Lane had integrity, discipline, work ethic and empathy. His word was his bond. For Sam a handshake and a man’s word were at the heart of the contract. A devout Christian, Sam nurtured (and insisted upon) those same character-building imperatives in his children and grandchildren.
Sam passed away quietly at home on January 10, 2017. His loving and devoted wife Lucille passed away three days later. They were married for 73 years. According to Sam’s daughter, Dianne Skafte, “If you were to write a love story, this is how you would want it to end.”
The insurance industry should be forever be grateful to Sam Lane, and those who followed his lead to carve out a “niche” for an obscure product like a deferred annuity and glamorized it to become a trillion dollar product that remains coveted by consumers today.
Over 30 years the face-to-face meetings were regrettably fewer than they could or should have been, but each was infused with a sincere warmth in welcome, an honest caring about the success of the magazine and about the fullness (or sometimes empty spots) of my personal life, and was inevitably marked by words of wisdom and encouragement. I left every meeting with a renewed sense of gratitude and responsibility for my circumstances—Sam believed the work of the magazine, and my role in it, were truly important to the industry. For a great many of those 30 years, every month, I would talk to Sam, ostensibly about that month’s ad, and end up with a healthy dose of subtle mentoring, integrity CE, and bolstered purpose and enthusiasm.
Yes, Fairlane’s advertising has bought me a fair share of hot meals and season tickets. But Sam Lane’s contributions to the life I’ve enjoyed for the past 33 years—the dear friends I’ve been blessed with in this great industry (three generations of Lanes prominently on that list), all the places in this great country I’ve seen, and the opportunity to be of service to an industry I truly hold dear—all these blessings trace back to that one day. The day I first talked with Sam Lane. I know in my heart with certainty that there are countless people who could tell a similar story about how Sam blessed their lives, and I hold myself humbled and honored to be just one of them.[SPH]
