Volunteer Spotlight: Paul Fox

In this episode, URMIA Matters host Julie Groves, Wake Forest University sits down with longtime member and volunteer Paul Fox, Baylor University about his experience volunteering for URMIA, a peek behind the curtain about how the upcoming annual conference comes together, and what's next in his volunteer journey.

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Transcript

S5E10 Volunteering with URMIA

Julie Groves: [00:00:00] Hi, everyone. I'm Julie Groves, the Director of Risk Services at Wake Forest University, and I'll be your host for this episode of URMIA Matters. Today, we're going to be talking to Paul Fox, Senior Director of Risk Management at Baylor University, about his experience volunteering for URMIA. He's currently serving on the New Orleans Annual Conference Committee, so he might even give us some scoop about our time and the Big Easy this fall.

So, hey, Paul, welcome to the podcast. Good to see you. 

Paul Fox: Hey Julie, how are you doing? 

Julie Groves: I'm doing just fine. Thank you so much. So why don't you tell the listeners a little bit about yourself? I mean, I gave you a little introduction, but what are some things that, you know, people may not know about you? 

Paul Fox: I've been in insurance since 1985 and have been in higher ed since approximately 2007.

In that time I've been on both the buyer side, the broker side, and the carrier side. So it gives me some good insight I think into a lot of things and [00:01:00] behind the various curtains that are in our industry. Um, obviously I've enjoyed higher ed a lot since I've been here since 07. 

Julie Groves: So can you say which, which you've liked best?

Paul Fox: Oh absolutely. 

Julie Groves: Or would that like cause you to have enemies somewhere? 

Paul Fox: No, well candidly if I said I liked the broker side best and I wasn't there, I'd have a problem. Um, it would be, um, No, clearly I enjoy being on the buyer side. And most importantly, I enjoy the higher ed side. Higher ed to me is just so incredibly dynamic compared to the corporate experience that I've had.

Julie Groves: I would, I would agree. So, so, so if you think back about how long have you been involved with URMIA? 

Paul Fox: Probably, I think I started it, like I said, in 07. Uh, I think I was just a, an attendee goer for maybe four or five years. And after that, I decided to get involved in the organization so I can learn more about it.

Julie Groves: So you, you joined the organization for a little [00:02:00] while and just sort of got your feet wet. And then after you'd been at it for several years, you, um, decided to volunteer. And what, what made you decide to volunteer? 

Paul Fox: Actually, there was an apprehension only prior by exposure to other organizations, not URMIA.

Um, I felt that there was more flash than substance in going to the conferences. It was more golf than it was sessions. The sessions weren't accurately depicted. A lot of the people that I was interacting with weren't, um, weren't the people that I felt that I wanted to participate with and be involved with.

So giving URMIA another four or five years or so after that, I quickly, quickly discovered that, um, it was a different organization. It was, the sessions were what they said they were. There was a lot of value in that and the brain trust behind, not just the board that was there at the time, but my colleagues were, um, were admirable.

And I just thought I want to be more involved in this group because of what they could offer and the experiences that they provided. [00:03:00] 

Julie Groves: So obviously you're enjoying your involvement with URMIA and volunteering with URMIA. Have you learned anything interesting during your time as a involved as URMIA at with URMIA as a volunteer?

Paul Fox: The, um, probably the most interesting thing reflects that of the world of higher ed and how the camaraderie is, is just beyond what I had expected and what you don't see any in any other industry that I've participated in anyway, the, um. You can call somebody up and go, Hey, you know, Hey, Julie, what are you paying for your, your property rate this year?

And you tell me, and I would tell you, I would share it. Uh, wouldn't be quite so quick with brokers per se, but certainly peers, uh, you talk about that and it's everybody's in it to better the industry because we have a common goal of the industry and the students and just the world of higher education overall.

So, um, The things that I've learned is focused around that, that it really is an organization, [00:04:00] uh, pointed in one direction, uh, versus multiple directions and not getting anywhere. 

Julie Groves: I, yeah, I would wholeheartedly agree. I think that URMIA is a very, um, friendly, uh, organization. They really want to, uh, promote higher ed risk management.

Everyone is very open. They really want to, um, you know, share with one another. So I would, I would completely agree with that. Um, so you're currently on, as I said, in your introduction, the New Orleans conference committee, how is that going for you? 

Paul Fox: It's been a fascinating experience. Uh, I've been involved with URMIA in a number of different functions over the years, anywhere from, um, regional conferences to just speaking and just trying to help out where, where I can, um, getting involved in the New Orleans annual conference actually started a number of years back because New Orleans actually was on the agenda, I think two or three years ago.

Then the hurricane came through and it gave everybody pause. And so we [00:05:00] pushed it back a little bit. So I've just been sitting in the wings with other folks on the committee, uh, until it was our time getting involved at this level, I think was tremendous. It. It's not just a peek behind the curtain, if you would, you're actually talking with Oz.

And the, uh, when you participate in the conferences and you go to the sessions and you sit down and you eat and you have your social networking going on and, and also there's a tremendous value to that. But what I had never really gleaned was really the depth of work and the, and the, the expertise that it took between the headquarters folks at URMIA and just all of the volunteers all coming together to try to get it done.

And then you have to share that experience. So the experience that I've learned this year, I'll hopefully be able to transition to next year. I've been asked to participate in that conference as well. At what capacity? I don't know, but however I can help, I will. And then we'll see where that goes. It's, um, to see the work, to see the efforts, to review [00:06:00] 150 submissions for 72 openings.

Um, candidly, when I signed up to review all of them, I did that from a position of ignorance and I had no idea how much work it was going to take, but you have to review all of them. And so you do it to give service to all of the folks that are providing a submission. Um, and then a couple of days all in a conference room, sitting down, going through the process and talking about this session.

This one didn't. We revisited them again, so I really think that the, that the sessions that we have for this conference are the best that we could put together based on the sessions that were submitted.

Julie Groves: So, we, yes, we were supposed to go to New Orleans. We, you know, all of our, all of our sessions. We try to plan our conferences out pretty far in advance and COVID kind of messed everything up. And then we were worried about, you know, like you said, hurricane. So I'm glad we, I'm glad we finally, um, you know, got back around to coming [00:07:00] planning to come to New Orleans.

Cause I think it's going to be a great conference. And so when you say that you are getting to speak with Oz, is Colorado Robertson, is he Oz in your case? Because he is the conference chair. And he has thrown down, thrown down the gauntlet. Um, I know that he and Rachel Pluviose has had some, uh, friendly, um, wagers going on between last year's conference and this year's conference.

I think Colorado is looking forward to an excellent conference and has been talking a little bit of smack. So is he the man behind the curtain? Is he Oz? 

Paul Fox: Honestly, not a need to service to Colorado. I'd say no because Oz doesn't leave. Colorado's time will come and go. And so to me, Oz are more people of, of Jack and Michelle and just anybody that's behind the scenes working, uh, the conferences year over year over year.

Um, I, I, maybe you could say that Colorado is the one who pulls the curtain back, but, uh, and I don't know what that character is, but, um, it was, uh, he, he's been a driving force. Absolutely. [00:08:00] And I think it takes a good strong person in order to chair the annual conference and to direct the committee because I stepped into this not knowing really what to do.

So I was open to any guidance. And I think there are other, many other folks that are on the committee that were, were Uh, similar experience level. So you to have that, um, that person driving, I think is tremendous to have that and, and you're right, there's been a lot of smack talk, but it's always been a lot of fun and I think it's going to happen again year over year over year.

But I think that's part of the, uh, that's part of the camaraderie. I mean, it's, you know, URMIA itself is, it's a strong organization, but it's only as good as its members. And so as long as you have an active membership role, um, I think that there's just kind of no stopping it. And we just, I think we also need to figure out a way to get new blood in to the, uh, organization as well.

That's a whole different conversation though. 

Julie Groves: Right, right. Yes, the smack talk is certainly all friendly. So we'll, we will look forward to that [00:09:00] continuing. Um, so you mentioned that, uh, you have been involved in the selection of the educational sessions for the, uh, Um, upcoming conference. It sounds like that's a lot of work.

And, uh, uh, so, I mean, can you tell a little bit more about that? And are there any sessions you remember that are on the schedule that you're particularly excited about? 

Paul Fox: Um, there isn't one in particular, but really the effort that goes behind divvying up the submissions. because that's one thing you don't have a ton of control over is to what submissions are coming in.

Certainly, we had a number of submissions that might have been very similar. A lot of folks wanted to talk about property, but we can't have 10 property sessions. We have to try to pick the one that seems the most comprehensive. So clearly the, opening, I'm going to call it the opening paragraph for the session, introductory paragraph of the session that is submitted is critically important because that's really all the time that we have a chance to try to read.

If it's, uh, poorly [00:10:00] written and some of them were actually, were difficult to read candidly, but other ones were just so clear and spot on and jumped to the surface as to ones that we would use as a contender. But we, There is a distinct effort to look at not just the diversity of topics, but a diversity of skill level and coming from a four year private institution, which has been my whole experience in higher ed for 17, 18 years.

You always have to remember that there are a lot of institutions that don't have the staff or the personnel to address some of those topics that we want to look at. So, it's really good to get the, again, the diversity of approach. I can look at it from a four year private. Somebody else can look at it from.

Uh, for your public, some from a K through 12 or what have you, and it's one time, one person in the department wearing 10 hats, and it's all very different. So there is a concerted effort in order to address the needs of our entire membership population, and that's where I think there's so much value to it.

And honestly, I was so caught [00:11:00] up in, in watching that effort to do that. Um, there wasn't one particular session in my mind that came out. Of course, I could be self serving. I mentioned it. sessions that I'm speaking at, but I won't, you know, you have a shameless plug, but I won't do that. Oh, hail no. I won't do that.

Um, but, uh, but, uh, I mean, emerging risks, the AI focus, it's, there's a big trend, of course, trying to follow, um, what's next, but many years ago, I had a boss that used the phrase and it was actually published for quite a few years and that it's no longer adequate to look down the road to see what's coming.

We have to look down a road and around a corner and the challenge to do that is really accessible through peers and URMIA is a huge part of that challenge to figure out what is coming next and what's around the corner.

Julie Groves: Well, I have witnessed the um, selection process for these sessions. And it is, it's very interesting. It's, [00:12:00] uh, a lot of work goes into it and you know, it is, it's hard because we always get a lot of great submissions and you know, you wish we had time for them all. And, uh, uh, unfortunately we don't, but we always also try to find other ways to use the sessions that may not make it onto the final conference schedule.

So it is very, um, it's a very interesting process. Um, so can you give us any kind of top secret information or any sneak peek of anything cool that we might see, you know, that our listeners might get to hear first here on the podcast about what, uh, what might, what might be happening in New Orleans 

Paul Fox: New Orleans is such a dynamic city.

So. Our location of the hotel, I think is prime. It's across the street from, uh, the location where we're having, I think it's our opening session, uh, opening ceremony at the Sazerac. Uh, it's around the corner from so many different areas, including the French Quarter. It is so much there to do. So, uh, [00:13:00] and I'm, clearly I'm talking outside the conference at this point, but there's so many things to participate in that are outside.

You take a look at the. And you can tell that there's a lot of effort given to the folks that may be guests and there's cooking and there's everything else that's there. Um, one of the times that we were down there exploring the various places to go to, uh, I completely misjudged it and I was incredibly full by noon and we had like three more places to go to.

And, uh, anyway, it was Pepto Bismol was my friend. Let me put it that way. Um, so it was, The food and everything that's there is tremendous for New Orleans. The sessions I think are top notch and they just put together a great, uh, a great schedule to address really where you are in your skill level, whether you're just starting or you are seasoned or cause there's always something there to learn.

And if I could walk away from a conference and learn two to three things after attending for over [00:14:00] ten years. I think that's that's very good in order to do that and that's always my goal And what can I take back to my institution that we can unroll or or even during this session? Start pinging various departments about things that I'm hearing and listening to and bring back about their uh, the the PDFs.

The slide decks that they have. So it's uh, I just think it's exciting. I really encourage everybody to go. It's going to be a great venue. A lot of people will take a look at next year as Las Vegas and they may not want to go to Las Vegas. So I highly recommend that you come to New Orleans this year.

Julie Groves: Yeah, New Orleans is going to be a lot of fun. I've had a chance to preview the conference hotel. Like you said Paul, there's a lot down there. There's a lot of great There are a lot of very cool things to see and I think we're going to have some cool, um, events on our schedule as well. Um, so you mentioned that you have been asked to participate a little bit in next year's annual conference in Nevada.

[00:15:00] What are there other things you're, you're hoping to be able to, um, do volunteer wise for IRMIA in the future? 

Paul Fox: This year I've been, my main focus has been sponsorship. And, uh, Juan, who is One of the co chairs of the Las Vegas conference, annual conference has, you know, we're talking about it and I won't mind helping him to do that at all.

If he needs me someplace else, I'll gladly do that to try to round out experience that's involved. It's really any place that you need me. I saw the postings for the board elections came out this past week, and I'm seriously thinking about tossing my hat into the ring on that so I can get more involved, not just in the inner workings of the institution of the organization, but to also help with the direction and steer in the direction that we all need to [00:16:00] go.

Julie Groves: Great. Um, so, uh, you know, You've said that you joined URMIA and then it took you a couple of years to get involved and, and now that you're involved, it sounds like you're in, you know, you're, you're in gung ho, uh, volunteering with URMIA. So if there's somebody out there listening to the podcast and they are sort of on the fence about whether they should volunteer with Ermia or not, what, what would you tell them?

Why would you tell them it's worthwhile to volunteer with us? 

Paul Fox: If you are serious about your profession. And you want to grow and assist your institution in Risk identification and mitigation. I would say that this is an organization that you need to be involved in. And it's not just attending. You do get a lot out of attendance and you can get a lot out of the website, but you get so much more when you are able to meet and become friends [00:17:00] with the people that are helping to run various aspects of URMIA.

So if you're serious about what you want to do in this job, then I would say get involved. Uh, it's, you can be as involved as you want, or as much as you want, or as little as you want. Everybody's got a lot of work back at their desks. I understand that. And certainly, there isn't anybody that's an exception to that when you look around.

Everybody else who's involved. So, it gives you an opportunity to participate at any level that you want. If, uh, I've, uh, I've been able to tap a number of people, four or five people, to help on the sponsorship committee. They are all very busy in their own rights, but they've been tremendously impactful of identifying resources to help provide some support for this annual conference.

So it's just a little bit to get involved, and honestly that's how I got involved in the beginning, but then I found it to be a rather slippery slope, and went from a little involvement to much more involvement.

Julie Groves: Well, that's great. Well, we, we [00:18:00] do appreciate all the work you've done on our, our association’s behalf and, and for the annual conference. And we are getting excited about that. So before we wrap up, anything else you want to share with us today? If somebody 

Paul Fox: is interested in participating, one, give me a call.

That's not a problem at all. I, I think that you'll find a number of people that are, uh, within the organization that will be more than happy to give you the time that you need to, to talk through, to walk through anything. Uh, I just think that it's a worthy cause, and it's something that can help move your own career forward, and it's more than just a three letters after your name for, uh, for some sort of designation.

In my mind, this is more impactful. It has more long term value to it, if you would. It's, um, It's, like I said, it's as good as the organization, it's only as good as the people, as the members. And the members, while there are people that do retire, they are always seemingly replaced with somebody else who wants to step up to do something.

And that's where I think getting more people [00:19:00] involved, newer people in the industry, younger people in the industry, and get them involved as well. And I think that there's a different perspective. And um, I just think all of that is so much value, adds so much value when you bring it together. So I'd say don't be, don't be afraid, get involved, you won't regret it, and it won't be a waste of time.

Julie Groves: Right, I completely echo Paul's sentiments and I would also say if you are interested in volunteering and you're not sure what you might want to do, you know, take a look at our website, but feel free to call as Paul said, call him, call me, or reach out through email, or reach out to somebody at the URMIA office.

We would all love to point you in the direction that would be something that you would enjoy. doing and something that would help our association. So Paul, I really appreciate you being here today. Thank you so much for chatting with us and we look forward to [00:20:00] seeing you in New Orleans. And this wraps another episode of URMIA Matters.