PIANY Elects Holender President, Names Directors and Officers

Professional Insurance Agents of New York Inc. has elected Fred Holender as president at an annual meeting of the association’s board of directors in Glenmont, N.Y. Holender is director of administration for Lawley Service Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y.

As a member of PIANY since the 1970s, Holender has served on the board of directors since 2013. He also served as president-elect in 2016-2017 and vice president in 2015-2016.

He is vice president of the Government Affairs and Nominations Committees and is a member of the Executive/Budget & Finance and Member, Benefits and Services Committee, as well as the PIANYPAC Governing Committee. He also is chairperson of the association’s Buffalo Advisory Council and primary coordinator of PIANY’s Legislative district office visits.

PIANY also elected two New York professional, independent insurance agents to serve a two-year term ending in 2019 on the board of directors. It elected Raymond J. Gills Sr., agency manager of Fire Mark Insurance Agency Inc. in Cobleskill, N.Y., and Jeffrey Leibowitz, CEO of Atlantic Agency Insurance & Risk Management with three locations in Suffolk County, N.Y.

As an active member of PIANY, Gillis is a member of the Company/Industry Relations and Government Affairs Committees. He also is a member of the National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization subcommittee and a member of the PIANY Albany Advisory Council.

Leibowitz has been a PIANY member since 1996 and is a member of the Education/Conference and Member, Benefits and Service Committees. He also is a member of the PIANY Long Island Advisory Council and sits on the Peer Review Board for the New York Auto Insurance Plan.

Additionally, new officers of PIANY were elected for the 2017-18 administrative year:

• Jamie Ferris of Lansing, N.Y., was named president-elect. Ferris is president of P.W. Wood & Son Inc. in Ithaca, N.Y.
• John R. Tomassi of Clifton Park, N.Y., was elected first vice president. Tomassi is president of the Winfield Group in Clifton Park, N.Y.
• Tim Dean of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., was elected vice president. Dean is president of Marshall & Sterling Inc. in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
• Anthony Kammas of Flushing, N.Y., was elected vice president. Kammas is president of Skyline Risk Management Inc. in Flushing.
• Bruce D. Rowledge of Scotia, N.Y., was re-elected treasurer. Rowledge is president of Rowledge Agency in Scotia, N.Y.
• David L. Sidle of Trumansburg, N.Y., was elected secretary. Sidle is president and CEO of David L. Sidle Agency Inc. in Montour Falls, N.Y.
• John C. Parsons of Skaneateles, N.Y., will serve as immediate past president. He is executive vice president of Parsons & Associates Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y.

PIANY is a trade association representing professional, independent insurance agencies, brokerages and their employees throughout the state.

Source: Professional Insurance Agents of New York