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NAIFA-Maine Awards

J. Putnam Stevens Award

J. Putnam Stevens was born in Winthrop, Maine on November 24, 1852. He was appointed General Agent  of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company on September 1, 1887. Throughout his more than 46 years of service, he was intensely loyal to his fellow associates, to the industry and to his company.

He was a man of rare, enduring qualities and he will be remembered affectionately as “Put”. Mr. Stevens was known throughout the entire industry. He was a prominent figure an annual insurance conventions which he attended without fail.

Mr. Stevens was active in many fields. In addition to his great contribution to the life insurance industry, for many years he was the only Imperial Potentate of the Mystic Shrine to come from New England. He had been the President of the Quarter Century Traveling Men’s Association, President of the Maine Commercial Travelers Association, Past Exalted Ruler of the Portland Lodge of Elks, member of all the Masonic bodies in Portland, the Boston City Club, the Woodfords Club and the Venerable Gunners and Propellers Association. He was also past President of the Maine Sportsman Fish and Game association and served as a director for the Institute for the Blind.


Mr. Stevens was one of the real pioneers in the life insurance industry. Not only did he exemplify all that is great and good in life insurance, he also demonstrated how worthwhile a good life insurance agent can be to their community.


The State of Maine can justifiably be proud of this great humanitarian and anyone receiving the J. Putnam Stevens’ Award gains with it a rich heritage.

The Awards Committee follows these guidelines in making the annual presentation. “This award, to be considered annually, will go to that person who, in the opinion of the Committee, has rendered outstanding service to their industry and community in the State of Maine. It is not intended to restrict the award only to agents, but rather to recognize those people, even outside the industry, who have advanced the cause of the life insurance business”. The honor of making the presentation each year falls upon the most recent recipient.

The J. Putnam Stevens’ Award Process 

Committee  Structure

The J. Putnam Stevens’ Awards Committee, whose job it is to oversee the application, nomination and presentation process will be comprised of 9 members as follows: 

·        The immediate past State President, whose responsibility it is to chair the committee.

·        2 additional most recent past State Presidents, if not nominated for the award in the current year.

·        The most recent recipient of the J. Putnam Stevens’ Award.

·        A past JPS recipient from each local association. If a local does not have a past recipient, than it will be the duty of the local president to serve on the committee or appoint a past local leader to that committee position. In the event a member of the committee is unable to serve for any reason, including being considered as an award nominee, the position will be filled by appointment of the local president or committee chair, whichever is most appropriate.

Nomination Process and Balloting

The  nomination process will begin no later than November 1^st, at which time an award application and J. Putnam Stevens’ background information will be by the Committee chair to each local Association President.

At the time the applications are sent, the local association will be notified of any nominations previously submitted in the past two years and advised that those individuals will continue to be considered as local nominees for the balance of the “3 year  Active Nominee” period. The locals are encouraged to update the biographical information of any “active” nominees as well as submit no more than one additional name to be entered into the process in that current year. It will be the responsibility of each local association to notify those individuals whose names have been placed in nomination.

The award application will provide guidelines for the type of biographical information requested, however additional information is welcome. All such information will be retained buy the committee for reference purposes as needed.

The deadline for receipt of a completed application and biographical information will be February 1^st.

Upon receipt of all nominations, the J. Putnam Stevens’ Award Committee will convene to thoroughly review each nominee’s application and information. No vote will be taken until each committee member has had sufficient opportunity to review the information. If the committee is unable to meet personally, the committee chair will send a complete copy of the material to the respective committee members for their review.

Once each committee member has had the opportunity to review the material, a ballot will be completed by each committee member. A point system will be used in the balloting process based on the number of nominees being considered. For example, if there are ten nominees on the ballot, the committee member’s first choice would receive a point value of “10”, the second choice would receive a point value of “9”, and so on.

The ballots will be completed by the committee members and tallied by the committee chair no later than March 1^st. No vote will be considered valid unless a minimum of 7 ballots are cast and tallied.

The nominee with the highest point value will be the recipient, and
their name will be removed from future consideration.

In the event of a tie in the balloting process, the committee chair will submit a new ballot to include the top 3 point recipients. Additional votes will be cast by each committee member under the same point format to break the tie.

The Association Executive will order the award, engraved with the recipient’s name.

  Award Notification/Presentation

To maintain the highest level of prestige and excitement there will be no announcement of the recipient prior to the presentation. Only the committee chair, association executive and this year’s recipient  will know the identity of the award winner. The winner may invite family members to attend the luncheon and award ceremony.

The J. Putnam Stevens’ Award will be presented during the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors-ME. (NAIFA-ME)

The presentation will be made by the most recent recipient.

A reception will follow the presentation. The recipient’s company may sponsor the reception of they wish.

A press release may be prepared by the State Association Public Relations Chair in concert with the recipient and the State Association Executive to publicly announce the current year’s recipient.