It’s hard to believe, but May is here and that means only one thing: VCIA has opened registration for our captive insurance conference taking place this August in Burlington, Vermont.  The VCIA staff have been working furiously the past number of weeks to ready for our first day of registration for VCIA’s 33^rd Annual Conference, and it is shaping up to be a good one.

Thirty-three years ago this August, VCIA held its 1^st Annual Conference in a small hotel meeting room in downtown Burlington with only a dozen or so attendees. After a morning of meetings, it was off to the golf course and later a small reception. Today the VCIA conference covers three full days and is the premier captive insurance gathering for education and networking for over 1100 attendees and 100 exhibitors.  Make sure to join us August 7^th through the 9^th for this valuable program.

The conference,  aptly named “VCIA: Where the Captive World Comes to Meet!” will bring together over 1100 industry participants to learn about the many aspects, trends and innovations of captive insurance while connecting with industry participants from all over the world.  Leading industry experts will teach over 20 educational sessions, many of them using interactive technology to engage the audience. This year we have placed focus on professional development sessions as well, with sessions such as Presenting to Board/Management, Building Better Relationships and a new young professionals forum.

Two renowned keynote speakers will be joining us as well. Jack Uldrich, a Global Futurist and award winning author, will speak on trends transforming the insurance sector tomorrow; and Joel Cohen, an Emmy award winning writer and producer for “The Simpsons”, will discuss the Simpsons, creative process, group dynamics and innovation.  Register today at www.vcia.com.

On a very sad note, we learned this week of the passing of former VCIA board member, Siri Gadbois. Siri’s time on our board will be remembered by her thoughtfulness, leadership, and an infectious laugh that could lighten a whole room. Siri served as president and CEO of Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators (EIIA) from 2002 to her retirement in 2017, where her duties included president and board chair of College Insurance Company and board chair of College Risk Retention Group.  We will miss Siri, and our hearts go out to her family and her amazing colleagues at EIIA who were like family to her.

We look forward to seeing you in Vermont in August. Thank you all very much, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Rich Smith
VCIA President