People – South Central

Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA), based in Austin, Texas, has a newly elected 2012-13 Management Committee.

The new committee includes: President Roger Luttrell, president of Benton-Luttrell-Brown in Van Alstyne, Texas; Executive Vice President Don B. Hudson, vice-president of JHC Insurance Agency Inc., Victoria; Second Vice President Bill Martin, president of Grona Boles Martin Bloxsom Insurance, San Antonio; Secretary Robert Porter CEO of Porter Insurance Agency, Brownwood; and Treasurer Denny Bryan, president of Bryan Insurance Agency, Graham, Texas.

The committee also includes Chairman of the Board John V. Shropshire Jr., CEO of The Shropshire Agency Inc., Lubbock; and Past President Lloyd Eisenrich, president of The Weatherby-Eisenrich Inc. in Andrews, Texas.

CAA’s members are located in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. Each CAA management committee member is elected to serve a staggered two-year term and is selected by its board of members based on their leadership abilities and contributions to the organization.

Specialty Risk Associates Inc. in Shreveport, La., has added Rhonda Lobell as a commercial lines underwriter and Dolores Tutt as a personal lines underwriter.

Lobell will be working at the Baton Rouge, La., office and Tutt will be based in Royse City, Texas.

Prior to joining Specialty Risk Associates, Lobell provided consulting and continuing education services to independent insurance agencies. She has experience as an individual agent and owned her own property and casualty agency. Lobell holds the CIC, CISR and CPIA designations and has a total of 32 years of experience in the insurance business.

Tutt previously worked for a North Texas general agency for 25 years, 21 of those as the personal lines manager. Tutt holds a CISR designation and has a total of 32 years of experience in the insurance business.

Specialty Risk Associates Inc. has offices located in Shreveport and Baton Rouge, La.; Ridgeland, Miss.; and Fort Worth and Royse City, Texas.

Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman has appointed Chris Connealy, former fire chief for Cedar Park, as the state’s new fire marshal.

Connealy has served in the fire service in Texas for 34 years. He started with the Houston Fire Department in 1978 and worked his way up to fire chief. In 2004, Connealy became the fire chief for Cedar Park.

He takes over the reins as state fire marshal on June 18.

Leisha Cadwallader has joined IMA Inc. as vice president of employee benefits in its Dallas office.

A former senior human resources executive, Cadwallader counsels employers on their benefits strategies, as well as on their overall human resources approach. She has served as a vice president of human resources for employers ranging in size from 300 to 6,500 employees.

Mergers and acquisitions is a specialty for Cadwallader. She has guided dozens of companies through their employee benefits transitions during M&A activity. A broker for nearly 10 years, Cadwallader recently worked for a leading national brokerage, as well as a large regional brokerage.

Brown & Brown Inc. has named Linda S. Downs chief operating officer and appointed Charles H. Lydecker to the newly-created position of president of the company’s retail division. Both previously served as regional presidents.

Downs will assume leadership of internal operations and oversight of the company’s services division while continuing to be responsible for certain retail offices.

Lydecker will lead the retail operations throughout the United States.

Both Downs and Lydecker will continue to report to J. Powell Brown, president and CEO.

Topics Texas