Dear Valued Member,

During our Annual Conference in 2004, Roger and I were approached by several of our Members, including Ed Stutts, Rohit (Ray Ray) Kumar and the Weil brothers, who asked if we would look into offering a group insurance program, with coverage provided by top rated insurance companies, to provide an opportunity for our members to protect their properties Well, as you can imagine, we spent quite a bit of time talking with our Members about insurance. Then, Roger assigned the research task to me and I met and negotiated with several large agents and carriers.

During 2005 and 2006 we had a few false starts but, we learned much along the way. But, every year, our members kept asking when we would put together a program for them. Now, all of you can appreciate the next part . . . I received a cold call from Matt Harrell, a Sales Agent with Willis of Florida. He wanted to know if we had any properties his company could bid to insure. I listened to his pitch and, after about 5 minutes, I said "Well, I'm not interested in individual property coverage but, if you could put together a plan for all 750+ of our Member properties, then, we might have something to talk about."

Since that time in mid-2007, we met with Willis on many occasions to work toward the goal of developing a member group master plan. Ultimately, we determined that the best route to take would be to develop an Agency and provide a Group Master Plan first. However, to really make the program work, we needed a property and casualty agent with a 220 license, years of experience and someone we knew we could trust. Well, sometimes fate just deals you the right cards . . . on Thanksgiving Day, 2007, while my wife and I hosted about 24 family members over the house, a good friend paid a surprise visit: Bill Shaw and his wife, Vickie. Bill and I shared a toast and, as friends typically do, we started talking about sports and business. During that conversation, I told Bill about my work with Willis and that the only issue standing in my way of developing a first-rate program was that we needed a 220 license. Yeah, you guessed it . . . Bill sat back in his chair, leaned to the side and with his best Boston drawl said: "Weeeell Bern, ya know I got that 220 license there."

From that point, the meetings with Willis picked up steam to the point that we are today: Vantage Insurance Services, Inc is opened and already licensed in the state of Florida, and the Owners' Network is being developed. VISI is applying for licensure in all 50 states.

I welcome your participation in our Owner's Network.

Bernie Moyle, CFO/COO
Vantage Hospitality Group, Inc

William (Bill) Shaw is an insurance professional who will be assisting members of the Vantage Hospitality Group. As an insurance professional Bill started his career with The Prudential Insurance Company of America in 1984, where he was a manager in the south Florida region. Bill has been self employed with his own agency since 1995.

Always looking for opportunities to better educate himself Bill has also completed the necessary training to become a Certified Estate Plan Advisor, and a Microsoft Systems Engineer (MCSE). Living in hurricane prone South Florida since 1979, Bill also decided it worthy to become a housing inspector with Parsons - Brinkhoffer as a FEMA contractor. This decision led him to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina where he spent a month inspecting damaged properties and helping families recover.

As no stranger to the insurance industry, Bill is looking forward to working with and assisting the members of the Vantage Hospitality Group. To contact Bill please e-mail him at bshaw @ vantagehospitalty.com or call 1-866-550-8474.