Andrew Yonker opened the meeting by recognizing guests from companies outside of Prudential. He went on to thank Cynthia Carlucci and Marty Brophy for organizing the event and he congratulated Jim Woodman on the birth of his son Harry.
Next, Andrew introduced Monica Williams, the Prudential LOMA Rep. Monica reminded the audience that Prudential employees should take advantage of the company’s learning lab.

Andrew introduced Friedes as he gave the audience a brief bio of our President and the meeting officially began. Friedes welcomed Prudential’s colleagues from Minneapolis, who dialed into the meeting via teleconference. Friedes told the audience that Prudential was honored as one of the “Best of the Top 10” 2005 100 Best Companies to work for, according to Working Mother Magazine. She went on to say that in 2005, Prudential was inducted into the Working Mother 100 Best Companies Hall of Fame. To qualify as a Hall of Fame inductee, a company must have been named to the 100 Best for 15 years or more and appear on the 2005 Working Mother 100 Best.

Friedes introduced the board members, as well as thanking Julie Privman for all of her work on maintaining the Society’s web site. She also mentioned that the Society has reached its 2006 goal of 300 members, representing more than 10 companies in the tri-state area. Friedes told the audience the Scholarship Fund at St. John’s University is ~$34,000 and 2006 will be the Society’s 3rd year of awarding a scholarship.

Friedes reminded the audience that the Society’s Community Affairs Committee was holding a CD drive. The goal is to bring live and recorded music to patients in hospitals in the NYC area.

Friedes introduced Josh Paulson who gave the audience a demo on the use of the consenors – a polling tool. The sample question was “What Year was Woodstock?” The answers were listed on the screen as “A”, “B”, “C”, or “D”. A chart appears on the screen displaying the audience’s response and then Josh gave the correct answer, August, 1969.

Cynthia Carlucci introduced the guest speakers. She deviated from reading their bios to the audience by telling a personal story of her work experience with them. She told the audience each speaker possesses Passion and Empowerment. Each cares about the employees as individuals and makes each feel as though they are part of the team.

Cynthia told us that Mark Hug introduced himself to the team when he first arrived at Prudential. Cynthia said he constantly reminds the team that he wants to work with a super-charged team. She went on to say Mark is a caring person and that his enthusiasm is contagious and maintains an “open door” policy.

Cynthia told the audience that Maria is dedicated to the training and education of women. She also said Maria has been a personal mentor to her during her career at Prudential.

Mark welcomed the audience to Prudential on what was a hot summer night. He asked the audience what they thought constitutes a generation. He told the audience there are 3 key issues that make up a generation, History, Time and Country Specific. He went on to define the 5 major generations, which have spanned an entire century; GI Generation, Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y.

Mark polled the audience with the question, “Which boomer year was the biggest?” A. 1955, B. 1957, C. 1958 and D. 1959. B is the answer. He talked to the audience about the Baby Boomer generation by profiling them. The next poll was “What percent of Baby Boomers are behind in saving for retirement? A. 25%, B. 45%, C. 60% and D. 75%. The audience answered with D, but C is the correct answer. Mark then talked about why the boomers are behind with their savings.

Friedes thanked everyone for coming and adjourned the meeting, which was followed by an excellent buffet reception.

Maria Umbach took the microphone and informed the audience of a study prepared by Prudential Financial, The Roadblocks to Retirement, which was released this year. She told the audience it is the job of the insurance companies to help people prepare for retirement. She went on to say that 50% of the Baby Boomer generation is women and focused her discussion on this topic.

Next, she pointed out the importance of our business and industry on this subject. The force of boomers not saving properly for retirement is powerful to our economy. She reminded the audience that it is a tremendous responsibility to service this need. She also said we must be ahead of the business and not behind. She suggests that insurance companies deeply understand their customers.

Maria further defined the women baby boomers as possessing a “Quadruple Whammy.” She defined her term and the four issues as to why women are lagging behind men when it comes to saving for retirement. The next poll was “What percent of women grade themselves A when it comes to their financial knowledge?” A. 1%, B. 8%, C. 15%, D. 30%. The audience said B; the answer is A, 1%.

Maria explained to the audience the 2006 Prudential Financial’s Study on the Financial Experience & Behaviors Among Women. The study was looking for a connection between life insurance and Boomers. Do they care about financial protection?

Maria defined 5 uses of life insurance in retirement, in her terms:
    1. 60% of people expect to be responsible for someone else,
    2. Life insurance on someone she (the female baby boomer depicted in an ad on the screen) depends on,
    3. Will anyone remember me,
    4. Sandwiched, Bothered and Bewildered,
    5. Private Sector can step up

The next poll asked “Who is not a baby boomer?” A. Dolly Parton, B. Meryl Streep, C. Cher, D. Tina Turner. The audience struggled with this question. The answer is D. Maria and Mark then opened the meeting to questions.

Friedes thanked the speakers. Josh and Cynthia each handed a gift to the speakers. Friedes reminded the audience the next General Meeting will be held on 09/21/06 sponsored by The Guardian. She also said Mutual of America will host a meeting in 2006 but the date has yet to be decided. Additionally, Friedes reminded the audience of the LOMA Annual Conference and Conferment on 9/17 – 9/19 in San Francisco, CA.

The attendees continued to engage in lively discussions after the presentations, while enjoying a lovely buffet with a wide selection of hors d’oeuvres and desserts.