InVEST Introduces New Board Member

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 14 -- Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America issued the following news release:

InVEST, the insurance industry's premier classroom to career education program, recently announced that Daniel J. Mastrototaro has joined its national board. Mastrototaro is vice president of business development at The Hanover Insurance Group. "InVEST is proud to announce Dan Mastrototaro has joined our distinguished group of board members," says Heather Minkler, InVEST board chair and CEO of Clark-Mortenson Agency, an independent agency in Keene, N.H. "Dan brings 25 years of insurance and financial services experience plus countless hours of philanthropy work to the InVEST board of directors and we look forward to drawing from his expertise." Mastrototaro is actively involved in community enhancement programs, holding board positions on the MetroWest Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Worcester State University Foundation board of directors. He has also served in various capacities with Habitat for Humanity, United Way, Junior Achievement of Central Massachusetts and the Christie McAuliffe Charter School in Framingham, Mass. During his career at The Hanover, Mastrototaro has played instrumental roles in corporate finance, product development, information technology, operations, sales and marketing. Mastrototaro holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. "InVEST is critically important not just to the future of the independent agency system, but to the insurance industry as a whole," says Robert Rusbuldt, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big "I") president & CEO. "Survey results from the Agency Universe Study by Future One (a collaboration of the Big 'I' and leading independent agency companies) pointed to InVEST as crucial to the future of the industry, with a majority of respondents stating the insurance industry should encourage high schools and community colleges to help students plan for insurance careers. Educators, volunteers, agents and industry leaders, like Dan Mastrototaro, are key to the success of this program." As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, InVEST benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers and volunteers. The program provides the insurance industry with motivated, talented and intelligent professionals through a support structure of state associations, board members, national staff, teachers and the many industry professionals who work in the field as classroom liaisons. Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, Va., InVEST promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and community colleges. The high school curriculum is a business-education program that utilizes a hands-on approach which simulates an insurance agency and company operations to prepare students for various business careers and create more knowledgeable insurance consumers. At the college level, InVEST is an information-intensive curriculum of risk management and financial services. These courses provide students with a working knowledge of the basics needed to pursue careers in the insurance industry. For more information, go to www.investprogram.org.

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