Former NAIFA-Florida Association Executive Stanley L. Stone passed away peacefully on July 14th in Tampa. He was 87.
Stan served the association for over 35 years as its first paid Executive. He retired in 1995 and, upon his retirement, Herb Morgan was named the new Association Exec and the office was moved from Tampa to Tallahassee. Stan served the state association from its infancy – when it was known as FALU (Florida Association of Life Underwriters) — nurturing the association as it grew into one of the largest and most effective state associations in the NAIFA federation.
During his tenure as FALU’s (NAIFA-Florida) Association Exec he became a Charter Lifetime Member of the Florida Society of Association Executives (FSAE). Stan was awarded the prestigious, “Executive of the Year” award by (FSAE). He was also recognized as the “FALU Executive of the Year” by his peers and was instrumental in the FALU rising perennially to national prominence among the 50 state NAIFA associations.
NAIFA-Florida’s Stanley L. Stone “Association Executive of the Year” Award is named after him, of course, and was first presented in 1994 at the association’s annual conference. The award is presented to a deserving local association executive, or to the person who fulfills that role, in NAIFA-Florida’s local associations.
Stan was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1929. After service in the Army during the Korean conflict, he graduated from the University of Miami (FL) with a BA in Journalism. Later, he spent three years employed at NALU, now NAIFA, and then came to Florida to begin his 35-year career as Association Exec at NAIFA-Florida. When he began, the statewide membership was 1,200, increasing to 9,600 members before retiring in 1995.
On Friday, July 21st, a small, informal time of remembrance was held at the Sheraton Sand Key with many friends and associates in attendance, including past NAIFA-Florida presidents Claude Grubbs, Don Bryson, Steve Summerlin, and Rick Stucker. Current NAIFA-Florida CEO Tom Ashley also attended, as did former members Ronnie Grubbs and Pat Coon. Flowers were sent by NAIFA-Florida and by NAIFA’s Association Execs Advisory Council (AEAC).
Stan is survived by his companion and wife of 36 years, Lois, and a son, Rick Stone from Tampa. He was predeceased in death by his parents Israel and Gertrude Stone, sisters Frances Herman, Emily Sansone-Sokoloff, brother Henry Stone, and a daughter, Karen Stone.