First of all, I would like to thank our current IIAACCC Board of Directors for their great efforts. The IIAACCC continues to be one of the most active, local independent agent associations in the state. The ‘Town Hall’ meeting presented last fall by IBA West was very well attended and included the current IBA West officers Paul Bystrowski and Andrew Valdivia along with staff from our parent organization. Local members were apprised of the many legislative challenges facing us in 2006 as well as the successful campaign to fight CDI’s proposed broker commission disclosure regulations.

Our annual Holiday Party was also a great success with nearly 100 of our members and guests enjoying a great night of camaraderie at the Contra Costa County Club. Thanks to our very generous sponsors for the great raffle prizes, we were able to provide holiday gifts for three entire families selected from the Monument Crisis Center. In addition, we provided a car load of toys to the Bay Area Crisis Nursery and will donate another $250 to each of these organizations. Kudos to the Holiday Party Committee for their hard work!

We will be hosting our Company Appreciation Day Luncheon on Wednesday, March 28 th at the CC Country Club in Pleasant Hill. We have moved this popular event to this time of year in order to avoid conflicts with summer vacation plans, etc. We are fortunate to have Gary Hernandez, former Deputy Commissioner of the California Department of Insurance and current industry expert as our speaker. He will address the anticipated effects the gulf storms will pose on the reinsurance market and the insurance industry in general.

Other upcoming events on our calendar include a Mini Trade Show on April 19 th and our 31 st Annual IIAACCC Golf Tournament to be held at the Diablo Creek Golf Course on Friday, June 9 th.

Please visit our website at: www.iiaaccc.com and click on the ‘upcoming events’ link for flyers and additional information.

The IIAACCC is excited to invite independent agents and brokers from our neighboring counties to join our association with membershipdues waived for the remainder of the2005-2006 year. We are hoping prospective members from Southern Alameda and Solano counties will also benefit from the activities and shared knowledge we have in our local trade association. Please contact our executive secretary, any board member or officer for details.