BEHIND THE PAPER WITH ERIC GRANOF
This past week, the AIA Surety team attended the Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS) Conference in Las Vegas. The conference took place at the Luxor hotel and casino and despite the 10,000 Keller Williams realtors that seemed to clog up every hallway, restaurant and elevator, the conference seemed to go off without a hitch. The conference was well attended and included several interesting speakers and topics, including a discussion on electronic bonding.
One particular aspect of this year’s conference which was informative was the Council of Presidents (COP) meeting. The COP meeting was attended by the presidents of 11 different state associations and updates were given on a total of 14 states. In almost every update, the American Bail Coalition (ABC) and its member sureties were recognized for their efforts in helping the association either battle bad legislation or push forward positive legislation.
As a founding member of ABC, we were extremely proud and humbled to hear how our efforts, alongside those of our partner ABC members, are paying off. The time, money and resources spent by this small group of committed sureties on promoting and defending the bail industry in every state across the country are not just important, but they are effective. It’s great to hear this from agents who continue to be on the front lines of the fight in their various states. This meeting was a great example of how we are much stronger when we work together.
As usual, PBUS gave out several awards to agents from around the country for their efforts. We would like to congratulate those agents who received awards this year, especially those who write with AIA Surety. This includes:
- Irma Montemayor, who received an award recognizing her efforts as President of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.
- Tracey Terrell, who received the 2024 PBUS Bondsmen of the Year Award for her efforts not only with PBUS, but also the Oklahoma Bondsman Association.
- Larry and Sharon Newman, from Missouri, who received the 2024 PBUS President’s Award for their hard work over the past many years.
Congratulations to all. We also wanted to send one last shout out to the members of ABC, as well as Chris Blaylock and Jeff Clayton, for their hard work and tireless efforts. The commitment and investment of this small group of sureties over the past many years is truly paying dividends for the entire bail profession.
Additionally, we wanted to thank all the retail agencies and some individual non-ABC companies who have also stepped up and contributed to the fight in such a non-selfish and collaborative way. And finally, we wanted to thank all the state associations and their boards for all the work that they do in supporting, defending, and promoting the livelihood of every licensed bail agent across the country. Without the efforts of all these groups, we would not be in the strong position we are. That being said, we must continue to move forward in this way.
In order to be successful and ensure the longevity of the bail profession, we must continue to work together. This does not just apply to the small group of sureties who belong to ABC. All sureties must step up and carry their share of the weight and agents need to play a role as well. Not only must agents step up, but they need to also hold their sureties accountable. They need to ask:
- What are you doing to protect, promote and defend bail?
- Are you on the front lines in meetings and hearings with legislators?
- Are you a member of the American Bail Coalition and defending the right to bail?
- Are you participating in and supporting your state association?
- Are you investing time money and resources back into the industry for your agents?
Agents must start asking these types of questions and commit themselves to work with those sureties who are in the room, leading the conversations, participating in the fight and actively supporting the industry. When agents decide to step up and work with sureties that fully support and participate in the fight, then we will begin to see the true strength of our industry. Because as the saying goes, together we will always be better.
Eric Granof is the Vice President of Corporate Communications for AIA Surety.