NAIFA Illinois Winter Conference

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Advocate.  Educate.  Differentiate.

Please join us for the NAIFA IL Winter Conference. Featured speakers include Tom Hegna and Eleanor Johnson. Additional presenters will provide a legislative update and panel discussion on Selling to Diverse Markets!

- Conference Schedule -

8:00 a.m.                     Registration Opens

8:00 - 9:00                   Continental Breakfast with the Exhibitors

9:00 - 9:10                   Welcome & Opening Remarks – David Kikoen, Emcee

9:10 - 9:30                   Legislative Update

9:30 – 10:30                Eleanor Johnson, National LTC Expert, The Conversation BEFORE the Conversation

10:30 – 10:50              Break with Exhibitors

10:50 - 11:40               Oscar Blanco, Chris Gandy & ShirleyAnn Robertson - Selling to Diverse Markets Panel Discussion, moderated by Aamir Chalisa

11:40 – 12:00              Tools & Resources to Grow Your Practice   

12:00 – 1:00                Lunch & Visit with the Exhibitors

1:00 – 2:30                  Tom Hegna - Don't Worry, Retire Happy! Seven Steps to Retirement Security

2:30 – 3:00                  NAIFA Award Recognition, Closing Remarks and Prizes

4 continuing education (CE) credit hours approved!

Register Now! 

Featured Speakers

Tom Hegna CLU, ChFC, CASL, is an author, speaker, and economist. He has been an incredibly popular industry speaker for many years and is considered by many to be THE Retirement Income Expert!

As a former Senior Executive Officer at New York Life, retired Lieutenant Colonel, and economist, Tom has delivered over 5,000 seminars, helping Baby Boomers and seniors retire the “optimal” way. He has condensed a large chunk of his considerable knowledge into four of his books: (1) Paychecks and Playchecks: Retirement Solutions for Life, which is in the top 1% of any book ever sold, (2) Retirement Income Masters: Secrets of the Pros that compiles the very best practices from the top retirement experts in the country.  (3) Paycheques and Playcheques, Retirement Solutions for Canadians,  And most recently, (4) Don’t Worry, Retire Happy! Seven Steps to Retirement Security, which is based on his popular Public Television Special that has played in over 72 million homes in the US and Canada.

Tom specializes in creating simple and powerful retirement solutions based on math and science – not opinions. He has the unique ability to pump up a crowd, make people laugh, and solve complex financial problems using easy-to-understand words, ideas and stories. He is available to speak to businesses, government organizations, professional associations, financial professionals, and their clients all across the globe. 

Eleanor I. Johnson, CPA, CLU, CGMA is a nationally recognized speaker who has been a respected member of the insurance industry for the past 36 years, including roles as an insurance company executive, as a founding partner and major shareholder of a large national brokerage firm, and as an insurance professional working directly with clients and their advisors at the point of sale.  Even though she is known for her leadership skills and technical expertise, Eleanor is especially appreciated for her for her ability to work with clients and all members of their advisory team to make complex planning concepts understandable. As a result of her involvement, clients are empowered to pinpoint and articulate their planning priorities and plan implementation times are reduced, resulting in satisfied clients and advisors.

Consistently rated as one of the favorite sessions by conference attendees, Eleanor engages the audience by providing ideas that they can incorporate into their practices immediately. 

Eleanor is a qualifying member of Forum 400, a former AALU board member and founder of the AALU brokerage task force.  Prior to her most recent role at John Hancock, where she was brought on to manage institutional account distribution and ultimately worked across all channels doing speaking engagements at the national meetings of many of its major customers, Eleanor was the founding Managing Principal, Board member and second largest shareholder of Highland Capital Brokerage prior to its sale to Ladenburg Thalmann Securities.

Oscar Blanco -- As Brokerage Director with MassMutual, Oscar works with independent financial services professionals to help address their clients’ personal and business financial needs.  His team strives to provide the highest quality of financial expertise and superior service to clients. These clients include some of the area’s leading corporations and businesses. He has been a member of AALU, GAMA International and NAIFA since 2006.  He has also served on the Young Advisor Team (YAT) and Diversity Council for NAIFA IL. 

Oscar has demonstrated a passion for working with various charities and non-for- profits around Chicago including Open Heart Magic, Chicago Gateway Green and Chicago Lights.  He is also serving as a board member of the Emerging Leaders Board of Casa Central and Ambassador of Lurie’s Children's Hospital Innovators. Oscar and his wife Lauren along with their two daughters (Ava and Sienna) are active members of Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Aamir Chalisa, MBA is a Managing Director at the Oak Brook, IL branch of Futurity FirstInsurance Group (FFIG). He leads this branch with 38 agents, which was a leading Branch at Futurity in 2018.  With a successful record of accomplishment in growing diversity in corporate America, Aamir has 28 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industry.

Throughout his career, Aamir has won many sales and management awards and qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) many times. Aamir is also on the Membership Committee of GAMA International and has attended GAMA’s LAMP conferences for the past 23 years. In 2015 he was appointed to the Board of Directors at GAMA and was named GAMA International volunteer of the year.  He has been honored with GAMA’s first in class award twice in his career. He won additional GAMA awards over many years. He has also attended MDRT and LIMRA Conferences many times. He served on the NAIFA National 20/20 task force and is a member of its National Diversity Council.

Aamir recently authored a book named “Leadership Beyond Borders” available on Amazon, where he wrote about discovering diversity and volunteerism across two continents.

Chris Gandy has spent the last 19 years helping individuals reach their most important financial goals. In 1999, Chris started his own financial services practice and, since then, has traveled the U.S. working with business owners, physicians, professional athletes and key executives. Chris specifically focuses on the areas of Life Insurance, Disability Income Insurance, Investments, and Tax Reduction Strategies.

Chris was a Communications major at the University of Illinois. Outside of the classroom, he played on the Fighting Illini basketball team where he was co-captain and earned 2nd Team All Big-Ten honors.  After college, Chris played professional basketball for the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, and in L’Hermaine, France.

Early in his career, Chris worked as a Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Representative. While there, he received numerous awards and was a top producer.  He became an MDRT Member in 2003.  In the spring of 2005, Chris moved his financial services practice to the Molyneaux Financial Group, LLC, a general agency of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. There, he received the Impact Award in 2006 as well as the Management Council and Leaders Conference Honors in 2007.  

Chris is dedicated to helping individuals develop personalized financial strategies and goals. He is the AGA of Midwest Legacy Group which works with many of the major insurance carriers and investment providers in the marketplace to find suitable solutions and products for clients.  

ShirleyAnn M. Robertson, a second generation Financial Professional, began her career with The Prudential Insurance Company of America in 1992 under the guidance of her now retired business partner and mother, Hyacinth E. Robertson.  Together, they built the highly successf

Recognized nationally, ShirleyAnn has developed her practice working with women, families, ministries, and small to mid-size business clients throughout the United States.  Passionate about insurance and investment strategies, ShirleyAnn is a testament to the benefits of solid planning through life’s challenges and admits for her clients the one overarching mission is “helping others overcome the financial hurdles of life.”ul firm of Robertson & Robertson Financial Services providing quality insurance and financial consultation services. 

Celebrating 28 years in the financial services industry; ShirleyAnn has received numerous, industry awards and accolades including MDRT from 2001-2019, recognizing her as one of the top 1% financial services professionals who are committed to providing exemplary client service while displaying the highest standard of ethics and professional knowledge.  She is a featured presenter and frequently sought-after public speaker at national conferences and programs, including the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Radio Show.  Her financial strategies and suggestions have been featured in various industry publications such as, The Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise, Essence magazine and other periodicals. 

ShirleyAnn continues to extend herself beyond the financial arena with an investment in the community.  She is involved in local non-profit community and charitable organizations supporting those important issues that affect the community she serves.  She is an avid supporter of various teen leadership programs and personally mentors several girls on financial empowerment and the importance of solid planning skills.  ShirleyAnn’s greatest source of pride and achievement is assisting her clients and continuing the legacy laid by her mother.

Register Now!