Lee G. Allen Presidents’ Award of Excellence
In 1995, Chapter President Howard Candage created the Maine Chapter Eagle of Excellence Award to acknowledge a chapter member for outstanding contributions to the insurance industry in Maine. The first recipient of the award was John Leonard, CPCU, President of Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company. Leonard was recognized for his leading role in rescuing Maine’s Workers Compensation system from the brink of disaster. In 2001, this award is named in Lee’s honor, a true insurance pioneer, a trailblazer and role model for the many women business leaders who followed her. It continues to be given to recognize chapter members for their industry contributions.
Lee G. Allen
In 1961, Lee became the first woman in Maine to receive a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Designation. Mrs. Allen was the co-owner and Treasurer with William Soule of Soule Allen Insurance in So. Portland. Mrs. Allen also received numerous awards including, ‘Insurance Woman of the Year’ in 1967; Governor’s Highway Safety Award in 1967 for Defensive Driving Activities, Maine Truck Owners Safety Award in 1970 for ‘Outstanding service in the Field of Highway Safety’, ‘New England Insurance Agent of the Year’ in 1979 for the contribution to the insurance industry and the community, ‘professional insurance Agents of Maine 1993 Agent of the Year’ which was for outstanding leadership and dedication to the insurance industry and the independent agency community.
Past Award Recipients
1995 John Leonard, CPCU
1996 Gail B. Burns, CPCU
1997 Edward D. “Ted” Noyes III, CPCU
1998 George N. Gould, Jr. CPCU
1999 Gail E. Lind, CPCU
2000 Robert J. O’Brien, CPCU
2001 Lee G. Allen, CPCU
2002 Walter C. “Pete” Smythe, CPCU
2003 Bill Thornton, CPCU
2004 Larry M. Shaw, CPCU
2005 Donald V. Hale, CPCU
2006 Howard Candage, CPCU
2007 Leo Simard, CPCU
2008 Charles Hamblen, CPCU
2009 Dana Kerr, CPCU
2010 Louise “Nikki” Griffin, CPCU
2011 David Nadeau, CPCU
2012 Brent Cross, CPCU
2013 Emily McEntee, CPCU
2014 Gregory Jamision, CPCU
2015 Lincoln Merrill Jr., CPCU
2016 Rachel Bannister, CPCU
2017 Catherine Duranceau, CPCU
2018 Mary Caswell, CPCU
2019 Jeff Lind, CPCU
2020 Tom Isherwood, CPCU
2021 Paul Cook, CPCU
2022 Deborah Wentworth, CPCU
2023 Michelle Ibarguen, CPCU
2024 Rachel Derosier, CPCU
2025 Laurie Webb, CPCU
