EASTERN NEWS ZONE......

* Insurance agent Lane Rubin led the list of officers elected last week by members of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc. Rubin was installed as chair of the board at its 127th Annual Business Meeting, held at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City. Members also elected and installed new regional and district directors for the 2009-2010 term.

Rubin, managing member of Excel Coverage Group LLC in Westbury, is a former IIABNY Regional Director. He has been active on a number of insurance company advisory boards and is a past president of the Nassau County Independent Insurance Agents Association.

Officers elected and re-elected to IIABNY’s executive committee for one-year terms included:

· David Gelia, executive vice president of United Insurance Agency Inc. in Amherst, New York, elected chair-elect;
· Christopher Brassard, executive vice-president and director of Ten Eyck Group in Albany, New York, elected secretary-treasurer.

IIABNY members also elected and re-elected the following regional directors to two-year terms:

· Sean Hickey, senior vice-president of Rose & Kiernan Inc. in East Greenbush, New York to represent the state’s Capitol District and areas north;
· William Oliver, chief executive officer of The Partners in Vestal, New York to represent the central and western parts of the state;
· R. Todd Rockefeller, vice-president of DeRosa, Rockefeller, Sohigian & Werdal Inc., Harrison, New York to represent the New York City metro area and suburbs; and
· John Schwab, president of Niagara National Inc. in Buffalo, to represent the central and western areas.

Richard Longueira, vice-president of Petrocelli Group Inc. in Flushing won a two-year term as a member representative on the Nominating Committee, while Rick Morgan of Rick Morgan Consulting, Broomfield, Colorado, was elected to a one-year term as a director-at-large. The board also re-elected Wesley Bissett, president and founder of the Bellemore Group LLC in Washington, D.C and Baltimore, to a second one-year term as director-at-large.