Employee Benefit Adviser names 2018 Adviser of the Year

Employee Benefit Adviser has named its 2018 winners for its annual Adviser of the Year awards, recognizing David Sokol, president and owner of the Wilshire Benefits Group, as the Benefit Adviser of the Year.

Sokol is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm as an artillery officer. He took over Wilshire Benefits Group in 2010 and purchased the Troy, Michigan-based brokerage in 2014.

“I am a lifelong learner, and I get fired up learning new things,” he says. “This industry doesn’t disappoint with the new things I have to learn every day to be competitive.”

Each year, Employee Benefit Adviser grants awards to recognize excellence and innovation in the field. The five categories reflect the growing role of the employee benefit adviser in having a positive impact on all facets of a client’s business.

This year’s winners include:

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Employee Benefit Adviser of the Year: David Sokol, Wilshire Benefits Group

Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year: Gregg Fine, Gallagher

Voluntary Benefits Adviser of the Year: Howard Labow, National Enrollment Services

Wellness Adviser of the Year: Ali Payne, Gallagher

Technology Adviser of the Year: Bret Brummitt, A.G. Insurance Agencies

All awards recognize outstanding service to group benefit plan sponsors by their brokers or advisers. They seek to honor not just sales performance, but other factors that determine advisers’ true value to their clients as trusted advisers.

Each Adviser of the Year award is presented to the nominee who has demonstrated a consistent pattern of forward-thinking innovation and achievement in benefit plan sales, consulting, and/or leadership, as well as overall contributions to the profession.

All the winners will be honored at the 2018 Benefits Forum and Expo, which will be held Sept. 24-26 in New Orleans. Additionally, the award winner will be profiled in the September issue of the magazine.

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