BIP Winter 2025

NABIP Virginia members at the Danville Conference at Caesars Virginia celebrate collaboration across the benefits community in the commonwealth.

Leaders and members of the Eastern Virginia Chapter came together for education and networking at Top Golf.

how many smaller groups are rated. While that effort won’t cross the finish line this session, NABIP Virginia intends to keep it on track. Relationships remain central to the strategy. The legislative committee meets weekly, coordinates closely with congressional staff, including the office of Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), and continues to recruit expert voices to its calls. The chapter has secured a seat on the commonwealth’s CE Board and is pursuing representation on the Virginia Exchange Advisory Committee to ensure broker perspectives are embedded early in policy discussions. Beyond the Capitol, member education is everywhere. Southwest Virginia hosted a legislative-heavy CE Day in September featuring a briefing from the Virginia Exchange. The spring Southwest Virginia State Conference, held in Danville, brought together Travis, lobbyist

a high-impact panel on market trends and compliance. Central Virginia kept the community connected with its annual golf outing. Eastern Virginia hosted a member education day in September at Top Golf in Virginia Beach. And, a Day on the Hill in Richmond is set for January 20, with outreach underway to drive strong turnout. Looking outward, NABIP Virginia is comparing notes with peers and borrowing what works. Leaders highlighted Pennsylvania’s Emerging Leaders Program as a model for succession planning and are exploring a joint event with North Carolina to broaden the learning and networking base. “We don’t exist in silos,” Vora Seawell says. “Medicare, individual, group — each influences the other. Our job is to connect those dots for members and for lawmakers.” Adds Travis, “We’re building NABIP-sponsored legislation, resources and relationships that last. The goal is simple: better information, better decisions, better outcomes for Virginians.”

Christopher West, Gaylan Hendricks, the Exchange’s

NABIP Southwest Virginia leaders with Gaylan Hendricks during Raise the Stakes: Powering the Future of Benefits & Insurance.

Kendra Weindling and Medicare educator Christopher Westfall for

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