200 New York Agents & Brokers Attend L-Day John Mulvey Photos by: Vincent Alba

Our New Your State Assembly & Senate were invaded by over 200 Agents & Brokers from all over the State on January 23, 2008 to lobby on behalf of the various problems in the New York Insurance marketplace. By all accounts it was a very successful day & we need to thank all of our fellow Agents & Brokers who gave up their valuable time to travel to Albany & participate in the lobbying process. Our Suffolk Association had 20 participants who made a strong impact on various members of the Assembly & Senate.

The day started quite early for some of our members as they had to get the bus prior to 5:00 AM in order to arrive in Albany on time. Upon arrival The State had an orientation meeting at 9:30AM to prepare for our visits to the legislators. Steve Zogby, NY Chairman, spoke along with Brett Nilson, Incoming Pres. of the National Association, as they outlined the priority New York issues facing our business. IIABNY Senior officers met with Assembly Speaker, Sheldon Silverman, Senate Majority Leader, Joseph Bruno and Senate Ins Co Chair, James l. Seward. In addition they also met with representatives of The State Workers Compensation Board & the NY Compensation INS Rating Board.

Suffolk County as always gave a good accounting for itself by having very able people such as our current Pres Mike Romeo along with Tom Crowley who were able to enumerate effectively our coastal problems & market restrictions which are affecting the Long Island Marketplace. Other noted participants were Past Presidents, Vinny Alba, Jeff Rehm, John Stype, Russ Vollmer & Jim Sutton.

During our scheduled visits with the legislators the Assembly was called into session which prompted some of us to be detoured to the Assembly Chamber in order to make our contacts with the legislators. This turned into a wonderful opportunity for us as we were formally introduced to the Assembly & recognized. While visiting with Assemblywoman, Ginny Fields, from Islip who is very sympathetic to our major concerns, she asked if we wished to meet the new Assembly Insurance Chairman, Joseph D Morelle from Rochester who was just recently appointed to the Chair. Our reaction was obvious & Ginny sought out Mr. Morelle who responded that he would be delighted to meet with us. The meeting was on the Assembly floor & Morelle was keenly interested in our positions on various matters as it was obvious that some of our positions were not clearly understood. Tom Crowly, Jeff Rehm & Jim Sutton articulated our positions very succinctly. After about 20 minutes of discussion Mr. Morelle was impressed by our grasp of the problems & agreed to come down to Long Island to meet with us directly for a broad discussion of the problems facing us & our customers. We will be following up to arrange a meeting hopefully this spring.

Those in attendance were excited about what inroads were made at this session & it is always great to report about a successful day. Just from a civic point of view an opportunity to visit the legislature & receive even a brief observation about our governmental process is eye opening & educational. That is why we continue to encourage all of our members to participate by joining us on these trips to the seats of power in NY & Washington.

Respectfully Submitted,
John K Mulvey, Vice Pres.

‘THANK YOU’ L-DAY REFRESHMENTS SPONSORS It’s a long ride from the east end of Long Island to the capitol in Albany and then back again later in the day. A number of our dedicated members and associates leave their warm homes at the crack of dawn to make this trip each year for which we are grateful. Along with the companionship, the bus riders from Suffolk and TriCounty enjoy hot coffee, buns & bagels on the way up and cocktails, cheese & crackers on the way back. We appreciate your support in providing them. Breakfast Sponsor Anthony Cacioppo Vane Excess & Surplus Cocktails Sponsor Clay Burt Paul Davis Restoration & Removal

Gerry Levy, Russ Vollmer, Sen. Carl Marcellino, Dave Salomone, Dave Borg, Steve Folan and Vinny Alba	Jim Sutton, John Mulvey, Dave Salomone, Joanne Bentivegna, Sen. John Flanagan Russ Vollmer, Larry Liquori, Robert Hesther, Sharon Vander Borgh and Dave Borg
Assemblyman Andrew Raia, Vinny Alba, Dave Borg, Assemblyman James Conte, Russ Vollmer, Evan Portnoy, Bruce Chester, Dave Salomone, Anna Beth Crowley and Tom Crowley on the Assembly floor between sessions	John Mulvey, Joanne Bentivegna, Assemblywoman Ginny Fields, Assemblyman & Insurance Chair Joseph Morelle, Anna Beth & Tom Crowley, Vinny Alba and Jeff Rehm
Assemblywoman Ginny Fields, Joanne Bentivegna, Merchants Mutual VP Camilla Belser, and Assemblyman Joseph Morelle	Jim Sutton, Assemblyman Marc Alessi, John Stype and Jeremy Robinson of N.Y. Central Mutual
IIABA Pres. Elect Brett Nilsson addressing our group on L-Day in Albany	L-Day briefing room with Anna Beth Crowley and State Director Tom Crowley in front
Brett Nillson, IIABNY Chair elect Neal Sullivan, IIABNY Chair Steve Zogby,and IIABNY Legislative Rep. Mike Barrett	Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno at press conference surrounded by StateState Senators
State Director Eileen Frank, Assembly Minority Leader Sheldon Silver and Steve Zogby	State National Director Steve Spiro, Mike Barrett, State Director Lane Rubin, Neal Sullivan, Eileen Frank, Sheldon Silver and Steve Zogby
Suffolk Pres. Mike Romeo with Mike Barrett	Steve Spiro, Joseph Bruno, Meghan Mcgarry, Neal Sullivan, Steve Zogby, Mark Dentinger, and Mike Barrett