DIS Growth Award
This award recognizes Disability Income Specialists who have reached $1 million unit production and have the top growth percentage from the prior year in two category breakouts:
Advanced Disability Meeting
The 2024 Advanced Disability Meeting (ADM) was the highest attended ADM to date, with almost 500 attendees, including 300 guests and family members. This was more than double the attendance levels of previous years and clearly demonstrates how important the disability insurance business (DI) has become to our producers.
“Tonight, we celebrate our award winners and their extraordinary accomplishments through their dedication, passion, hard work—and to honor all of the families and friends that support and encourage them. Guardian knows how much stronger you make everyone.”
Left to right: Larry Hazzard, Daniel Taylor, Ed YoumellNew DI Circle of Excellence inductees
The DI Circle of Excellence recognizes individuals who have had consistent long-term success in DI sales with Guardian.
To be eligible, a Disability Income Specialist (DIS) must qualify for the ADM a minimum of 10 times. An individual must qualify for DI Inner Circle a minimum of 10 times, have a minimum of $1 million of in-force DI premium, and a minimum of 500 in-force DI cases.
DIS
Daniel Taylor, South Central
Individual
Shawn Stuart, North/Central Florida
Left to right: Ed Youmell, Matt Finn, Larry HazzardDIS of the Year
This category recognizes the DIS who has the highest unit production and growth from the prior year:
Matt Finn, Mid-Atlantic, with $2,513,852 unit production in 2023, an increase of 37.4% over the prior year
James Steidel, National Financial Network (Veteran), with $1,252,938 unit production and 82% growth
Connor Marrone, Strategies for Wealth (New), with $1,379,211 unit production and 60.4% growth
Left to right: Ed Youmell, Keith Tison, Larry HazzardDIS Activity Award
This award recognizes the DIS who finishes the year with the greatest unit growth considering production, the number of new producers writing DI, and the number of producers writing more than three cases:
Keith Tison, Lifetime Financial Growth, with $1,727,520 in DI production, 13 new producers writing at least one DI case, and 44 producers writing more than three DI cases
Left to right: Larry Hazzard, Dustin Karas, Ed YoumellTop 3 Corporate Total New Paid DI Production
1. Pattern Life (represented by Dustin Karas) – $1,782,030 in new paid premium
2. InsMed Insurance Agency – $466,273 in new paid premium
3. Health Professionals Ins. Serv. – $383,996 in new paid premium
Jeff Benowitz, Certified Financial Services
Bob Bhayani, Wayne
Leonard Cohen, Forest Hills Financial Group
Tyler DeStefano, National Financial Network
Christopher Fontana, North/Central Florida
Eli Friedman, New York Gotham
Anthony George, Pacific Advisors
Patrick Hauge, Pacific Advisors
Justin Holley, Pacific Advisors
InsMed Insurance Agency, Inc. (represented by David Blake)
James Kachmar, National Financial Network
Bob Kaplan, Pacific Advisors
Larry Keller, New York Gotham
Chuck Krugh, Pacific Advisors
Rick Lunetta, National Financial Network
Cason Parker, North/Central Florida
Dustin Peltier, Northern States
Todd Salac, Lifetime Financial Growth
Dr. Eric Studley, National Financial Network
Steve Willis, Kansas City
Matt Roddy and Greg Kreiner of Lifetime Financial Growth, joined by Ed Youmell on the left and Larry Hazzard on the right1. Lifetime Financial Growth – $7,593,801
Kelly Kidwell, Eric McDermott, and Misty Weltzien of Pacific Advisors, joined by Ed Youmell on the left and Larry Hazzard on the right2. Pacific Advisors – $6,285,408
Gary DeStefano and Mike Maresca of National Financial Network, joined by Ed Youmell on the left and Larry Hazzard on the right3. National Financial Network – $4,803,655
And these agencies also qualified for Diamond Level:
Certified Financial Services
Denver
Des Moines
Forest Hills Financial Group
Lifetime Financial Growth
Mid-Atlantic
National Financial Network
New York Gotham
North/Central Florida
Northern States
Pacific Advisors
South Central
Wayne
Western Pacific
DI Inner Circle Qualifications
DI Inner Circle recognizes top producers who consistently produce high-volume, high-quality disability income business. Individuals must have at least 80 in-force cases, 25 new paid cases, and $65,000 in new paid premium. Of our 128 qualifiers for 2025 recognition, the producers shown here were recognized for qualifying more than 15 times.
Name | Agency | Years |
|---|---|---|
Mark Crites | Red River | 28 |
Bob Kaplan | Pacific Advisors | 28 |
Steve Willis | Kansas City | 26 |
Warner E. Isaacs | St. Louis | 25 |
Jeff Benowitz | Certified Financial Services | 23 |
Anjali Singh | Pacific Advisors | 23 |
Washington Dentists Insurance | Pacific Advisors | 23 |
Todd (Tate) Christopher | Los Angeles | 23 |
David Anthony Washkowiak (Health Professionals) | Pacific Advisors | 22 |
Larry Keller | New York Gotham | 22 |
David Richards | Denver | 22 |
Dr. Eric Studley | National Financial Network | 22 |
Lori O’Neil | Western Pacific | 22 |
Charles Kofoed | Salt Lake City | 21 |
Anthony George | Pacific Advisors | 21 |
Amy Dickenson | Lifetime Financial Growth | 20 |
Randy Fine | Strategies for Wealth | 20 |
Jamie Fleischner | Mid-Atlantic | 20 |
Jennifer Loyall | Red River | 20 |
Mark Matia | South Central | 20 |
Bill Olmsted | Mid-Atlantic | 20 |
InsMed Insurance Agency Inc. | Wayne | 19 |
Treloar & Heisel Inc. | Lifetime Financial Growth | 19 |
Tiedtke Marketing Group | Red River | 18 |
Bowman Insurance & Financial Services | Denver | 18 |
Chuck Krugh | Pacific Advisors | 17 |
Gregory Lough | Lifetime Financial Growth | 17 |
Lifetime Income Sales | Lifetime Financial Growth | 17 |
Gerald Lee | Pacific Advisors | 17 |
Cathy Konner | Certified Financial Services | 16 |
R K Tongue Company Inc. | Mid-Atlantic | 16 |
Todd Salac | Lifetime Financial Growth | 16 |
Sandra Scolari | Detroit | 15 |
Mark Maurer | North/Central Florida | 15 |
First Timer Inner Circle
Jared Fenlason, Northern States
Samantha Konner, Certified Financial Services
Gary McGovern, Lifetime Financial Growth
Danny Mensh, Mid-Atlantic
David Parkes, Pacific Advisors
Ryan Willis, Kansas City
Top Multi–Life producers
Gregory Lough, Lifetime Financial, $406,812
Andrew Warner, Financial Growth Partners, $202,151
Rawlin Carter, Mobile, $199,519
Joe Hardgrove, Texas PRS, $185,520
Soraya Anthony, New York RHB, $139,266
Tim Wilson, Detroit, $124,946.00
DIS Qualifiers
These award winners achieved $630,000 of unit production of Individual and Multi-Life DI and no more than a 10% drop in new paid premium.
Donald Beattie, Red River
Matthew Berard, Boston
Michael Bourassa, Certified Financial Services
Dana Campion, Western Pacific
Lisa Dedonder, Kansas City
Kara DeStefano, National Financial Network
Sarah Dozier, Southeast
Matthew Finn, Mid-Atlantic
Dale Forsythe (retired), Northern States
Vince Gallo, Financial Growth Partners
Michael Hagedorn (retired), Pacific Advisors
Michael Hecht, Lifetime Financial Growth
Tasha Hill, Lifetime Financial Growth
Robert Jaffe, Certified Financial Services
(DIS Qualifiers continued)Jessica Jordan, Red River
Evan Kidwell, Pacific Advisors
Jason Klunder, Des Moines
Connor Marrone, Strategies for Wealth
Robert Newman, South Florida
Theresa Nowak, New York Gotham
Andrea Perlmutter, Forest Hills Financial Group
Rodney Risner, Lifetime Financial Growth
Thomas Sherry, North/Central Florida
Daniel Taylor, South Central
Keith Tison, Lifetime Financial Growth
Howard Udoff, Wayne
Paula Zonin-Crowley, National Financial Network
Next Generation Qualifiers
DI Next Generation rewards new producers in their first three contract years, who show a strong and growing commitment to selling individual disability products. These are the producers who will lead us into the future.
James Gaudio, Lifetime Financial Growth
Edward Hodge, Red River
Aaron Komarek, North/Central Florida
Joseph Matia, Lifetime Financial Growth
Irma Montes, Southeast
Sean Neal, South Florida
Michael Reyes, National Financial Network
Bryan Schod, Lifetime Financial Growth
Jared Stern, National Financial Network
Matthew Voss, Lifetime Financial Growth
Christian Weber, National Financial Network
1. Bob Kaplan, Pacific Advisors, $845,231
2. Tyler DeStefano, National Financial Network, $736,268
3. Dr. Eric S. Studley, National Financial Network, $692,543
4. Bob H. Bhayani, Wayne, $666,623
5. Lawrence Keller, NY Gotham, $631,890
Bob Kaplan, joined by Larry Hazzard on the left and Ed Youmell on the right
Tyler DeStefano, joined by Larry Hazzard on the left and Ed Youmell on the right
Bob Bhayani, joined by Larry Hazzard on the left and Ed Youmell on the right
Pub8927 (01/25) 7545914.1 (Exp. 01/27) 20270101