Congratulations are in order. PIANY will present Gino A. Orrino, CPIA, with its Industry Professional of the Year award at the annual Metropolitan Regional Awareness Program. Orrino is principal of Orrino Capital Services LLC in Corona, N.Y. MetroRAP will be held at The Roosevelt Hotel on Thursday, Jan. 26. According to the PIANY standard, “the award recognizes an individual from an insurance company, general agency, managing general agency or other insurance industry profession, who has demonstrated qualities that foster a strong working relationship with agents and brokers, and who has exemplified a commitment to professionalism and service.” Active in PIANY, Orrino serves as vice chair of the association’s Government Affairs Committee. He also is a member of PIANY’s Member, Benefits and Services Committee and the PIANY Political Action Committee. He is an active past president of the Young Insurance Professionals, an organization dedicated to the professional and personal growth of newcomers to the insurance industry and an affiliate of PIANY. He served as National Chair of the Careers in Insurance Task Force for PIA National in Alexandria, Va. More recently, Orrino took part in the cybersecurity roundtable discussions with the New York Department of Financial Services, which helped in part to assist the NYDFS with releasing a fair cybersecurity regulation to consumers and agents. Other highlights of the daylong event include an expansive trade show and the keynote/awards luncheon. A Welcome Reception will be hosted by the NY-YIPs Wednesday evening, Jan. 25 from 6:30-8:30 pm., to kick off the event at Connolly’s Time Square, 121 West 45th St., New York, NY. Register for the NY-YIP reception at NYYIP.org.… … You cannot help but feel good about this industry now and then. Forty-six students were just selected as recipients of The Griffith Insurance Education Foundation’s 2016 scholarship offerings. This past year’s scholarship funds totaled $130,000, which helped these students to continue advancing their education in preparation for future careers in risk management and insurance. These scholarships are awarded biannually to students who are in good academic standing, and they support The Griffith Foundation’s efforts to inspire students to continue pursuing risk management and insurance careers. Each year, in addition to awarding its own scholarship funds, The Griffith Foundation administers scholarships on behalf of organizations such as Westfield Insurance and Westfield Agents Association (WAA), which awarded $42,000 to seven students this fall. Westfield also introduced the James R. Clay Scholarship, an annual scholarship of $5,000 that continues former Westfield CEO Jim Clay’s legacy of supporting insurance education for the next generation of industry professionals.

Scholarship funds were awarded to students from the following institutions:

Bowling Green State University
Butler University
Eastern Kentucky University
Ferris State University
Florida State University
Georgia State University
Howard University
Illinois State University
John Carroll University
Kent State University
Missouri State University
Ohio State University
Olivet College
Rutgers University
Saint Joseph’s University
Temple University
The University of Georgia
The University of Texas at Dallas
University of Cincinnati
University of Iowa
University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh

The Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, an affiliate of The Institutes, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, nonadvocacy, educational organization that provides risk management and insurance education for students and public policymakers. The Institutes are the leader in delivering proven knowledge solutions that drive powerful business results for the risk management and property-casualty insurance industry. For more information, visit GriffithFoundation.org.

Orrino to get a top PIANY Award

Steve Acunto