Two dozen turn out for inaugural event

On a cold, rainy evening on the last Wednesday in February, the Association kicked off its newest initiative to get members talking with each other and using their fellow Association members as an important benefit of membership.

The series of networking events and casual lectures take place on their namesake last Wednesdays of every month and are themed around specific topics of interest.  “I take pride in telling people how diverse our members are,” says Association Executive Director and Secretary Luke Vander Linden.  “This is a great opportunity for them to share the expertise of their service or industry and to learn a bit about their fellow members or about an issue or topic that affects them directly.”

February’s event built upon Guardian Life Insurance Company of America’s celebration of its 150th anniversary which they launched at the 76th Richard A. Cook Gold Medal Dinner in December.  Amy Oshinsky, Guardian’s Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Planning, spoke about the enormous project she’s directed for the past several years in putting together Guardian’s sesquicentennial plans.

“Start early,” was her first piece of advice.  Pouring over archival materials and conducting interviews, not to mention the budgeting and selection of vendor/partners shouldn’t be rushed or done lightly.

When celebrating a milestone – it is important to have a great story to tell.  It’s not enough just to make a special anniversary logo for your letterhead and website, but to start with an objective.

In Guardian’s case, that objective was to use their history to tell a story of accomplishment and of helping others.  From the very beginning, Guardian has been about fiscal strength and giving back to the communities they serve.  The company was founded with twice the legally-required seed money and, as a mutual insurance company, dedicated to the “social good.”

The tools Ms. Oshinsky and Guardian used include a beautiful, color photograph-filled book, “Fulfilling Promises,” a retrospective video, a museum-style exhibit for their home office and to travel to regional offices and an illustrated timeline for their website.

Also presenting was New York City Commissioner of Records, Brian G. Andersson, who brought samples of the City’s archives that he and his staff are tasked with collecting, including two collections of photographs of every building in the five boroughs (one taken from 1939 – 1941 and the other in the 1980s).

He also brought one of the greatest finds he’s discovered: the marriage certificate of future President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his cousin Eleanor, signed by sitting President Theodore Roosevelt, from March 17, 1905.  The Commissioner believes the marriage date was scheduled because Teddy Roosevelt would be in the City for the annual dinner of (Association member) The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

He was followed by the Emmy Award-winning Peter Savigny, founder of Heirloom Biography, which provides video accounts of company origins that illustrate founding values, business triumphs and “the essence of corporate culture” and by Dr. George David Smith, one of the founders of The Winthrop Group, which has made a groundbreaking specialty in using a company’s or organization’s history to do everything from positioning in legal cases, solving problems in corporate governance to developing strategies and tactics.

On March 31st, the second “Last Wednesday” marked the return of the Association’s popular “Investement Forecast,” a 15-year tradition and the inspiration for the rest of the series.  Long-time supporter and Board member Kevin Bannon of Highmount Capital gave a presentation that while not optimistic, at least made the complicated world of high finance crystal clear.  While the tough times will continue for a while, the one high note is that we may have already hit rock bottom.

The events – both held at fellow General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen’s building at 20 West 44th Steet – had almost three dozen attendees each, most of whom planned to attend future “Last Wednesday” events.