BIG I KY installs new board, names award winners

Whitney Floyd steps in as chair of state association

BIG I KY installs new board, names award winners

Insurance News

By Ryan Smith

Big I Kentucky (BIG I KY), the state’s top insurance trade association, installed its new board of directors during its 125th Anniversary Convention & Trade Show, held Nov. 17 in Louisville, Ky.

Whitney Floyd was named chair, while Laura Yount was named chair-elect and Chris Wiseman was named vice chair.

Floyd is vice president of Field & Main Insurance in Henderson, Ky. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and earned her Certified Insurance Counselor designation in 2018. Floyd served as a member of BIG I KY’s Emerging Leader, Industry Partner, and Trusted Choice committees. She is co-founder and past president of The Henderson Rotaract Club, past treasurer and board member of Henderson Community College Foundation and past membership chair and secretary of Friends of Audubon.

Yount serves as principal of Mountain Valley Insurance in London, Ky. She is a graduate of the UK and holds Certified Insurance Representative and Certified Insurance Counselor designations. She has served on BIG I KY’s Emerging Leaders, Events, Government Affairs and Membership Services committees. Yount is an active member of Forward Community Church and a volunteer with the Angel Tree Program and the local homeless shelter.

Wiseman serves as vice president of Houchens Insurance Group in Bowling Green, Ky. He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. He began his insurance career with Progressive. Wiseman is a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

Other board members installed at the meeting include:

  • Daniel Greene, Foundation Risk Partners, NKy: Emerging Leader chair
  • Jared Pursley, ISU Pedigo Lessenberry Insurance Agency, Glasgow, Ky.
  • Adam Sheridan, Reed Brothers Insurance Services, Somerset, Ky.

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The organization also recognized Bart Rowland with the E. Starling Holloway Insuror of the Year Award and  John Funkhouser with the Be Like Mike Award.

Rowland is the owner of Rowland Insurance in Tompkinsville, Ky. He has been a member of BIG I Ky for 23 years, serving on the Emerging Leader Committee. He also served for 10 years in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

The Be Like Mike Award is named in honor of the late Michael Johnson, who served as BIG I KY’s Emerging Leader chair in 2009 and board chair in 2018.

Funkhouser, who works at Johnson-Pohlmann Insurance Agency in Danville, Ky., was given $1,000 from Arlington Roe to donate to the charity of his choice as part of the award. He donated the funds to Heart of Kentucky United Way. 

“Like Mike, John is bigger than life,” Yount said. “He throws himself at whatever he gets involved in – whether that’s his business, his personal life, his friends or his outside interests. John never fails to show up. He is the hardest worker I know, loves the association and does so much for so many people inside and outside of the industry and his community.”

Other award winners included:

  • Customer Service Representative of the Year: Lyn Murphy-Carter – Byrne Insurance Group, Louisville
  • Michael D. Hepp Emerging Leader of the Year: Brittney Stinnett, Benton, Ky.
  • Buford C. McIntosh Company Person of the Year: Lisa Switzer – Secura

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