Alamo ChapterCPCU Society

2014New Designees

E³ = Transforming Ethics and Education into Empowerment

2014 New Designees

David Archer Tacarra Christie

Matthew Clother (not pictured)

Mark Davis

Paul Deforge Jeremy Diller

Greg Fleming Matthew Honeycut (not pictured)

Matthew Huffine(not pictured)

Lisette Lafortune

Melanie Miller Scott Richardson

David Zadel

David Archer

How long have you been in the insurance industry? 25 years Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation. I started my CPCU after completing my AIC designation in 1995. I took classes sporadically for several years and finally took that last class this year.   Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? Although it took me a long time to get through it, each class gave me knowledge that has been helpful in my career. My biggest obstacle was not having a plan with a target date to finish. Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I have 6 kids and 5 sisters.

Tacarra Christie

How long have you been in the insurance industry? 2 years. Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation. Transitioning from the pharmaceutical industry, I knew that my learning curve would be steep and that I needed a way to learn as much as I could about the insurance industry. The CPCU provided me with the breadth of knowledge and foundation I needed to build my new career. I was able to complete my CPCU program in 12 months. Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? Do it and do it now! Time is of the essence - the CPCU will grow you both personally and professionally. There is no better investment than one you can make in yourself! Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I was in the juggle club in school.

Mark Davis

How long have you been in the insurance industry? 28 years Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation. I took the scenic route. I completed my first two courses in the early nineties, then decided to pursue other designations; earned the AU, AIM, AIS, AAI and API designations and finally returned to CPCU.  Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation?Yes. While it was great having other designations to place next to my name, I felt a whole new level of accomplishment when I earned my CPCU. My advice is to commit and stick with it…definitely worth it. Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I served eight years in the U.S. Air Force prior to joining the USAA team and my career in the insurance industry

Paul Deforge

How long have you been in the insurance industry? 18 years. I started working for USAA in February 1996, about five months after retiring from a 26 year career in the U.S. Air Force. Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation. I started pursuing the CPCU designation in 2000 shortly after coming to P&C Staff Underwriting as a Product Analyst. I completed the designation in April of 2014. Work and family issues played a role in my progress. Needless to say, I took my time. Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? I would suggest, once you commit to obtaining the designation, that you take at least one exam a year. Don’t take lengthy breaks between exams, once you’re in the mode, keep going. The time and effort will be worth it. Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. My wife, Calla, and I have four grown children, three girls, one boy and eight beautiful grand children. While in the Air Force, my family and/or I were stationed in Japan (Okinawa), Thailand, Germany and England. Stateside, I spent 13 years of my Air Force career at the now infamous National Security Agency (NSA).

Jeremy Diller

How long have you been in the insurance industry? Seven years. Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation. It took me 2 years to complete. I tried to do three courses a year. I had an MBA and an ARM already so that took care of two of my courses.   Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? Keep the momentum and try not to take long breaks in between courses.  Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I lived in Thailand for 6 months and part of the time I lived with a Thai family in order to learn the language.

Greg Fleming

How long have you been in the insurance industry? I have been in the insurance industry 23 years including 13 years with USAA holding several claims leadership positions in multiple locations. Prior to joining USAA, I worked as a Branch Manager for Crawford and Company in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Albuquerque, and was a Field BI Adjuster with Farmers Insurance in Seattle, Washington. Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation? It took me several years to achieve my CPCU. I relocated to our Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Norfolk, and San Antonio locations while changing jobs several times in my career at USAA causing delays along the way. I also managed to get married and was blessed with two wonderful children during my pursuit of the CPCU designation. Don’t give up! Even if you have to take breaks along the way, keep up your pursuit and persevere. Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? I would ensure the timing is right for each class before you sign up. Life changes as does your responsibilities at work as well as potential moves depending on your current position. Each course is a big time commitment and you have to be committed to the study time as does your family. I would also recommend the SMART QuizMe App. They really test your knowledge and prepare you for the exams and you can pull it up on your iPhone or iPad wherever you are for a quick quiz. Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I received my teaching degree in college and was a student athlete on the football team. My goal was to coach college football. I never even considered the insurance industry until I needed a job and a car. I interviewed with Farmers Insurance who was offering a company vehicle with the position and the rest is history!

Lisette Lafortune

How long have you been in the insurance industry? 25 years Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation. Immediately following the completion of the Product Management certification, and buoyed by the enthusiastic encouragement of Kevin Noles and Hillary Law, I began my two-year journey to get my CPCU.

 Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? I found that taking one per quarter was a good pace. I didn’t take the exams in numerical order, choosing instead to group them by subject, and this approach worked well for me. Last but not least, I downloaded the SMART QuizMe app onto my iPhone and found this to be an easy and convenient way to access the old exam questions. Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I won 1st prize in the Massachusetts State Science fair in high school but opted for an Actuarial over Environmental Engineering career out of college … and the rest is history!

Melanie Miller

How long have you been in the insurance industry? 29 years Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation. It took me two years to complete my CPCU. As soon as I took the test and passed I immediately order the next set of books so that I could start studying for the next subject. The CPCU designation is a wonderful program. I learned a lot and applied the knowledge I acquired immediately to my job and personal life. Great program. I recommend it all the time to fellow claim employees.   Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? When you start working on one of the books, spend as much time as you can to get thru the material as quickly as possible. Take notes for your review while reading the material and take the online practice test several times. Do not skim over the material for it is the details that you will need to know for the test. If you drag out your studying you will forget a lot of information (the details) that you will need when it comes time to take the test. Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I enjoy collecting Art.

Scott Richardson

How long have you been in the insurance industry? I spent quite a while in the health care insurance industry working at Premera, Blue Shield of California, Blue Shield of Pennsylvania and Kaiser Permanente (North and South before the merger). Additionally, I’ve worked in various IT shops doing risk management for telecommunications, IP networks, data centers and general Disaster Recovery Planning/Business Continuity Planning (DRP/BCP) as an ancillary responsibility. I’ve only spent 18 months in the P&C industry, all of that at USAA. Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation? A few months after arriving at USAA I was standing at Steve Drawert’s desk and noticed a pile of blue books. I asked them what they were and he proceeded to tell me about the CPCU curriculum. Steve was once the President of the Alamo chapter of the CPCU so he was well informed and gave me a bit of a sales pitch. Anyway about a month later (after getting approval from my manager) I opened my first book on Saturday 6/15/13. Four and half months later on 11/1/13 I passed my last exam. Towards the end I was cranking out exams every 2-3 weeks. My average exam score was ~ 90%. Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? Like Yoda said, ‘do or do not.’ I studied 40-60 hours for each exam. Don’t torture yourself by extending your studies over months and months just for a single exam. My specific preparation formula was highly effective (at least for me).• Book Exam for Course Y (< 4 weeks out) – nothing like a little pressure!•Read Chapter X (high light important sentences, make notes in the margin)•Take Chapter X online practice exam•Finish the entire book using steps 1 and 2 (above)•Take the Exam Y online practice exam•Re-read chapter X•Re-take Chapter X online practice exam (until you get a score of 100%)•Re-take Exam Y online practice exam (until you get a score of > 95%)•Take Exam Y at Prometric center

Also, I found the note cards, study guides and online courses unnecessary. Just reading the book and knocking out the online quizzes is enough (at least for me). Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I was certified SCUBA at the age of 15. My son just earned his certification at the age of 13.

David Zadel

How long have you been in the insurance industry? I have worked in insurance for 7 Years, all with USAA. Please describe the path that you took and the amount of time it took you in pursuit of your CPCU designation? I started at USAA as a process engineer and after a few years, started supporting the P&C Company as a corporate strategy advisor. I am presently serving as a product manager in our Auto Product Development Team. It took me 2 years to complete the designation. Do you have any advice to share with someone thinking of getting the designation? Wait to gain some on-the-job experience before embarking on the CPCU program. Starting without having a rudimentary knowledge of the market, operations and financials makes the material more difficult to absorb and retain. Tell us something about yourself that none of us know. I’ve traveled all over the world as a marine officer, but now I enjoy spending most of my

time hanging out with my wife and kids.