 
By Helen Thompson
Paul Farr knows a thing or two about rebuilding: He lives and works on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where hurricanes and nor’easters come and go. A mentor, who wanted to see their association revitalized, drafted him into his local, Northeastern AIFA, during his second year in the business. “I was invited to join NAIFA by a veteran agent in my office, but our association had stopped meeting,” he said. “I immediately became president of the local for three years.”
Farr, who just turned 30, has since gone on to become vice president of his region for the state association. And now, he’s turning his attention from revitalizing his local to helping YAT kick off another year of exciting new developments for young advisors. Everyone comes away from the national convention with a sense of renewal and invigoration, he says, but for YAT attendees, there’s heightened enthusiasm for being part of the next generation of NAIFA leadership.
Curiosity fills the YAT
Farr was able to talk to a lot of agents at the NAIFA Convention and Career Conference in Baltimore this year, and he was surprised to discover the tremendous need for more visibility. “A lot of people don’t know what YAT is,” he says. “We have so many acronyms for everything, and this one can get lost in the shuffle—what is YAT? But we are working hard to get the message out that this is exciting! This is fun! And NAIFA needs us!”
That message was all over the place at the YAT events. A panel of experienced young advisors convened to dispense wisdom before the meet and greet on Saturday. Farr was very impressed with the level of idea exchange that was going on. “At the YAT meet and greet, I saw that a lot of other people—who are as passionate as I am—are tremendously excited about NAIFA’s future,” he says. “That passion is really important, because without that passion, we’re not going to go anywhere.”
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“We are working hard to get the message out that this is exciting! This is fun! And NAIFA needs us!”
—Paul Farr
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But YAT is definitely going places. People talked about what is working for them, what isn’t working for them, what doesn’t work at all—and the results of this mass brainstorming session will be part of what you’ll see in upcoming YAT Chat issues. “People are doing a lot of different things with their locals, and they need to continue having this conversation,” says Farr. “It will help new YAT groups get on board and establish their direction, regardless of how big or small they are.”
It’s your YAT, too
“We’ve got to find a way to connect with our members,” says Farr. And that means you! YAT wants to hear your ideas, and encourages you to become directly involved. Write to us at yat@naifa.org.
Next month in Advisor Today, we’ll have full coverage of the convention. Hang on to that issue, because late next summer the convention will roll around again, and you’ll want to be there, says Farr. “Come find out what NAIFA is really, truly all about—you’ll get to spend three or four days learning it firsthand. You learn why we’re here, what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. And it’s fun!”
October 2005
Going Places
New Practice? No Problem.
Growing Your Business
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