A Message from Our CEO

As this is my inaugural column since being named SELF’s CEO, I wish to thank the SELF Board for placing their trust and confidence in me to provide leadership for the organization.  I would also be remiss in not thanking the SELF staff for their continued dedication and support during the interim period.

Having been in this industry for approaching 30 years, one thing I have noticed that remains a constant, are the individuals I have met along the way.  Legal, insurance, and risk professionals who believe in what they do day-to-day can make a difference.  The SELF membership for example, via their JPA association and/or their own staff, seeks to make the school districts they represent the safest school environment possible for their students.  If you think about that daunting task for a moment, the fact that millions of students come and go on K-12 and community college properties around the state every single day without incident or harm is quite remarkable.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”  When those unfortunate events do occur, SELF stands as a partner with the member in that arena; in collaboration to seek out the best resolution for that particular event; and ready to contribute expertise and financial stability when called upon.