Insurance Fraternity Wins Seven Awards at International Conference

On October 1, 2009, 12 members of the Alpha Rho Chapter travelled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend the 38th Annual Gamma Iota Sigma Management Conference, hosted by the Sigma Chapter from Temple University. Gamma Iota Sigma is an international, professional fraternity for insurance, risk management and actuarial science students from the United States and Canada. The Alpha Rho Chapter, located at Fanshawe College, is the only Canadian chapter. It is predominantly made up of students from the Business - Insurance program but welcomes others members from the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business. This is the ninth year that Fanshawe has hosted a chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma.

Seated, left-right: Students Alyssa Warren, Shannon McPhail; standing: Ruth-Ann Kirkby, Rachel Penk, Adrian Pech, Lynsey Thomson, Hezron Joseph, R. Wes Dedlow, Josee Ethier, Jennifer Spencer, with faculty member Cyndi Hornby, far right.

The three-day conference featured an international career fair with numerous companies and industry associations, seminars on emerging topics in the insurance industry, workshops on managing your chapter, and many opportunities to network and get to know other students and professionals interested in the study of insurance.

The highlight of the weekend was the awards dinner held on Saturday night. The Alpha Rho chapter again represented Fanshawe well, winning a total of seven awards including a Black & Gold award for a specific event, as well as awards for Chapter Management, Public Relations, Alumni Relations, Membership Development and Community Service. For the third consecutive year, the Alpha Rho Chapter also won the Superior Chapter award, ranking our chapter second overall from over 50 chapters located in universities and colleges across North America.

Fanshawe's Alpha Rho chapter continues to provide opportunities for its members. On October 27, 2009, we are holding our fourth annual "Tickled Pink" campaign to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. Watch for the students in pink in the halls that day. Your spare change will make a difference.

Students will be travelling to Toronto in October to participate in the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario's convention. In November we will be cosponsoring a Career Fair with the Insurance Institute of Canada's Career Connection program. This year we also have members going back to their high schools to talk about insurance as a career, the benefits of attending Fanshawe College, and to promote the opportunities of membership within Gamma Iota Sigma. More details on this initiative will be announced during "Take Your Kid to Work Day" in connection with the Insurance Institute of Canada.