Greetings from the Hermann Sons Life Home Office.
I am beyond excited to write today about the completion of a project that is going to shine the spotlight on Hermann Sons Life and the uniquely amazing things that we do as a business and a fraternal organization.
“Behind the Scenes with Laurence Fishburne” is a series of short documentaries designed to educate the public about the people and organizations that are working to make the world a better place.
Last spring, the producers of the series came to me with the message that we had been chosen for a segment called, “Fraternal Organizations: Helping Secure the Future of American Families and Businesses.”
Of all the fraternal benefit societies in the United States, and there are more than 70 of them, we were chosen for this unique opportunity. What an honor!
We jumped at the chance to take part in the program for a couple of reasons.
First of all, it gave us the chance to talk about the history of fraternal benefit societies and how they have evolved through the years from exclusive groups of people drawn together by a common bond to organizations serving people from all walks to life.
Second, it gave us a chance to share our vision for how fraternal benefit societies can continue to thrive in today’s world by embracing the opportunity to adopt modern business practices while remaining true to the values that have shaped us through the decades – namely a commitment to service to each other and the greater community.
A film crew came to San Antonio last September and we filmed all day here at the Home Office. The next day we took the crew to Comfort where they filmed at the Home and the Camp.
The end result of the project is three short videos.
- The first is a 30-second commercial for Hermann Sons Life you will be seeing on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, Fox Business Network, TLC, Travel and Discovery starting in May.
- The second is the segment of “Behind the Scenes with Laurence Fishburne” that will be airing on public television stations across the country starting the week of May 24 and continuing for a year.
- The third is a longer segment called a corporate profile that includes all of the Laurence Fishburne segment plus added footage. That piece of film has been uploaded to our website and can be seen by members and the general public at any time.
There are three people who speak during the segments – myself, Retired Vice President Mary Beam (pictured above) and Rebecca Henley, a member of the Home Office staff for the past 20 years. Several other members of the Home Office staff can be seen in the videos.
Mary was asked to be a part of the project because of her 50-year career with Hermann Sons Life. Mary has been a member since she was a child when she would come to the Home Office with her father who worked for the organization for 30 years.
She gives testimony about the importance of service and how Hermann Sons Life impacted her life and that of her family.
Mary is uniquely qualified to speak about Hermann Sons Life because she and her family have participated in and benefited from all aspects of our organization.
Rebecca Henley, an officer in Helotes Lodge, talks about the service initiatives her lodge has carried out. Her most impactful statements are about the importance of the life insurance offered and what that meant to her personally.
I cannot thank these two ladies enough for taking part in this project. They were nervous about appearing on film, as was I, but they did a great job and they make powerful statements that will resonate with many people.
I would also like to thank the Home Office staff – especially Marketing Manager Letricia Rodriguez, Communications Director Kathie Ninneman, Assistant Communications Director Elaine Soto and Maintenance Director Terry Haecker – for going above and beyond to get the Home Office ready for filming and for coordinating everything with the production company.
I would also like to give a shout-out to Vice President of Member Benefits Cecily Kelly, Executive Camp Director Ian Brassett and Home Manager Brenda Gunnink and their staffs for making the Camp and the Home look so good for the filming we did there.
All of these pieces that we now have in our possession will be used in various ways to promote Hermann Sons Life. We will be exploring those possibilities throughout the year ahead.
We also have all of the raw footage that we can use to create our own videos for specific projects like marketing the Camp for rentals.
I encourage anyone reading this blog to take a few minutes to view the completed videos.
• The “Behind the Scenes with Laurence Fishburne” segment can be seen under the BUSINESS section entitled "The Future of American Businesses."
• The corporate profile created as part of this project is featured on YouTube on our Official Hermann Sons Life Channel.
• As part of this project, a 30-second Hermann Sons Life commercial was also developed.
I could not be happier with the way this project turned out. I am truly blessed to be associated with this organization and this video is proof of why we should all be proud to be a part of the Hermann Sons Life family and why we should encourage everyone we know to do the same.