Aartrijk Mourns Passing of Maureen Wall Bentley
Communications Leader Developed Trusted Choice, Aartrijk Brand Camp, Other Branding Initiatives
Springfield, Va. (July 11, 2011)—Maureen Wall Bentley, executive vice president, brand strategy of Aartrijk, died peacefully on July 9, 2011, after a recurrence of cancer.
A native of Bronx, N.Y. and a graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School and Boston College, Wall Bentley is survived by her husband, Mark Bentley of Baltimore, Maryland. She was 47.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday July 13, 2011 at 10:45 a.m. at St Margaret of Cortona Church, 6000 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx, N.Y.
Wall Bentley began her career as an editor at Murdoch Magazines and then Condé Nast Publications. She went on to broader communications and branding roles at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, where she was publisher of IA magazine. Maureen’s led the research, development and introduction of the Trusted Choice brand.
At Aartrijk, she co-created Aartrijk Brand Camp as an industry conference, and recently led the redevelopment of brand identities for several prominent insurance associations and organizations. She focused on brand assessments, identity development and marketing-communications strategy and was the editor of Zoom, a step-by-step branding guide for independent insurance agents.
“I spoke with Maureen nearly every workday for more than 20 years, first at the Big I and then when she joined Aartrijk,” said Peter van Aartrijk, founder and CEO of Aartrijk. “She was invariably smart, sharp-witted, creative, and always looking out for the challenges and interests of clients. She was a colleague and confidant many people could trust both personally and professionally, turn to for sage insight, and count on for quality work. She prided herself on excellent writing and set high standards for our work.”
- – - – -
Note: In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in honor of Maureen Wall Bentley be made to St. Margaret of Cortona School, 6000 Riverdale Ave., Bronx 10471.
Maureen Wall Bentley VA Service Details:
Date: Saturday, July 30, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church
http://www.mountvernonumc.com
Reception: Immediately following service – Location TBD
The organizers are in need of a count for number of attendees to determine exact location for reception to follow the service. Thus if you could pass this email along to anyone we may have forgotten who you know would like to attend/be informed we’d be grateful. We are in need of your RSVP by next week so that we may reserve the appropriate size reception location. Thank you so much, and we’ll have the gathering/reception location & directions available at the church service on Saturday July 30th.
Please RSVP the number of attendees who will be coming in your party to the service/gathering after the service – thank you.
Many thanks,
Hosts:
Michelle Gillen
Jill Calabria
Brand – It Comes From Within
October 19, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
I just got back from a trip to Chicago – the fourth this year. I flew Southwest, just like I always do, and that got me thinking how much I love Southwest Airlines!
What’s so great about Southwest? Well, for me, I’m not looking for caviar and champagne on my flight – I just want to get there with a minimum of hassle. Southwest Airlines promises cheap fares, no frills, on-time flights and great service. And that’s what I get every time I fly with them. Their online reservations service is easy to use and accurate. Their employees are unfailingly polite, enthusiastic and often times quite funny. And, even when the flight is delayed, they somehow make it not as frustrating. I tell everyone how much I like this company. They have a great brand.
How does Southwest do it? It starts with leadership – the CEO has developed a philosophy and has made sure that it has permeated every aspect of the company. Southwest’s policies are based first on the Brand instead of on financial statements. It hires employees based on their attitude and then train for skill. It allows their employees a level of authority and flexibility that is rare in companies half the size – encouraging innovation, teamwork and responsibility. The company philosophy is reinforced at every level and employees are recognized and rewarded for their efforts. Read more
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 26: ‘Uncomfortable Change’ Paves Road to Perpetuation
August 23, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Too often agency principals find themselves facing a forced sale as a result of not having a proper perpetuation plan. In this podcast, MarshBerry president John Wepler discusses the many difficult and “uncomfortable” decisions required of an owner seeking to properly–and profitably–perpetuate the firm. Listen to this frank conversation as John offers some good news: It is never too late to start to implement a perpetuation strategy but it takes a “burn the ships” commitment. That is, once you start down the path there is no turning back. Get some good ideas for your firm from one of the industry’s best-known management consultant.
The podcast was published Monday, August 23, 2010. Run time is 25 minutes 43 seconds.
Guest Blogger Nibby Priest, GoVaughn.com Insurance: “High-Touch Relationships”
August 6, 2010 by admin · 4 Comments
For Aartrijk’s new series of guest bloggers from in and around the insurance industry, we welcome Nibby Priest of GoVaughn.com Insurance Agency, a full-service independent agency headquartered in Henderson, Kentucky, and serving Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
About Nibby: Nibby began his insurance career in August 1983 as a part-time employee in his father’s business, then joined the agency full-time in 1986 after graduating from Eastern Kentucky University. Nibby is known nationally for his insurance agency automation consulting work with the AGENA Corporation and National Users of AGENA Systems. He has also worked extensively with Henderson Community College as an instructor in various computer-related classes.
1. What has happened in the past year with your agency/firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on? What is the top challenge right now for companies like yours?
We are trying to brand more with our online name GoVaughn.com Insurance, instead of our old, long name Vaughn Insurance Agency Co.
We have dropped our Yellow Pages, TV, radio and newspaper advertisements. Our biggest challenge is making sense out of it all, even though we know that the time we are spending in social media and new media (online advertising) is really the right way to go.
Guest Blogger Pat Alexander, InsuranceEcoSystem.com Founder: ‘Brand and Message Are Inseparable’
July 26, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Pat Alexander, founder of InsuranceEcosystem.com
The Aartrijk team is pleased to welcome — for the first time — guest bloggers from in and around the insurance industry, starting this month.
To kick off this occasional series, we welcome Pat Alexander, founder of industry blog InsuranceEcosystem.com and a Brand Camp 2009 alumna.
About Pat: In 2009, she launched InsuranceEcosystem.com as a resource for the insurance industry and a way to spark more conversation about her areas of expertise in independent agencies, coaching and technology. She describes Insurance Ecosystem as a blog that “provide[s] you with communicators that don’t normally blog but have great views and information to share. Each of these individuals … [has] so much to contribute in their area of expertise.”
1. What has happened in the past year with your firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on?
After Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, I developed a plan to redesign my primary Web site, PatAlexander.com, and give it a fresh look and to develop a blog where individuals of interest to insurance agents could blog regularly or at their whim. Developing this blog included developing a brand for it as well as an audience.
From the Woods, Rick Morgan Talks About Networking
June 29, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Aartrijk’s Rick Morgan loves to travel and spend time outdoors. While traveling the Pacific Northwest with his family and friends, he sat down and talked briefly about the importance of networking.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 22: A Renewed Energy
June 28, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Peter and Rick discuss the renewed energy and engagement they are seeing across the industry. For example, at the recent ACORD conference they noticed many new vendors and lots of younger folks in attendance. The exhibit hall was filled with activity and a renewed energy that had not been in evidence for several years.
Clearly, there is a realization that in spite of value of social social networking — face-to-face networking is still a critically important component in a successful business strategy. Perhaps associations, user groups, and others who hold conferences can learn from this. More than education and keynote speakers, it is the networking opportunity that may drive the events of the future.
More than their experience at several recent events, Peter and Rick are seeing a resurgence in confidence and a commitment to the independent agency system by agents, brokers and carriers alike. Yes, part of that is technology based. The growing implementation of Real Time is helping agents do business in a more efficient and effective way and social networking is giving them a whole new set of tools to help them build and strengthen relationships and more effective way to communicate with their community.
The podcast was published Monday, June 21, 2010. Run time is 15 minutes 6 seconds.