America's Benefit Specialist October 2022

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Mychal H. Walker Sr. , CLTC, FRC, was re cently sworn in as a member of the Georgia Board of Public Health. The oath of office was administered by Governor Brian Kemp. Walker, who became chairman of NFIB’s

strategic growth and planning of the fam ily-owned and operated insurance agency headquartered in Bangor, Maine. He will succeed his father, Royce Cross, as CEO. Royce will continue to serve as chairman for Cross Insurance. Jonathan is the third generation of the Cross family to oversee the company and has served as president since 2020. He first started working for the family’s business part time when he was young helping with numerous projects at the Bangor headquarters, and then became a full time licensed agent after graduating from Husson University in 1998. He worked for many years alongside his grandfather and company founder Woodrow W. Cross, his father Royce, late uncle Brent and cousin Woodrow Cross II. As an integral part of the Cross team, he has played a critical role in the expansion of Cross’s insurance services and capabilities, which now span beyond the Northeast and count roughly 1,000 employees working in more than 50 offices. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Husson University. COMPANY NEWS The Word & Brown Companies has been named in the annual “Best Places to Work in Insurance” program, which recognizes employers for their outstanding performance in establish ing workplaces where employees can thrive, enjoy their work, and help the companies grow. Based in Orange, California, The Word & Brown Companies includes three businesses: the Word & Brown General Agency, a leader in developing and distributing health benefit plan solutions to individuals and employ-

that the voice of Georgia’s small-business owners and workers is heard when it comes to addressing matters of public health.”

Veteran employee benefits consultant Joe Cazzell has joined Alliant Insurance Ser vices as vice president within its Employee Benefits Group. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cazzell joins Alliant with extensive experi ence in self-funded benefit plans, the ACA and human resources information systems. Prior to joining Alliant, Cazzell was a client executive with a national employee benefits consulting firm, assisting employ ers in developing long-term strategic plans for managing risk and minimizing total healthcare costs while maximizing employ ee satisfaction. Cazzell earned a bachelor’s degree in insurance and risk management from the University of Central Arkansas and is a Certified Financial Planner.

Leadership Council in 2021, is manag ing director at the Walker Agency LLC,

a Medicare health insurance agency in Duluth. After graduating from Auburn University with a degree in communi cation and media studies, he worked for several years with telecommunications companies such as AT&T, Bell South and US Sprint. Walker’s experience with these companies inspired him to start his first company, TriComm Inc., which provided communications systems to clients such as the Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control. In 2007, he began to migrate into the insurance and financial services sector, providing consulting services to small businesses. Walker now serves as Region 5 vice president on NAHU’s Board of Trustees. NFIB State Director Nathan Humphrey said, “This is a great opportunity for Mychal, and great news for Georgia’s small businesses, because Mychal will ensure

Cross Insurance, one of the largest indepen dent insurance providers in the Northeast, recently announced that Jonathan Cross

is now president and CEO of the company, a position from which he will oversee the

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