Last week, the AIA team attended the Annual Conference of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas. This year’s conference took place at the beautiful La Cantera Resort in San Antonio. In addition to great conference presentations and informative curriculum, there were the traditional events including a golf tournament, a welcome reception and a casino-themed event, capped off by the ever famous PBT auction. As always, these events were first class in every way. We take our hats off to PBT for a job well done. Here are some highlights from day one sessions:

The Keynote speaker was William “Pete” Rearden. He gave a presentation called, “Oops…Your Attitude is Showing.” He is a motivational speaker/comedian that talked about how our attitudes affect our performance, lives and work. He focused on the power of positive thinking. He also talked about the difference between leadership and management, and the importance of communication.

PBT presented a brief presentation on health insurance programs that are available for small businesses.

Roger Moore did a session on the difference between employees and independent contractors. He helped the audience determine if those working in their offices should be classified as employees or independent contractors by going through a list of determining factors that need to be considered.

Mark Holtschneider from Lexington National did a presentation on Immigration Bonds. He focused on the risks involved in writing these types of bonds, the requirements and rules, and also the underwriting expectations. He also reviewed the necessary forms that are involved in writing immigration bonds.

Town Hall Meeting- Scott Walstead provided updates to the attendees on legislative matters and specific hot topics in the bail industry. After the meeting, members were asked to mark the items that were most important to them so that the PBT could determine where their focus should be in the upcoming year. The upcoming Be An Angel event was also discussed

• Davie Westmoreland of Texas Quick Bail – PBT Bondsman of the Year

• Glenn Strickland of A1 Bonding – PBT Award of Excellence

• Doc Dillard of Doc’s Bail Bonds – PBT President’s Award

• Ken Good – PBT President’s Award

Outgoing PBT President, John McCluskey, also received a special award from incoming President, Scott Walstead, recognizing John’s contributions and leadership over the past four years. The entire AIA Family of Companies would like to extend our warmest congratulations to everyone who was honored. We are especially proud of our own AIA agents that continue to play a valuable leadership role in PBT. PBT is a great organization and it is made greater by all of the individuals that participate and contribute their time, money, and passion for the benefit of the bail profession.

We would also like to congratulate those individuals who have stepped up and taken on responsibilities for the PBT as its new officers. This includes the following individuals:

• President- Scott Walstead

• Vice President- Davie Westmoreland

• Secretary- Judy Grandmaison-Warren

• Treasurer- Melinda Webb

• Parliamentarian- Eddie Dees

Directors: Marge Walstead, John McCluskey, Glenn Strickland, Bo Jones, Ken Good, Ronnie Long, Alicia Davis

We look forward to another year of great things coming out of the PBT and to working closely with this new leadership team of real bail professionals. Congratulations to everyone.