ICMG's highest honor, the L. Don Kampe Lifetime Achievement Award, was established in 2001. Criteria for the award are a) membership in ICMG and b) outstanding contributions to the development of the organization over a long period of time. The award was named for its first recipient, Don Kampe, because he personifies the very ideals and goals of ICMG. Don has served on the ICMG Board since 1987, chaired the Editorial Committee for over 15 years, and brought countless members into ICMG and its leadership. Each year, during the Annual Meeting Opening General Session, ICMG recognizes another outstanding member, who will join the recipients shown below.

About This Year's Kampe Award Recipient

On February 2, 2011, Derek J. Brigham, CPCU, alliance partner administrator at American Family Insurance, was named the 2011 recipient of ICMG's L. Don Kampe Lifetime Achievement Award.

Throughout his career, Derek has shown the value of relationships, sound business analysis and judgment, and strategic alliances. He is a people person. Better yet, he uses those skills to get the best out of organizations. He’s especially effective in working across company boundaries to do so. His long commitment to ICMG includes his role as president in 2007 and as a director for seven years. He's been a member since 1995.

As fellow Kampe Award recipient Rich Katz put it, "His major contribution was the strategic planning process for ICMG and the commitment he drove from all of us to complete it thoughtfully and thoroughly, and to follow through with its implementation and the modifications that became necessary. He made it an important part of our process and it has served as a reliable guide for the boards that came later."

David Burke, ICMG's President-Elect, said: "He was a key driver in ICMG’s review of its organizational management. The resulting decisions provided ICMG stability and growth from a membership and financial perspective, at a time when other associations were struggling."

Derek approached ICMG, as with all of his work, with a big picture view, while never losing interest in the smallest of details. He is a fine people manager, fair, straightforward and flexible. As his wife, Nancy, notes, "ICMG is one of the most important things in his career."

Derek has 25 years of insurance industry experience including agency management, product development and direct marketing. He began his career as an independent agent, then moved to the insurance carrier side, joining CUNA Mutual Group in 1989 as a call center rep. His great people skills served him well as he became a marketing manager; manager of a call center; manager of insurance brokerage; senior manager of corporate development; and then senior manager of e-commerce. He recently moved to American Family Insurance, still in his beloved Madison, Wisconsin, as alliance partner administrator.

He and Nancy, his wife of 20 years, have four children, and they love to travel extensively as a way to understand the world better.

Congratulations to a true relationship builder...the 2011 recipient of the Don Kampe Lifetime Achievement Award, Derek Brigham.