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Chairman's Message July 2020.pdf
Greetings to my fellow Nevada Independent Insurance Agents and our Industry Partner's. For those I have not yet had the privilege of meeting, my name is Adam Heuer and I am honored to be your Chairman for 2020-2021. I have served on the NIIA board for 10+ years and am looking forward to the opportunity of leaving my mark on this industry and our great organization.
I would like to use this opportunity to tell you a little about me and my history. I have been in the industry for 16 years and am the 4th generation owner of Heuer Insurance Agency. Our Agency was founded in 1929 by my Great Grandfather, Clarence Heuer. We are currently located in Sparks and have a team of 11 employees. I am married to an amazing woman Kelsey, who continues to push me to be the best version of me while raising our two boys Marshall (3 y/o) and Graham (3mo). We are a typical NV family that loves adventure whether that be hunting, fishing, hiking, camping or just exploring this great state. Nevada is the perfect playground for us.
My roots within the NIIA are deep. My great-grandfather Clarence Heuer was a past State National Director and both my grandfather, Marshall Heuer and father, Larry Heuer also served as Chairman and State National Directors. I take great pride in knowing that I am continuing my family's legacy by becoming a 3rd generation Chairman of the NIIA. My time serving the association has truly been one of the highlights of not only my career, but my life. I have made lifelong friendships and memories that will go well past my time on the board. Being in the trenches over the years, and more specifically during this current Pandemic, has really made an impact on me and my passion to serve and protect our industry.
While this year has been one like no other, I am hopeful it has bonded both our families and agencies and positioned us for success in the future. I have some great things in store and look forward to sharing more over the next 12 months as we continue this journey together. I thank you again for electing me to serve you and welcome any suggestions, comments or ideas that could help me, and your board, serve you better in the coming years.
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Your 2020-2021 NIIA Leadership
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June Member Highlight
Meet Chris Rogne, NIIA Chairman 2019-2020:
I am the President and CEO of E.H. Hursh, Inc. Insurance Agency in Fallon, Nevada. E.H. Hursh, Inc. has been operating in Fallon for over 100 years! I am the fourth generation Agency Owner and have been in the business for 18 years. We are a smaller agency in a small community with a rather diverse book of business.
I volunteer in my community as a 15-year member and current Second Assistant Chief to the Fallon Churchill Fire Department. An ISO 1 class Volunteer Fire Department and a truly wonderful organization! We respond to an average of 300 Fire and Rescue calls per year and cover an area of over 5,000 square miles.
I greatly enjoy spending time with my family, the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and working with my very small herd of cattle.
I began my adventure into the NIIA in about 2002 by attending Mid Years and Conventions with my Father Fred Rogne. He was involved for many years, going through all the chairs, and ending as one of our State National Directors following the footsteps of my Grandfather Warren Hursh who served many years as well.
Mid Years ended quite a few years back, but those are some of my favorite memories. I made many of my closest industry friends during those times. Around 2007 I received a message from a great friend, Scott Schellin of Nevada Insurance Agency Company. He wanted my thoughts on an issue and mentioned the “Young Agents Committee". To this I asked, “Am I a member of the YAC?" He replied by informing me that not only was I a member, but a voting member. This was a re-start of the Young Agents Committee and turned out to be a ton of fun. I thank Scott for not giving me the opportunity to accept or turn down the position. Something I have always joked about.
After completing my Chairmanship of the Young Agents in 2013, I was nominated to become a director on the NIIA Board. During my time on the Board I was able to attend the National Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. Here is where I was able to see the accomplishments of the NIIA and the Big I. Dealing with our Legislators and protecting our industry was very rewarding to me. Helping to protect this industry that has given so much to me and my family meant a great deal to me. If there is one message I would like to share with EVERY Agent, is the importance of this organization in protecting OUR industry. Without the selfless folks behind us, involved now, and the future, we would expect a very negative impact. Get involved! Give back to this industry! We are all so fortunate to have been introduced to this business!
I am very proud to be a third generation Chairman of the NIIA! While I cannot take credit for any one accomplishment, I am confident that during my time on the Board, the team I was a part of made great strides in many areas that have helped to make the NIIA as strong as it has ever been. Rather than talk about accomplishments, or what I think I did for the Association, I would like to tell you what the NIIA has given to me. The NIIA has taught me what this industry means to me. Thank you NIIA for showing me all the great people that have invested so much time to make it what it is today. Thank you to all who have served before me, with me, and for those who will continue to serve this organization. Thank you for introducing me to so many terrific people. The friends that I have made over these last 18 years are priceless. I have gained far more than I could ever contribute.
Christopher W. Rogne, CIC
E.H. Hursh, Inc.
NIIA Chairman 2019-2020
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Memorial
Louis T. Mastos
passed away in Reno, Nevada, on March 21, 2020. He was 98 years old.
Nearly everyone connected to the insurance industry in Nevada knew of Louis T. Mastos. Many knew him personally. He was an icon in insurance for nearly 60 years.
Lou Mastos was born in Los Angeles, California on April 7, 1921, and attended Louisiana Tech and Tulane University. He served in the USNR from 1942 to April 1946 during World War II.
Lou married Eva Bedolli Mastos on May 18, 1947 in Los Angeles. They had two children and moved to Reno in 1956. They had been married 71 years when Eva passed away in 2018.
Louis T. Mastos was the Nevada Commissioner of Insurance from 1965 to 1971. It was during his tenure as Commissioner when, during the 1969 session of the Nevada legislature, the laws regulating insurance were largely rewritten. After SB39 finally passed, over 40% of insurance law was completely new language. Records at the legislature indicate that Commissioner Mastos played a key role in many legislative hearings where the original draft was debated, amended, and revised prior to passage.
In 1971 Louis T. Mastos & Associates, Inc. was founded in Reno, Nevada as a managing general agency and surplus lines broker. Louis T. Mastos practically pioneered the business of bringing markets to agencies throughout the state via his MGA. He didn't invent the concept, but as a former Commissioner of Insurance, he recognized a vacuum in the business and began filling it. It is safe to say he literally saved a fair number of small insurance agencies in Nevada by opening a marketplace for them to sell all kinds of insurance they could never get anywhere else. And he gave insurance companies with narrow product lines a market penetration where they could never have obtained it otherwise. He often traveled the state to personally meet insurance agency principals. His knowledge, skill, and endearing personality resulted in wide admiration from insurance agency owners across Nevada.
Louis T. Mastos & Associates eventually had offices in Reno, Las Vegas, Phoenix, AZ, and Santa Rosa, CA. Many will remember that he sometimes answered the phone by saying, “World Headquarters of Louis T. Mastos."
Lou was President of the AAMGA for the term 1985-1986. While President of the Association he felt that the rapidly growing Association needed more structured financial control. He is credited with creating the office of the Secretary-Treasurer and appointing the first person to hold the position. Lou was noteworthy in the Association for encouraging younger members to get involved in AAMGA activities.
In addition to the AAMGA, Lou was a member of the Prospectors Club, National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the Insurance Hall of Fame, Nevada Surplus Lines Association, and Board of Directors of Frontier Adjusters of America, Inc.
Lou remained active in the business, going to the office a few hours most days. He continued making agency calls and attending industry meetings until only a few years ago. Nearly everyone in the Independent Insurance Agency plant in Nevada will have a fond memory of knowing Louis T. Mastos.
Message from James L. Wadhams, Esq.
Louis T. Mastos, “Lou" or to all who ever met the man was a friend and mentor who should be remembered as a not only a valued contributor to the insurance
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industry in Nevada but a person whose stature as a man far exceeded his height. Lou placed the ultimate value on relationships based on honesty and trust. He was kind to all but in appropriate circumstances tough yet fair with those who might have drifted off course. He was the second Insurance Commissioner in Nevada. Through the first half of the 20th century, insurance was regulated by the State Controller but somewhere in the 50's the legislature shifted that responsibility to the newly created office of Commissioner of Insurance. Paul Hammel was the first and Lou, having been Hammel's deputy was made the second person to hold the office. I came to Nevada in 1975 to work under the third Commissioner, Dick Rottman and was introduced to Lou. He greeted the “new kid" without any hesitation and offered to help me transition into Nevada and learn about the insurance industry here. Lou's knowledge was deep but his understanding of Nevada was even deeper and he shared it with me freely. His advice was level headed and always reflected a perspective of taking the long view. "Things go in cycles and so does the insurance market place", he would say. We were a much smaller state back then but we still are small today. Things do go in cycles and the long view is important. Thank you for your contribution to all who knew you. I will miss you my friend but I will never forget you, your kindness to me and the lessons that have stood the test of time. God bless you, Louis T. Mastos.
God Bless Lou I worked with him for many years. William Allen Kaercher, Kaercher Insurance
Louis was a kind gracious man. He made our industry better. We are better that he was apart of us!
Tom Burns, Cragin & Pike
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