“Melanie is a role model, advisor and mentor, and she demonstrates her ability to influence people on a daily basis positively,” say her nominators.

Melanie first entered the Insurance Industry in January 2000, and in these ten years, her career has undergone quite a transformation. She joined the Economical Insurance Group four years ago as a commercial analyst and is now responsible for training all levels of staff and for preparing course materials. As a teacher, she consistently gets positive feedback from her students and is known for producing pass rates of 100%. Melanie’s nominators say “where Melanie differs from other instructors is in her genuine desire for her students to succeed…She is a dynamic and powerful communicator who possesses the ability to make complex subjects understandable.”

Melanie goes that extra mile to ensure that each student has the resources they need to do well. She is available for her students in the evening and on weekends and truly thrives on seeing each and every student succeed. It is no wonder that she has won the IIO-Conestoga chapter Instructor of the Year Award twice.

“Melanie is passionate about education and promotes professional development at every opportunity,” says a former student. She leads by example in her ongoing educational pursuits to encourage lifelong learning in her students and colleagues. Melanie has completed both her CIP and CRM designations and is in the final stages of completing her FCIP. In 2009, Melanie managed to complete her Adult Teacher/Trainer certification with Conestoga College – all while working at Economical.

She is described by her nominators as being one of the most passionate people within the industry: “Melanie seems to attend every industry function she can. She is everywhere, it seems! We see her at golf tournaments, seminars, convocation, and even the Insurance Broker Association’s monthly meetings.” She is a positive advocate for the Industry, and while teaching is her job, she also gives back to the Industry by volunteering her time to teach CIP courses and the RIBO licensing course.

Melanie is also a proud supporter of the Insurance Institute. She volunteers for the Career Connections Ambassador program encouraging young people to consider a career in the Insurance Industry. She also volunteers as a member of the IIO – Conestoga chapter council and is currently Vice-Chair professional. She is quick to volunteer for any task and has helped to coordinate a number of Institute events, including convocation and a number of speakers’ luncheons.

She is a large supporter of numerous charities. Each year she devotes herself to Breast Cancer awareness, coordinating the Economical Insurance Group’s participation in the CIBC Run for the Cure in October. She has also taken on coordinating the Salvation Army Adopt-A-Family project and was instrumental in setting up the program when she first joined Economical nearly four years ago. Financially, she contributes to the United Way, The MS Society, and Habitat for Humanity.

“Melanie has demonstrated to me time and again that she is an exceptional communicator and gifted teacher. In my opinion, she is the perfect role model for what an Insurance educator should be. She is a highly dedicated professional who knows how to motivate her students to strive for excellence,” says another former student.