The Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame will induct four distinguished insurance professionals during its annual recognition dinner on Oct. 19 at the Ron Pearson Center in West Des Moines. The annual event, which began in 1997, is returning live after being canceled entirely last year due to the pandemic.

With the announcement of the return of the annual event, the nonprofit has launched a redesigned website as part of a marketing makeover for the organization. (See related Insider Notebook item in this morning’s Business Record Daily.)

The 2021 inductees to the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame are:

Randy Druvenga, president and CEO of First Maxfield Mutual Insurance Association of Denver, Iowa. Druvenga also manages First Maxfield Mutual Resources, which owns three insurance agencies: ABC Insurance, Denver Insurance and Harms Insurance. He has been active in the Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa for many years, has served on its board, and is a past president of the organization. Druvenga served as board chairman for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies from 2019 to 2020 and was honored by that group in 2012 with the Merit Award. He also serves on the board of directors for Grinnell Mutual, a position he has held since 2014. He has been an influential champion of the farm mutual industry.

Rosemary Parson, senior vice president of administration and community relations, EquiTrust Life Insurance Co. She was recruited to West Des Moines in 2003 to join EquiTrust as a charter member of the executive leadership team, where her responsibilities included the operational design, development, and implementation of the startup financial services company. Parson spearheads the company’s operations division and is critical to its continuous innovative and administrative governance and oversight. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a startup operation to a company exceeding $20 billion in assets under management. In her community relations role, she has led initiatives such as the Women’s Build with Habitat for Humanity, been a business development volunteer leader for the Pyramid Theatre as a startup company, and served on the state’s technology commercialization committee.

John A. Paul, president, treasurer and a director of Western Iowa Mutual in Council Bluffs, began his insurance career with the company in 1986, and has held positions as claims adjustor, inspector and underwriter before being named to his current positions. During his career he helped three county mutuals merge into Western Iowa Mutual and directed the charter change for the mutual from a county to a statewide mutual. He was elected to the mutual’s board of directors in 2013. His training on how to insure Iowa famers came from both being a farmer with a calf/cow operation along with row crops and receiving a double major in business/economics and livestock marketing from Morningside College in Sioux City. He holds the Professional Farm Mutual Manager designation and the Farm Mutual Director certification. He has been involved in numerous leadership positions with the Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.

Gaylord Wooge was founder of Farm and City Insurance Services in Forest City. A graduate of Forest City High School and Waldorf College, Wooge began his insurance career in 1973 with Farm Bureau, becoming the Worth County agency manager in 1975. He founded Farm and City Insurance in 1978. He created a new coverage for recreational vehicle and motorhome owners that became an industry standard and has been known for decades in the insurance and RV industry as the “Wooge Endorsement.” He successfully defended the rights of agents to handle that insurance in a 10-year legal battle with an insurance company that had terminated its agency contracts with him and other agents. In his community, he hosted numerous youths at his farm near Forest City, which he returned to its natural state and would offer lessons on wildlife habitat and hunter safety courses for local youths. He was an active community leader serving in the Rotary Club, Forest City Development Association, and the parks and recreation board. He died in January 2018, after “he crammed 87 years of life into 66,” as his obituary stated.

Tickets for the event are $75 per person or $750 for a table of eight. For more information and to register, visit the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame website.