The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) announced that D. Scott Brennan, a career MassMutual agent in South Bend, Indiana, is the recipient of the 75th annual John Newton Russell Memorial Award. The award is the highest honor accorded by the insurance industry to a living individual who has rendered outstanding services to the institution of life insurance.
Brennan received the award Sunday in a Main Stage presentation at NAIFA's Performance + Purpose conference in Las Vegas.
"On behalf of the selection committee, it is a privilege to congratulate Scott Brennan as the recipient of this year's John Newton Russell Memorial Award," said Robert O. Smith, CLU, ChFC, JD, chair of the 2016 award committee. "Scott's high regard as an industry speaker and his dedicated service to the Million Dollar Round Table demonstrate his strong commitment to our industry and to helping his colleagues achieve success. We had many strong nominees this year, but Scott's achievements stood out as particularly notable."
During his senior year at Indiana University in the fall of 1977, Mr. Brennan began his career in life insurance. He is a member of the Million Dollar Round Table Quarter Century Club with past qualifications of Court of the Table and Top of the Table. He has previously served as the organization's president. He has also served on more than 30 MDRT committees and task forces and has been a speaker at 12 MDRT annual meetings. He is an Excalibur Knight of the MDRT Foundation.
"I have had a great career with a few left turns," Brennan said. "It hasn't been perfect but it has been wonderful. I have more medals than scar tissue, but I am proud of both."
Brennan has been a NAIFA member for more than 35 years and is currently on the NAIFA-Indiana board of trustees. He has served as the president of NAIFA-North Central Indiana association. He has also served on the Life Happens (formerly LIFE Foundation) board of directors and as president of Forum 400. He is a longtime member of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting.
A highly regarded speaker, Brennan has presented to more than 200 business groups and served as a guest lecturer to MBA programs at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University-South Bend. He has served on the faculty of the Grant Taggart Symposium and the Banff Institute.
