Congratulation to Scott Kristjanson, Assistant Vice President of Commercial Lines Underwriting, for receiving the Big I Minnesota President’s Award. This well-deserved recognition is a testament to his dedication, hard work, and exceptional service to his customers.
This March, we hosted our annual Claims and Underwriting Trainee Open House to allow interested candidates the opportunity to speak with our employees directly and learn more about Western National and our trainee programs. We were pleased with the turnout, and we look forward to kicking off our Trainee Program in June!
This spring, a group of our Edina employees took part in a great opportunity to walk/run as a team at the Twin Cities in Motion “Get in Gear” event. It took place in Minneapolis and had three distances: a 5K (3.1 miles), a 10K (6.2 miles), and a half marathon (13.1 miles).
While it was a cold, brisk morning, our group enjoyed the sights of Minnehaha Falls Regional Park and making great memories with co-workers.
Western National was proud to sponsor the Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMLRS) Lawyers on Ice hockey fundraiser on Monday, March 13, 2023. This year was the twentieth year of the annual fundraiser which raises money for SMLRS, an organization that provides free legal services to low-income people in civil matters.
There were four teams who played during the event. Western National employees played on the Red Team, which also included participants from several Twin Cities area law firms. The team took third place—their best finish in the last several years!
This year marked the second annual mini-golf event at the Edina office. Our employees had a “tee-rific” afternoon filled with fun, light-hearted competition, and great company. Attendees also had the chance to win great door prizes like gift cards, golf items, and much more.
In addition to mini golf, employees and teams who designed and built golf holes for the event had the chance to compete in the best mini golf hole design contest. The winner of the contest was our Human Resources Team with their retro games-inspired golf hole!
We were proud to name April Goodin, Executive Vice President and CEO of Big I Minnesota, as our 2023 President’s Award Winner. April is a tireless advocate for our industry and has decades of experience serving carriers and independent agents. We were delighted for the opportunity to recognize the hard work of April and Big I Minnesota.
In April, Western National welcomed a select group of 20 producers to our Edina office for our Advanced Sales Academy for Producers (ASAP) seminar. This group spent the week focusing on building critical success skills that will help them sustain a high level of professionalism and longevity in the insurance industry.
Western National was proud to sponsor and support numerous volunteer events that gave back to our communities.
In February, a group of employees volunteered at the annual People Reaching Out to People (PROP) Empty Bowls event. Overall, the event was a great success that brought the community together to enjoy soup, take home a homemade bowl, bid on silent auction items, and listen to live music, all while supporting PROP.
In the following month, Western National was the 2023 Corporate Hour sponsor for the annual Special Olympics Cool School and Corporate Polar Plunge. Eleven Western National employees volunteered to assist the participants with check-in and registration as they prepared to take the Cool School Plunge into Lake Nokomis. It was a beautiful day during the event, and a great time was had by all supporting this great cause.
