Public Announcements

A letter from NVAHU President Heidi Sterner

June 30, 2020

Hello Nevada AHU Members and Members to Be,

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Nevada Association of Health Underwriters Board of Directors and all Nevada AHU members for the honor of being your 2019-2020 NVAHU President. I would also like to thank all of our carrier partners for the relationships and collaboration that we share and for your support of our state and local chapters. I would also like to thank our lobbyists, Jim Wadhams and Jesse Wadhams with Black and LoBello, for their continued guidance and expertise. They are invaluable resources and are very much appreciated.

As your president, I strived to serve with integrity, honesty and always keeping the broker central to my focus. While participating within committees at the National and Regional levels within NAHU I was able to promote what brokers in Nevada are doing for our clients, our colleagues, the association and the industry as a whole.

With your help, Nevada AHU members accomplished some great things this year. We developed the 1st annual NVAHU Benefit Conference in conjunction with Clark County AHU (held in Southern NV) and the response we received from attendees and vendors was extremely positive. We look forward to hosting this conference again this fall.

We advocated our elected officials in Congress and were successful in our efforts in the permanent repeal of the Cadillac (Excise) Tax and the Health Insurance Tax (HIT). I cannot thank you all enough for the efforts you gave by contacting your elected officials, sending Operation Shout! letters, attending Capitol Conference and meeting with legislators to educate them on issues related to our industry. I have enjoyed working with our coalition partners in speaking at round tables regarding Mental Health issues and working with Nevada producers across all lines of coverage in the Nevada DOI Agent Advisory Council.

With all highs, there are lows. I am very sad to relay that our long-time friend and colleague, Dwight Mazzone, passed away last week. Dwight has been a long-standing NAHU member and served as NAHU National President in 1997-1998. He served Clark County AHU and Nevada AHU in many areas. Always quick with a smile and ready to serve, Dwight will be missed by all who knew him. He was well known and respected throughout the NAHU national family. He represented Nevada well and he will be missed.

One of the highlights of my year was honoring our 2019-2020 Silver State Distinguished Service Award recipient, Joy Gardner (NNAHU). Joy is a personal friend and mentor and truly epitomizes the term “servant leader”. Congratulations Joy!A second highlight was Nevada AHU receiving the NAHU Blue Ribbon of Excellence Award and the Landmark Award during NAHU’s 90th Annual Convention, held virtually for the first time. This could not have been accomplished without dedicated volunteers throughout the state.

I am excited to announce that Nevada AHU, Clark County AHU and Northern NV AHU will begin using Constant Contact for our announcement and invite distribution in the very near future. This will open up the ability for our chapters to collaborate even more and to be able to share information more broadly throughout Nevada. There are more good things on the horizon and I cannot wait until you see them!

If you haven’t downloaded the NAHU365 app on your phone, I encourage you to do this today! The app is going to be utilized to share information to the membership in an even more expedited way. The app will continue to grow as NAHU adds additional abilities in the coming months.

I believe that every individual consumer and every employer offering benefits should have a licensed, experienced, educated producer to help guide them with their health insurance needs. I also believe that every insurance producer should be a member of their local/state fraternal association. Now is one of the best times to be a member of NAHU. If you aren’t yet a member, I encourage you to go to www.nahu.org and join today.

I am looking forward to the future of NAHU and will be continuing to serve in several capacities at the local, state, regional and national levels. I am honored to be serving on the NAHU Vision 2025 Task Force as well.

It has truly been my privilege to serve the health producers of Nevada. I’ve always been a health producer advocate and strongly believe in the value we bring to our clients and to the industry.

I would like to wish you all a Happy 4th of July and I hope to see you in person in the very near future.

Yours in service,

Heidi Sterner, PAHM, LPRT
NVAHU Immediate Past President