Event:  November 2005 After-Exam Fun Event

Topic: Party!

Actuarial exams are almost upon us, and the Chicago Actuarial Association would like to celebrate with you once the exams are over.  After all of the studying and the stress of sitting for your exams, it will be time to relax.  So come join us for an evening of fun!

Date:  Wednesday, November 9
5:00  Registration Starts, 5:30 Food and Bowling, 7:30 Time for bowling ends, but stay longer if you like!

Location:  10pin Bowling Lanes, 330 N. State St., Chicago, IL (near House of Blues)

Cost:
Exam Participants:  FREE!
Other members:  $10
Anyone else:  $40

Exam participants include exam takers, supervisors, proctors, review class instructors, and exam volunteer coordinators.  Exam takers, your blue ticket of admission for the exam is your ticket of admission to the party, so bring it!  All other exam participants must be on Pat Pruitt’s list of helpers.
 

Event: October 2005 Meeting

Topic:  Medicare Part D (Prescription Drug Benefit) and its effects on Retiree Medical, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Supplement Plans.

This session will present a general overview of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) and its provisions.  The new Medicare Part D prescription drug program – its benefits, financing and the providers involved – will be explained.  A description of options available to employers who offer retiree medical plans, as a result of the new coverage, will be presented.  Panelists will also discuss the effect of the MMA on inforce and future Medicare Supplement plans, and brief mention will be made of the changes affecting Medicare Advantage plans.

Speakers: 
Dawn E. Helwig FSA, MAAA
    Principal, Milliman, Inc.

Thomas G. Ruehle FSA, MAAA, CEBS, CLU
    Principal, Milliman, Inc.

Date:  Wednesday, October 26, 2005 
  3:30 Registration  /  4:00 Speaker  /  5:00 Hors d’oeuvres

Location:  Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, CAL Level – Conference Room 5

Event:  September 2005 Meeting

This session will explore the history of the underfunded pension systems of the State of Illinois. The emphasis will be on recent events, including: the issuance of pension obligation bonds, the “surprise" cost of an early retirement incentive plan, and cost-cutting modifications to the funding plan.  Mike is a Senior Consultant in the Chicago office of Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company, where he specializes in the design, funding, and administration of public-sector pension plans.

Speaker:  Michael Kivi, FSA, EA, MAAA
    Senior Consultant, Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company

Date:  Monday, September 19, 2005 
     3:30 Registration  /  4:00 Speaker  /  5:00 Hors d’oeuvres

Location:  Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, Cafeteria Level – Room Columbus C
300 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601. Hors D’oeuvres are in Columbus B.

Event:  August 2005 Golf Outing
Date:  Friday August 26th, 2005
Location:  Chevy Chase Golf Course, Wheeling
Tee Times: 12:00pm to 1:30 pm (see below)
Fee:  $40
Coordinator: Greg Sucher, BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois

The Annual Chicago Actuarial Association Golf Outing will again be at Chevy Chase Golf Course in Wheeling.  The Chevy Chase Golf Course is located on Milwaukee Avenue (Route 21), north of Lake Cook Road and south of Deerfield Road.  Milwaukee Avenue is about 1 mile west of 94/294.  The subsidized price of the outing ($40) includes 18 holes of golf, cart, beverage tickets, prizes, and lunch.  Please be sure to arrive at least 30 minutes before your tee time in order to ensure that you get your box meal, your golf cart and your foursomes in place.

We will once again promote networking with fellow Chicago actuaries by requiring participants to submit their applications with at most one other person.  Golfing foursomes will be based on blind bogey and requested time slot.  The blind bogey should be a number that when subtracted from your 18-hole score gives a result between 72 and 90.  Applications should be submitted along with payment to the Chicago Actuarial Association by Thursday, August 18th, to allow time for scheduling and notification of tee times.  You may register by mail, Fax, or E-mail.  Fax and E-mail registrations require the use of a credit card. 

Please send your registration and payment to:
Greg Sucher, 23rd Floor
BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois
300 E. Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60601
E-mail: greg_sucher@bcbsil.com    /  Fax number: (312) 938-8538

If you have questions, please contact Greg at (312) 653-4431 or E-mail

Results of the Golf Outing:
Longest Drive Female = Marita Lareau  (177 yards)
Longest Drive Male = A.J. Tyll
Longest Putt = John Schwegel (2 yards)
Closest to Pin = A.J. Tyll (2 feet)
Blind Bogey = Andy Lareau
Lowest Score = A.J. Tyll ( 84 )

Event: June 2005 Meeting

Topic:  The ABCD (Actuarial Board for Counseling & Discipline)

As recent developments in the U.K. illustrate, meeting our professional obligations is extremely important to the public and to the profession's reputation.  The Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline is an integral part of the U.S. actuarial profession's efforts to ensure that our members do so.  Bill Falk, ABCD chairperson, will answer the questions: "What is the ABCD?" and "What does the ABCD do?"  He will then present case studies based on requests for guidance from fellow actuaries for the audience to discuss.

Speaker: Bill Falk, FSA, MAAA, FCA, EA
Principal and Director of Actuarial Practice – H&W
Towers Perrin, Chicago.

Location: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, Corporate Activity Level – Conference Room 5
300 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601. Hors D’oeuvres are in the CAL Atrium.
 

May 2005 Event:  Post Exam Fun
@ the Ballpark

Topic:  White Sox Game vs. Angels

Actuarial exams will be over, and it will be time to have some fun.  We are sponsoring an actuarial group outing to a baseball game at U. S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox.  Seats will be located in the upper deck, right above third base.  Comiskey Cash will be provided at the game to exam takers, proctors, review class instructors, and, to welcome them to the CAA, Wisconsin actuaries.  Other attendees will be responsible for their own food & drinks.

Date:Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Game begins at 7:05 p.m.

Location:  US Cellular Field (New Comiskey Park), 333 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616

We will provide tickets to exam participants* and members at no charge.  We will ask other guests to pay $15 per ticket. Payment can be made in advance by check or credit card.  At the ballpark, exam participants and Wisconsin actuaries will get $10 in Comiskey Cash by presenting their blue ticket, instructions to supervisors, or Wisconsin ID (as appropriate); members and others will be responsible for their own cash expenditures.

*Exam proctors and review class instructors may also attend for free.
    SOX WON, 5-4 !

EVENT: May 2005 Joint Meeting with Smaller Consulting Firm Section
Topic:  Networking Opportunities for Chicago Residents
 
The Smaller Consulting Firm Section is sponsoring a series of regional networking meetings in 2005. 

Topic: RAIN MAKING IDEAS TO ENHANCE YOUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS

Gary Pines of Harding & Company is a trainer, coach and speaker, specializing in firms that provide professional services.
He assists “doers of the work” to also become “sellers of the work.” Harding & Company has published the books “Rain Making”, “Creating Rainmakers” and “Cross Selling Success”.

Date:  May 10  (Note the different start time)
5:00 Registration  /  5:30  Presentation by Gary Pines with breakout groups and summary /
6:15 – 7:30   Networking reception with beer, wine, and hors d'oeuvres
Location: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, 300 E. Randolph St., Chicago

EVENT: March 2005 Workshops

DATE:  Monday March 21, 2005 
 12:50 Registration begins
   1:50 Workshop sessions begin
   5:10 Bar opens (drinks and hors d'oeuvres – all attendees welcome)
   5:45 Dinner

PLACE:           BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois (see directions, below)
                        300 East Randolph Street, CAL level
                        Northeast corner of Randolph and Columbus Drive, Chicago

COST:             $60 with dinner, $50 without dinner 
        (unemployed members, retirees, and full-time students: $35 with dinner, $25 without dinner)

Workshops cover a variety of hot topics in each of the time slots.   Please identify the workshop sessions that you would like to attend on the registration form. Make your reservation by faxing your registration form to Pat Pruitt at 603-452-8018 by Tuesday, March 15, 2005.  If you have questions, please call Pat at 312-751-3392 or Achilles Natsis at 312-653-6453.  Information, including late updates, are posted at our website: http://meeting.ChicagoActuarialAssociation.org .  Please register promptly.

Many sessions are eligible for EA and/or PD credit.  See the session descriptions.

We welcome and encourage non-actuaries to attend our workshops because information covered is relevant to a wide range of work within the insurance and consulting businesses.  Please share this with others who may be interested.

Please fax your registration form by March 15 (or E-mail the same information) to Pat Pruitt at 603-452-8018 (PatPruitt60302@yahoo.com ).  If any sessions need to be canceled due to low attendance, we will contact you.

Event: February 2005 Meeting with SoA President Steve Kellison
Topic:  The Society of Actuaries Image Campaign Initiative
Steve Kellison, SoA President, will discuss the SoA Image Campaign Initiative.  Mr. Kellison has held a broad range of actuarial positions during his career.  In 1976 he opened the Washington, D.C. office for the American Academy of Actuaries and served as its Executive Director for 13 years.  He also has served on the faculties of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and Georgia State University in Atlanta. He retired as a Senior Vice President from American General Retirement Services and he currently has his own consulting firm in Orlando.  Mr. Kellison has served on several committees and the governing boards of both the SoA and the AAA.  Since 1990 he has participated in several panels in Washington, D.C. working on Social Security and Medicare issues.  He is an author of two textbooks, including The Theory of Interest, which is currently on the actuarial exam syllabus. 

Cost: Free

Event:  January 2005 Meeting – 2 TOPICS with Consecutive 1-Hour Sessions
 
Session 1:  Balancing Work, Exams, and Personal life
Is it really possible to "have a life" while you are trying to pass actuarial exams?  Four local actuaries who earned their FSA credentials in 2004 (Tony Condon, Connie Lam, Anne Van Wart, and Mark Yoest) will share their experiences and discuss their insights and approaches to balancing work, exams, and personal life. 
Attendee feedback and questions are strongly encouraged during this session.

Session 2:  SOA Education Redesign
Speaker:  Dale Yamamoto, FSA, FCA, EA, MAAA Consultant, Hewitt Associates
     Dale will discuss the new education syllabus being phased in from 2005 through 2007. Get an update on what's tested and what's not, how future actuaries will be educated and the overall goals of the education redesign.  Dale is a health actuary in Hewitt Associates national practice in Lincolnshire, Illinois.  He serves as the national practice leader for the actuarial practice in the Health Management line of business.  Dale has testified before Congress on the topic of health care and Medicare reform. Dale was one of four senior health actuaries who reviewed the Administration’s pricing of the Health Security Act premium estimates for the American Academy of Actuaries. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Society of Actuaries and the Board of Directors of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.

Thank you for reading this far. 
For a list of events PRIOR to 2005, click here.