Leaders Convention 2021 was a thrilling success as First Financial Security, Inc. gathered in Las Vegas at the M Resort for the first in-person event in more than a year. We would like to thank each of our agents for making their business a priority and joining us for a time of networking, recognition, and celebration with leaders from across the country.
This was the first Leaders Convention since 2019, where CEO Phil Gerlicher challenged our agents to do everything they could each day to succeed as champions. Our prior in-person event was back in January 2020, where our JumpStart keynote speaker Inky Johnson inspired us to persevere in the face of challenges and it was announced that our agents had achieved more cash flow milestones in 2019 than any other year in FFS history. No one could foresee the challenges we faced in 2020, yet our agents met them with courage and commitment. On stage, we voiced our stories of resilience, adaptation, and success and left the event ready to Meet the Challenge in the future.
Despite the global pandemic in 2020, our businesses thrived. Many agents shared their stories of overcoming hard times and finding success in the face of drastic change. Life insurance is protecting legacies now more than ever, and as Area Marketing Director Julie Lor told us from stage, “Clients are out there looking for us. They need us most at their toughest time.” Our Home Office staff were hard at work last year ensuring that our agents got the service they needed, and LC21 provided a great space for agents and staff to celebrate all that they achieved. To recognize this commitment and the 15th anniversary of our company, the attendees gathered together Friday night for the Awards Gala after-party headlined by the Grammy-winning R&B group All-4-One.
Keynote speaker Jia Jiang shared his journey to hear one “No” every day to get over his fear of rejection. “Before long during my 100 Days of Rejection Therapy, strange things started to happen. People started saying ‘Yes’ to me — one after another.” He taught us that rejection is nothing but a numbers game and that the most important lesson is to “Just ask!”
Agents also heard from our premier insurance carriers during on-stage presentations and breakout sessions with representatives to learn about substantial industry changes brought about by COVID-19. Our Premium Pursuit contest winners were rewarded with amazing prizes from our carriers, like AirPods, webcams, ring lights, and more. We would like to thank our sponsors National Life, Columbus Life, and ANICO for doing their part in making LC21 possible and helping our agents implement the FFS vision.
During our year without in-person events, we built the state-of-the-art learning platform Success Tracks® to better onboard our new recruits and keep our agents on track. Many agents spoke of how they embraced Success Tracks, including a panel with Zoua Vang and Pahoua Xiong on Thursday. “If you’re really in here to find consistent income and help your associates, Success Tracks is the way,” explained Pahoua Xiong. Success Tracks has certainly freed our agents up to do less teaching and more work in helping families and communities reach financial security.
To close out LC21, Phil Gerlicher took the stage to give a speech that likened the journey of the next fifteen years to the scaling of Mount Everest — we have conquered much of the mountain but are some distance from the summit. He put out the call for all agents to be climbers, to resist settling in complacency or drifting back down the slope. “If you are ever afraid of the climb, remember: you were not born with the spirit of fear. You picked it up along the way.” In the coming months, agents and Home Office staff refuse to sit idly at base camp. Instead, we will take the excitement from seeing each other again this weekend and turn it into the energy we need to reach the top.
In the 15 years since the founding of FFS, a reunion has not felt quite like the one we experienced at Leaders Convention 2021. There is little doubt that together we will meet whatever challenges face us in the fifteen years to come.