I was sitting at a table in a chilly ballroom in Charlotte, N.C., and had just laid down my dinner fork. The lights dimmed and everyone in the room shuffled their chairsâa few hundred of themâto face the stage. Dinner was over and the presentation was about to begin. Within moments, I was transfixed.
It was my first realLIFEstories award dinner. At the timeâalmost eight years agoâI was a seasoned journalist, but new to the world of insurance and financial services. I was tasked with writing about the event, but had no idea what was in store for me.
What happened next took the concept of life insurance from the realm of the theoretical into the realm of reality for me. I watched the large video screen as Sarah Lewis, a young, vibrant mother of three, spoke of incredible loss. Her husband, David, a cardiac pediatrician, left on a trip to Ecuador to administer free medical care to local children and never returned. He died of a heart attack in his sleep at the age of 43.
As the story unfolded, it became clear to me I knew who this family wasâalbeit by association. David had been my sisterâs friend and colleague at Childrenâs Hospital in Milwaukee where they both worked. Here I was hundreds of miles from my home in Washington, D.C., and hundreds more from my sister and where I grew up in Milwaukee, but there was the connection. I felt like an unknown hand had been placed on my shoulder.
Life insurance had saved this family from financial hardship during a time of overwhelming grief and a seismic shift in their familyâs make up. David and Sarah had carefully planned with their advisor for the unexpected, and in doing so ensured that the family could maintain their quality of life even without David.
Thatâs what realLIFEstories are about. They celebrate people doing the right thingâthe right planning for their and their familyâs future, while also honoring the insurance professionals who help them make those plans a reality. These stories remind people not to leave their insurance planning until it is too late.
Itâs time to gather stories like the Lewisâ for the 2010 realLIFEstories Client Service Awards. And while the realLIFEstories application is for agents and advisors to fill out, I encourage anyone who has been touched by the benefit of insuranceâlife, health, disability or long-term careâto let their agent know that itâs time to share your story with America.
The stories that are chosen will be featured in a September 2010 issue of Newsweek, which reaches nearly 13 million Americans. In addition, you and your agent (each with a guest) will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Seattle, Wash., this Sept. 11 to 14 to attend the award ceremony. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, March 31. I encourage you to take this opportunity to reach out and touch othersâ lives with your story.
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