PIANY’s 2018 Long Island RAP
Hundreds of industry pros flocked to Long Island for PIANY’s 43rd annual Long Island RAP, April 25, 2018, at Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, Long Island. The event has built a reputation as the highest caliber event in the area for networking; recognizing the industry’s best professionals; and for unparalleled continuing education.
An expansive trade show featured nearly 60 exhibitors, giving local producers the opportunity to meet face-to-face with vendors and carriers featuring the industry’s newest markets and products.
Excelling through Education
The brightest and most successful professionals in the industry earn their CE from PIA, known for the highest quality education programs. Long Island RAP provided more than the opportunity to rub elbows; participants could partake in two courses for a total of five CE credits with Cyber Liability & Data Breach: The Growing Threat Every Business Faces in the morning and Errors & Omissions Online: The Same, Only Different in the afternoon, both taught by popular instructor John Fear, CPIA, CISR.
Laughter and a Twist of Ice Cream
With a new twist, LIRAP attendees enjoyed an afternoon of wit and laughter with comedian Joe DeVito. DeVito is well-recognized from appearances on The Late Late Show on CBS; Comics Unleashed; Gotham Comedy Live on AXS TV; Comedy Central; a semi-finalist turn on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and regular panelist on FOX News Channel; with other appearances including The Artie & Anthony Show; CNN; Animal Planet; Discovery Channel; and truTV’s The Smoking Gun Presents.
The afternoon was perfected with an ice cream social, hosted by the New York Young Insurance Professionals, complete with door prizes and a cherry on top!
Awards Recognizing Contributions to the Industry and PIA
Coryn Thalmann, CIC, CIW, CEO, COO, Jimcor Agencies, accepted the “Executive of the Year Award.”
A 25-year veteran of the surplus linei, Thalman served as president of the PIANJ Young Insurance Professionals and as a board member of PIANJ, as well as senior vice president of the American Association of Managing General Agents’ Under Forty Organization. She currently sits on the board of the Derek Hughes NAPSLO Education Foundation and the WSIA Foundation Merger Committee.
She won the Young Insurance Professional of the Year award in 2002 and the Tri-State Alliance Award in 2007. She was recognized as one of the Elite Women in Insurance in 2014 by Insurance Business America and featured in Moving America Forward in 2015.
PIANY Conference Manager Kim Zielinski, accepted an award recognizing her decades of hard work and commitment to successful events, including PIANY’s Long Island RAP.
A graduate of Tompkins Cortland Community College, Zielinski took on the position of PIA conference manager in 2001, after 14 years with the association as an education meeting coordinator. She is responsible for oversight and coordination of the conferences and events hosted by PIA of Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Vermont.
In 2014, she was recognized by PIA of New Jersey and PIA of New York at their joint Annual Conference in Atlantic City for her dedication and service to the association and its members. In 2017, she was featured in Meetings And Conventions magazine about that event.
