Preferred Policies
Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of C. V. Starr & Co., Inc., initiated an advocacy campaign by 16 top business leaders calling upon President Biden to “demonstrate decisive U.S. leadership now” to combat increasingly deadly Covid-19 outbreaks in Latin America, Europe and Asia. The campaign started with a letter signed by: Greenberg, Ken Langone, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of NYU Langone Health; Secretary William Cohen; Noel V. Lateef, Foreign Policy Association; Ambassador Carla A. Hills; Ambassador John D. Negroponte; Ambassador John F. Maisto; Alexander Feldman, U.S. ASEAN Business Council; Suzanne Clarke, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Michelle McMurray-Heath, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO); Adam S. Posen, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Hank Hendrickson, U.S. Philippines Society; Dr. John J. Hamre, Center for Strategic & International Studies; Dimitri Simes, Center for the National Interest; Ambassador Mark Green; and Dr. Robert Goldberg, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.
Importantly, the letter expresses opposition to the intellectual property waiver being promoted by the World Trade Organization, saying the move “would make little difference and could do harm” by not considering the steps necessary for safely manufacturing the vaccines.
Industry leaders can take a lesson from the approach here: get involved and be recognized as an insurance leader supporting good causes, but also sticking to principles of free enteoprise.
At left, the letter, spurred by the insurance legend and head of the best known family in the field.
Speaking of doing good and letting it be known, 125 year old Preferred Mutual is following the playbook wisely.
The Preferred Mutual Foundation Scholarship awards scholarships to college-bound high school seniors who live in Otsego, Delaware, or Chenango, New York counties based on academic merit and responsibility to their communities.
The first-place winner of the 2021 Preferred Mutual Foundation Scholarship is Diego Aguirre, of Delaware Academy. Aguirre will receive $3,000 each year for four years. He will be attending Cornell University in the fall, where he will major in Mechanical Engineering. Emma Harby is the second-place winner of the 2021 Preferred Mutual Foundation Scholarship and will receive $1,500 each year for four years. She will be attending Syracuse University with a dual major in Marketing & Broadcast and Digital Journalism.
The Irad and Jan Ingraham / James W. Honeywell Memorial Scholarship is awarded to Unadilla Valley Central School seniors that have demonstrated a commitment to community service while upholding a strong academic standing. Each scholarship winner may use their award toward tuition, room and board, or other college-related expenses.
Devon Fairchild is the first-place winner of the 2021 Irad and Jan Ingraham / James W. Honeywell Memorial Scholarship. Fairchild will be awarded $1,500 each year for four years and will be majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall. Paige Catena has been named as the second-place winner and will be awarded $1,000 each year for four years. Catena will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall.
In addition to these annual scholarships, Preferred Mutual is also awarding a one-time $1,250 scholarship to Greene Central High School senior, Quintin Pezzino, in honor of Preferred Mutual’s 125th Anniversary. Pezzino will be attending Cornell University in the fall, majoring in Plant Science. SA
