William Penn Life, 2011 (46. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2011-05-01 / 5. szám
Moneywise with Jeff DeSantes Moving into the future; being part of the team AS WE MOVE CLOSER to the 125th anniversary celebration on Sept. 3, 2011, we need to take some time and reflect on the strong and great history of William Penn Association. As we celebrate 125 years of service to our members and their families, we need to say thank you to our former and current employees and to our loyal members who have put their trust and faith in WPA. I have been associated with several fraternal benefit societies since 1981, and I am very aware of the strong reputation and presence William Penn Association has in the fraternal marketplace. That being said, I am blessed and honored to be joining WPA as the Sales and Marketing Director. I'm a lifelong Pittsburgher and have been married for 23 years to my beautiful wife Julia (Fabri). We have four fantastic children who are a blessing to us: Jessalyn (17), Alexa (15), Rachel (13) and Jeffrey, Jr. (12). I graduated from Geneva College in 1985 and went on to Slippery Rock University where I earned my masters degree in 1989. My most recent experience in the fraternal industry has been as a sales and marketing consultant where my main responsibilities were to hire, train and manage agents in the field. I know from my past experiences in sales management that the sales team is so very critical to the long term success of any sales organization, and this is why I am truly excited to be part of the team at WPA. As we move forward, I will be spending time analyzing the many facets of our sales organization in various capacities. My initial plan is to analyze and get feedback from all of our agents along with our internal sales support team. During this period, I will be working closely with our agents and many other Home Office personnel in order to start to understand the major dynamics that have made us a solid and productive fraternal benefit society. Once this process is completed, I will begin to work on refining and executing critical elements of a strategic sales vision for WPA. I will be responsible for developing key initiatives that will lead us into the future. As we move into that future, it is critical that we continue to place our focus on serving the members and potential members of William Penn. I am also committed to making sure that we serve the needs of our agents-who are the backbone of our organization and who are the face of William Penn—as they serve the needs of our members. We have to continue to focus on providing high levels of support and service to all of our members on a daily basis. In the end, our members are the true judge of our success. We need to continue to deliver products and services that will meet the needs of our members while adding value and membership benefits that separate us from our competition. The future is bright for WPA, and we will be building on the strong and lasting heritage that has made us what we are today. I am excited and passionate about the William Penn team, and I am looking forward to working with the officers and other team members of WPA to accomplish our goals. One of my mentors told me that TEAM stands for: Together Everyone Accomplishes More; and as we move forward, it is important that we stay grounded in our heritage and the principles that have made us successful. If we all work together as a TEAM, we can continue to have a bright future for the next 125 years and beyond. In the weeks to come, I am looking forward to meeting many of you. □ Illustration: © Iqoncept/Dreamstime.Com 6 0 May 2011 0 William Penn Life
