Five men will be inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Drake University on May 18. The 2011 class consists of Charles Fischer, James Kirkpatrick, Thomas Petsche, Stanley J. Reynolds and Vern Sodawasser; Fischer and Sodawasser are deceased.

• Charles Fischer was named the Iowa insurance commissioner in 1939 and served in that post until 1947. After a two-year stint as the executive secretary of a reorganization of state government, Fischer returned to the insurance commissioner position and served until his death in 1955. A native of Monona County, he began his career as the owner of a drugstore in Onawa and ran several rural banks before entering state government.

• James Kirkpatrick retired in 1993 as the president of Allied Insurance after spending 44 years with the company. After serving in the U.S. Navy and graduating from Drake University, Kirkpatrick joined Allied’s underwriting department in 1949. During his tenure as manager of the Des Moines regional office, its territory grew to eight states from two, and annual premiums increased to nearly $300 million from less than $50 million. He was elected to the board of directors in 1989 and named president in 1992. He now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.

• Thomas Petsche joined the Paul Revere Cos. in 1977 while teaching and coaching in Maynard, Iowa. He worked his way up the company ladder, then in 1997 founded Brokerage Solutions Inc., specializing in disability income and long-term care consulting. A Cedar Rapids resident, Petsche currently serves as the national president of the Society of Financial Services Professionals.

• Stanley J. Reynolds is the president and CEO of Des Moines-based Reynolds & Reynolds Inc., the company he founded in 1976. It started as an insurer of movie theaters, but since has expanded into many other lines of commercial insurance, along with some personal policies. Reynolds and his wife, Jody, have been major participants in fund raising for Variety – The Children’s Charity. In 1994, he received the Variety Club of Iowa Humanitarian Award.

• Vern Sodawasser served as president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors – Central Iowa and also of the Society of Financial Services Professionals’ Des Moines association. He retired from Principal Financial Group Inc. in 1992 as an assistant agency manager after 30 years with the Des Moines-based company. Sodawasser passed away in 2010 at the age of 83.

The 15th annual induction ceremony for the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame will be held in the Olmsted Center at Drake University on May 18. A social hour begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the program at 6:45.

Admission is $30; reserved tables for eight are available for $300. To reserve a place, contact Melissa Meiners at (515) 223-6060, Ext. 15, or by email at Melissa@IIAIowa.org by May 13.