Melancholy work writing an In Memoriam for a dear friend. I’m saddened to relay the passing of Emmett Godfrey, formerly Underwriting Services of Alabama, Birmingham, AL. I met Emmett and Debby in the early days of the Broker’s Health Insurance Network (BHINI) and enjoyed many happy meetings for the next 15 years, until the State Legislature of Alabama helped put them more or less out of the group health insurance business.
Emmett began his insurance career with Connecticut Mutual Life straight out of the University of Montevallo with a degree in marketing and business. In 1975 he founded Metro Brokerage, specializing in group health insurance sales and brokerage. In 1978 he merged Metro Brokerage with Underwriting Services of Alabama, forming the agency’s health insurance division. Together Emmett and Debby built one of the strongest MET brokerage organizations in the southeast, qualifying for countless company incentive trips and production awards.
In his career Emmett had been named Birmingham Outstanding Young Marketer and had been named to the Million Dollar Round Table. He served the insurance community as a director and officer of the Alabama Association of Health Underwriters, the Birmingham Association of Health Underwriters and the Broker’s Health Insurance Network.
Emmett’s loving wife of 44 years relates, “Emmett always said he loved the life afforded us by the insurance industry, but the lifelong friends he made were the bonus money couldn’t buy.”
I was fortunate enough to see Emmett and Debby several years ago at the BHINI 20th anniversary meeting, and again a year or so later at a special reunion of veterans of the MET business. Special thanks to friend Dan Jumonville for that meeting, as it was the last time I saw Emmett. I learned of his illness only a few months before his passing.
I count myself among many who called him friend, likely because I remember most his broad sincere smile, ready laugh and wonderful, warm, welcoming manner. He was always effortlessly kind and the epitome of a southern gentleman. Emmett is another reminder for me that we take our friendships sometimes for granted in the sense that we always figure that there will be sometime in the near future when we’ll walk into a meeting and have the unexpected pleasure of seeing that big smile across the room. I will truly miss that, as will many. [SPH]
Further sad news, this time from our friends at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). President Juli McNeely, LUTCF, CFP, CLU, recently announced the unexpected passing of NAIFA CEO Dr. Susan Waters. Dr. Waters served as deputy CEO from 2007, as acting CEO in 2009 and was named chief executive officer in 2010. She had more than 23 years of experience in professional association management as well as experience in the insurance industry.
Prior to joining NAIFA Dr. Waters had been president of Sexton Consulting, had served as the CEO of two other associations, had been a licensed insurance agent and had served as the executive vice president of an insurance agency. In 2013, during her tenure with NAIFA, she was the recipient of the American Society of Association Executives’ Key Award, recognizing the association CEO who demonstrates exceptional qualities of leadership and displays a deep commitment to voluntary membership organizations.
In describing Dr. Waters, McNeely stated, “Susan’s passing is a great loss for the NAIFA family. She was a dedicated leader and a strong advocate for our industry. Those of us who were fortunate to work with Susan would agree that she cared very much about the work NAIFA members do every day in securing the financial futures of our clients. She believed in this industry and was proud to be a part of it. We will miss her very much.” [SPH]
