ENROLLED
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Regular Session, 2010
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 136
BY REPRESENTATIVES HUTTER, BARROW, CHAMPAGNE, DOERGE, HILL,
ROSALIND JONES, KATZ, LANDRY, NORTON, JANE SMITH, PATRICIA
SMITH, ST. GERMAIN, STIAES, AND THIERRY AND SENATORS BROOME,
CHEEK, DORSEY, DUPLESSIS, JACKSON, MOUNT, PETERSON, AND
QUINN
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To commend Robelynn H. Abadie of Baton Rouge upon her receipt of a 2010 Women of
Excellence Award from the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus Foundation.
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to commend Robelynn H. Abadie upon her receipt of
a 2010 Women of Excellence Award from the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus
Foundation and to recognize her vital contributions to the citizens of Louisiana as an active
and dedicated community servant; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie is the founder of Abadie Financial Services, LLC, an
insurance and financial services agency specializing in corporate employee benefit plans;
and
WHEREAS, as an agent and financial advisor for more than thirty-two years, Ms.
Abadie works daily to protect families, help individuals plan for their futures, advise
business owners of innovative benefit solutions, and help others preserve their financial
dignity; and
WHEREAS, for the first fourteen years of her career, Ms. Abadie was a young,
single woman with two children, and by drawing from her challenges, she has become a
pioneer and advocate for women agents across the nation; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie was a founding member of the Women Life Underwriters
Conference in 1979 and was the charter chairman of the first national women's study group
for insurance professionals in 1986, which continues today as an annual event; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie also chaired the development of Friend to Friend, a national
mentoring program for female agents that is copyrighted by the Women Life Underwriters ENROLLEDHCR NO. 136
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Conference and is financially underwritten by several of the largest life insurance companies
in the nation; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie is a life and qualifying member of the prestigious Million
Dollar Round Table, and she qualifies for the Top of the Table as the only woman from
Louisiana who has the distinction of this honor; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, Ms. Abadie was presented the Life Underwriter of the Year
Award by the Baton Rouge Association of Life Underwriters, and in 1997, she was
presented the Young Women's Christian Association Women of Achievement Entrepreneur
of the Year Award; and
WHEREAS, in 2002, the Baton Rouge Business Report honored Ms. Abadie with the
Influential Woman in Business Award, and the Louisiana chapter of the National
Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors selected Ms. Abadie as its Advisor of the
Year for 2003; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie is a past president of the national Women in Insurance and
Financial Services organization and was selected as its Woman of the Year recipient and
Diamond Award winner in 2003; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie has served as a guest speaker on numerous occasions
regarding industry issues and career development, and she was the first American invited
to speak at the annual conference of the Japanese Association of Insurance and Financial
Advisors in Kobe and Tokyo; and
WHEREAS, in 2009, Ms. Abadie became the national president of the Association
of Health Insurance Advisors, an advocacy association representing the interests of more
than two hundred thousand National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
Federation affiliates; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie's tenure during the tumultuous health care reform efforts
was highlighted by her representation of more than a half-million agents and advisors in
Washington D.C. at the Health and Employee Benefits Alliance on Capitol Hill; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie served with great distinction as the chair of the Greater
Baton Rouge Women's Council for two years, and she developed and instituted a new
program and was the inaugural chair of "Women! A Week Long Celebration"; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 136
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WHEREAS, "Women! A Week Long Celebration" is an event that serves women in
the Greater Baton Rouge area by focusing on the needs of the community and by
coordinating the resources to address those needs, and last year, event activities were
attended by approximately twenty thousand women with more than one hundred forty
activities of interest; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her professional life, Ms. Abadie devotes time to many
philanthropic and community efforts, and she is a past president of the Planned Giving
Council of Greater Baton Rouge and is becoming the president of the Million Dollar Round
Table Foundation in Chicago in the fall of 2010; and
WHEREAS, in the immediate days after Hurricane Katrina, Ms. Abadie worked as
a pediatric assistant at the Louisiana State University Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and
she saw firsthand the needs of many families and offered her office as a clearinghouse for
supplies and goods that were donated by agents from across the nation and distributed
throughout the area; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie also led coordination and fundraising efforts for the
Renaissance Playground in Baker, Louisiana, in partnership with the Baton Rouge Rotary
Club, Rosie O'Donnell's For All Kids Foundation, the city of Baker, Kids Around the World,
and other organizations; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie's impact has been noted both locally and globally with
numerous commendations in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments and singular
contributions; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Abadie has also been included in Who's Who in Industry and
Finance, Who's Who in American Women, and Who's Who of Emerging Leaders, and she is
a graduate of the Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 1998 and
a fellow of the Office of Government Programs at Louisiana State University, the Life
Underwriting Training Council, and the St. Louis Institute of Music; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus Foundation created the
Women of Excellence Awards to recognize and honor extraordinary women of excellence
across the state for their outstanding achievements and contributions; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 136
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WHEREAS, recipients of the Women of Excellence Awards exhibit characteristics
of integrity and professionalism, personify excellence in their area of specialty, and are
committed to community service to better society as a whole; and
WHEREAS, this year, there were seven categories for the Women of Excellence
Awards: Business, Culinary Arts, Education, Law and Justice, Volunteerism and Civic
Involvement, Young High School Woman of Excellence, and Young Woman of Excellence;
and
WHEREAS, the recipients of the 2010 Women of Excellence Awards are being
recognized at the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus Foundation's Women of
Excellence Awards Gala on Wednesday, May 19, 2010, in Baton Rouge; and
WHEREAS, Robelynn H. Abadie received a 2010 Women of Excellence Award in
the category of Business; and
WHEREAS, Robelynn H. Abadie merits a sincere and heartfelt measure of
commendation for her dedication to excellence and her outstanding accomplishments.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend Robelynn H. Abadie of Baton Rouge upon her receipt of a 2010 Women of
Excellence Award from the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus Foundation, does hereby
recognize and record for posterity her singular contributions to the citizens of Louisiana as
an active and dedicated community servant, and does hereby extend enduring appreciation
for the tremendous honor and pride that she brings to her family, friends, and community,
the city of Baton Rouge, and the state of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Robelynn H. Abadie.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE