Travelers’ Gist Wins Dach Award

Created to provide 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, the InVEST program awarded John Gist, a Travelers of Florida sales executive, with the Dach Award. The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) says the award honors an insurance industry volunteer who has made tremendous contributions in fostering the growth and development of InVEST. The program is designed to be a key driver to attract new talent to the insurance industry, notes IIABA.

Gist has been involved with the InVEST Program at St. Petersburg Catholic High School in St. Petersburg, Fla., for more than 10 years. He assists with two InVEST classes that have a total of 60 students each year, and his work has improved and grown the program, according to IIABA. Gist also has served as a local InVEST committee member for the last 10 years.

IIABA says Gist plays a critical role in St. Petersburg Catholic High School’s InVEST program, which is presented as a simulation course through which students run mock agencies. He primarily works with the marketing and sales portion of the course, helping students create names, logos and slogans for their mock agencies. In addition to his classroom volunteer work, Gist volunteers as a judge for local scholarship awards.

The Dach award is named in memory of the program’s founder, Stephen Dach, says IIABA. The honoree receives a $1,000 cash prize to be used in the InVEST classroom.