RIMS 2019 In The Books!

It is good to be home! The national Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) conference is an event to which I look forward every year. It is a very busy week packed with meetings, networking events, good friends and good times. With hardening insurance markets, underwriter meetings at RIMS were somewhat more substantive than in most years, and the timing of RIMS for me was fortuitous as many key insurance partners were in Boston and available for discussion. Indeed, it was a productive week and I am thankful to have attended.

Demonstrating the comaraderie that characterizes our great industry is best done through pictures, so I offer a few here.

Sneak peek at the exhibit hall Sunday afternoon.

Dinner with CorVel Sunday evening at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle. Steak!!

How she got up & down from there I have no clue. Lady on very tall stilts, AIG dessert reception Sunday evening.

Sysco colleague and I outside AIG meeting space Monday. Insurer and broker meeting spaces in the convention center make transitioning between meetings very easy.

Quick meet & greet with ReEmployAbility friends in the exhibit hall.

Since my property renewal wraps up just before RIMS, we started a Tuesday afternoon tradition three RIMS ago of gathering with Houston & London brokers and underwriters to celebrate partnership. Here are Houston & London brokers with our lead Lloyds underwriter.

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Chubb offers a nice client appreciation dinner Wednesday evening. Combining casual attire, fine food and an amazing venue (JFK Library) it is the perfect event at which to conclude RIMS. Above I am pictured with two long-time friends (I won’t say how long…) with Chubb and CorVel.

I had some time alone late Wednesday afternoon to enjoy a nice Cakebread Chardonnay and reflect on the events of the week. Only about 30 minutes, I take this time every year to catch my breath and count my blessings. Legal Harborside, Wednesday afternoon.

RIMS is an action-packed, full-calendar event. My rule for survival this year included this mantra:

“Head on the pillow by 11:00”

I achieved that objective each night, which helped me stay on my game during the busy agendas of meetings and events. My color-coded agenda helped keep me on time and (mostly) in the right place!

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RIMS 2019 is in the books. Each morning I took time to read Scripture and ask God to help me be a witness in the fast and furious pace that is RIMS. I pray that I mostly achieved that. Now it is time to strap on the Fitbit and get some steps as I seek to shed the 3 pounds I gained over the course of the week!

Soli DEO Gloria!

(c) workisministry.com 2019

Off to RIMS!

After many years of business travel, I still very much enjoy it. As I type this, I am several miles above the earth winging my way to Boston for the annual Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) national conference. RIMS offers risk management professionals a golden opportunity to learn, network, and meet with colleagues and business partners as we eat well and drink well in some of America’s finest cities. As I fly today, I’m looking forward to all of this, but I am also keenly aware that I have a ministry. As I enjoy the comaraderie and festivities that is RIMS I pray that my actions and my words honor my God.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Psalm 51:10

David wrote these words after confessing his sins around his adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband. Trusting God to forgive him, he asked God to cleanse his heart and renew his spirit, seeking to start fresh serving his God and his Lord. Growing up in the Lutheran church, we sang this as part of our response to receiving words of absolution after publicly confessing our sins. It is a statement of faith that allows us to stop looking back and look ahead to better and brighter days to come, thanks to the forgiveness we know through the grace and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I hear the question now, “What in the world does this have to do with RIMS?” Well, to be fully transparent I must admit that I tend to get caught up in the festivities. I enjoy them. I hate to miss a good time. The fine food and good wine flow, sometimes to excess, and I like to be right in the middle of it all. It’s fun! But, as I grow older and more mature in my faith, my desire to honor and please God with my words and actions grows stronger. In the past I know I’ve said and done things that dishonor and displease Him. When that happens my witness is tarnished. I don’t want to offer a tarnished witness.

So, with this verse on my mind, off I go. The past is the past and I know I am forgiven for prior sins. As I look ahead to Boston, I am excited to arrive. I fully intend to make the most of RIMS 2019 as I enjoy the meetings, fellowship, relationships, food and, yes, the wine that goes along with it. My prayer is that God gives me the self-awareness and the presence to know when to say when, always remembering that I serve Him, first and foremost.

To my risk management and insurance friends & colleagues, I wish you safe travels to Boston and I look forward to catching up. Have a great conference!

Soli DEO Gloria!

Image credit: YouVersion Bible App

(c) workisministry.com 2019