RIMS Honors Top Performers During Conference

The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) honored some of the risk profession's brightest stars at the RIMS 2008 Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.

RIMS most prestigious award, the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award, was presented to Diane Wolfson, CIP, CRM, director of risk management at CAE, Incorporated during RIMS 2008 General Session. Named in honor of RIMS first president, Harry Goodell, the award pays tribute to an individual who has furthered the goals of the Society and the risk management discipline through outstanding service and achievement.

"Diane Wolfson has devoted more than 30 years to advancing and raising the profile of the risk management profession," said Janice Ochenkowski, RIMS president and Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. "RIMS is proud to award such a distinguished honor to a trailblazer in the profession. It could not be given to a more deserving person."

Upon acceptance of the award, Wolfson said, "When I learned that I was to receive the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award, my first thought was that it seems funny to receive an award for doing something that I really love and that brings me tremendous personal satisfaction. While participating in RIMS and other industry associations, I've learned from some amazing risk managers and gained a tremendous amount professionally and personally!"

During RIMS Award Luncheon, the Society recognized more exceptional risk professionals. The Richard W. Bland Memorial Award was presented to Charles Magazine, risk manager for the City of Boynton Beach, Florida, and president and external affairs chairman of RIMS Palm Beach Chapter. The award was created by RIMS Kansas City Chapter in 1974 to recognize outstanding performance by a deputy member of RIMS who has impacted the risk management industry in the areas of legislation or regulation.

The Ron Judd "Heart of RIMS" Award was presented to Margaret Accordino, director of risk management at National Financial Partners Corporation and vice president and director of RIMS New York Chapter. The award recognizes the legacy left by Ron Judd, who served as RIMS Executive Director for 22 years, and is homage to the admiration that a chapter feels for one of its members' contributions. Individuals are nominated by chapters for outstanding performance in furthering risk management at the chapter level.

The Cristy Award was presented to Debra Hinton, assistant director of risk management at the University of Virginia. The award acknowledges the individual who earned the highest marks on the three exams required to earn the Associate of Risk Management designation.

RIMS also recognized the outstanding work of some of its 80 chapters for Outstanding Chapter Programming, Advancing the Risk Management Profession, Outstanding Member Services and Overall Chapter Excellence.

For a complete list of RIMS chapter award winners, visit http://www.rims.org/uploadedfiles/RIMS2008ChapterAwardWinners.pdf