I'm excited about a great lineup of speakers scheduled to appear at the AALU annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in a few days. I'll be heading out from Denver Sunday morning, reaching the nation's capitol just in time to catch Dennis Miller's keynote at the President's Dinner on Sunday night.
While I'm relatively sure he'll have many attendees queuing up the thesaurus apps on their smartphones, I'll be curious to see how he tailors his remarks to the interests of the advanced underwriting crowd.
The event kicks into high gear during Monday morning's general session, when former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and "Freakonomics" author Steven Levitt warm up for headliner George W. Bush, who will hopefully have more on his agenda than selling copies of "Decision Points."
Tuesday's the day AALU attendees make their all-important annual ascent of Capitol Hill to share their unique knowledge of the industry — and their concerns — with their members of Congress. A politically involved membership is the key to AALU's mission to protect the business environment of agents in the advanced markets, and Capitol Hill Day during the annual meeting is a centerpiece of AALU's program to assist members in their efforts to get involved in the political process.
Having attended the past two annual meetings, I can attest that this event serves as a loud reminder for the AALU membership of the importance of staying up to date on the regulatory environment in Washington. These industry leaders are well-prepared to broach important issues with their elected representatives by the time those buses leave the conference hotel for the Hill.
The event wraps up next Wednesday with syndicated columnist Donna Brazile and former White House press secretary Dana Perino headlining the closing general session.
