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First Country Life 



Conference a Success 



300 Attend Meeting to Discuss Life 

 Insurance 



THE Country Life Insurance conference 

 opened at 10:00 A. M. Jan. 29 in 

 the Abraham Lincoln Hotel with about 

 300 present. 



Manager L. A. Williams talked to the 

 agents on the importance of getting ad- 

 ditional information 

 about life insurance 

 to equip them for 

 selling in the new 

 year. The corre- 

 spondence course was 

 introduced and 175 

 agents enrolled. An 

 excellent spirit was 

 shown throughout 

 . the entire morning 

 session, and the meet- 

 V. Vaniman .j^g adjourned at 



11:00 o'clock, giving way to the Holding 

 Company Annual meeting. 



Smith Opens 



At 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon the 

 Country Life conference reopened, with a 

 short address by President Earl C. Smith. 

 He congratulated the men of the County 

 Farm Bureaus on the success of Country 

 Life Insurance Company in its first year. 



Manager Williams followed with a talk 

 on the subject "The Heart of the Com- 

 pany." 



Boland and Ramler 



Dr. John Boland was introduced, and 

 gave a very interesting address on "Risks 

 and Ratings," illustrating his talk with 

 mortality charts. 



Mr. Ramler of the service department 

 talked on ways of mutually beneficial serv- 

 ice and understanding between the agents 

 and home office. He presented methods of 

 keeping records, and showed the unneces- 

 sary loss in incompleted cases, where ap- 

 proximately $J,000 in possible commissions 

 were lost to the agents, and about a half 

 million dollars in business was lost to the 

 company, largely because of this indiffer- 

 ence on the part of the agent. A surpris- 

 ing number of men participated in the 

 general discussion which followed. 



Banquet Held 



The General Agency Club consisting of 

 50 qualifying special and general agents 

 attended a banquet given by Manager L. A. 

 Williams at the Sangamo Club, Wednesday 

 night. Each general agent who had made 

 his quota was eligible and any special agent 

 who had written 15 applications in one 

 month got in on the party. 



H. O. Henry of Effingham county, first 

 to make his quota, was made president, and 

 H. H. Click of Wabash coun»^ became 

 vice-president. Mr. Henry acted as toast- 

 master calling upon members having to their 

 credit various outstanding accomplishments 

 in the past year. 



THE PAWNEE FOUR 



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Left to right: D. C. Dragoo, H. B. Austin, W. L. Dragoo, E. V. Hoagland. 

 These entertainers were the life of the convention. They did a great job on every occasion 

 and were ready to sing out the high points of each speech in rhyme when thf speaker finished. 



At 7:00 A. M., January 30, 140 life 

 insurance men breakfasted at the Leland 

 Hotel to plan for greater accomplishments 

 in 1930. L. A. Williams acted as toast- 

 master. Donald Kirkpatrick delivered an 

 interesting talk on possibilities for accom- 

 plishment in the coming year. George F. 

 Tullock, secretary of the company, reviewed 

 some of the handicaps which had to be 

 overcome, and the misgivings which con- 

 fronted the directors while making the de- 

 cision to build a life insurance company. 

 He complimented the agents in the County 

 Farm Bureaus on their great success, and 

 prophesied continued progress in the coming 

 year. 



V. Vaniman made an enthusiastic appeal 

 for a greater volume of business through 

 intelligent effort. The meeting adjourned 

 at 8:45 to make way for the morning Ses- 

 sion of the I. A. A. convention. 



"All in all, the first conference of Coun- 

 try Life Insurance Company was as com- 

 plete in its spirit of confidence apd enthusi- 

 asm as that of any well seasoned organiza- 

 tion," commented Williams. "On every 

 hand confidence was expressed in possibili- 

 ties for continued growth. Our agents sin- 

 cerely believe in the unselfish goal of the 

 company to produce sound life insurance at 

 the lowest possible net cost. The desire 

 on the part of new men to learn more 

 about insurance was the most optimistic side 

 of the entire conference. 



"The manager wishes to express his grati- 

 tude for the consideration, time, and co- 

 operation given by the officers and other 

 members of the staff in making the first 

 conference a success." 



L. E. Webb, secretary of the 

 Farmers National Grain Corporation, 

 commenting on the yearly audit of 

 the Graymont Farmers Elevator Co. 

 of Livingston County, said : "It's the 

 best farmers' elevator audit I ever 

 saw." The Illinois Agricultural Co- 

 operatives Association did the job. 



Facts are not enough. They are 

 only ammunition. The good sales- 

 man must know how to use the in- 

 formation about the thing he is sell- 

 ing* 



Insurance, 



By L. A. Williams 



A YEAR of confidence building with 

 outstanding cooperation has ripened 

 Country Life like the summer sim. The 

 Company has grown in one year to the size 

 attained by many companies only after IJ 

 to 20 years' growth. i 



What will it mean in diridends to policy- 

 holders? Last year's economy shown by the 

 actuary's statement proved all that Country 

 Life has ever contended, namely, that we 

 could manufacture our own life insurance 

 on an old line basis cheaper than it could 

 be manufactured elesewhete. The business 

 of the year broke all records for first year 

 production. It broke all records for low 

 cost acquisition and overhead. This will all 

 be reflected in dividends to policyholders in 

 years to follow. 



Service? Well, never before has one 

 group of people learned so much about life 

 insurance as Farm Bureau members on the 

 whole learned last year. Intelligent policy- 

 holders mean few lapsed policies. It means, 

 also, increased business. Thas year will see a 

 host of experienced agents, who after one 

 year of effort and schooling, will be able 

 to render greater service than ever before. 

 They have learned the value of working for 

 the best interests of the Farm Bureau. They 

 are more certain of the insurance program, 

 policies, and entire set-up and can speak 

 with greater conviction th»n they did last 

 year. 



We have discovered leaders who not only 

 learn, but teach. We have the whole- 

 hearted support of the Farm Bureaus. They 

 know the value of a group of life insurance 

 men preaching the gospel of cooperation in 

 their counties. 



We also pay death claims to Farm Bureau 

 folks, and taken all in all, that is the big 

 thing this company does. It provides estates 

 for people who face the day of appreciation 

 of cash and insurance income. 



When the volume that the Farm Bureaus 

 make possible will warrant the dividends, 

 they will come in just that proportion 

 which volume and economy of manage- 

 ment permit. Let's make tbe dividends an- 

 other history-making, record-breaking 

 event. 



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