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ASPPA Bestows Three Industry Awards

The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries announced three annual industry awards during the Oct. 26 opening session of the 2014 ASPPA Annual Conference at the Gaylord Hotel, in National Harbor, Md.

Harry T. Eidson Founders Award 

The 2014 Harry T. Eidson Founders Award was presented to Sheldon H. Smith, Esq., APM. 

Smith, who is Of Counsel at Bryan Cave LLP in Denver, advises clients on ERISA, executive compensation and fiduciary duties. His practice focuses heavily on advising plan administrative committees with respect to their fiduciary obligations, and he has created a fiduciary education curriculum for benefit plan fiduciaries. He has also served as President of the Denver Tax Group. 

Smith is a Past President of ASPPA. He has been a member of the Western Pension & Benefits Council since 1986 and has served as its President and as President of its Denver chapter. Since 1980, Smith had been a member of either the adjunct or visiting faculties of the University of Denver College of Law.
 
ASPPA established the Eidson Award in 1995 to honor the memory of its founder, Harry T. Eidson. His belief in the importance of the employer-sponsored retirement system in the United States and in having an organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing such a system was the inspiration for the formation of ASPPA in 1966. Each year, ASPPA honors one or two individuals for their contributions to the industry. Recipients can be members of ASPPA or from outside the association’s membership.

Edward E. Burrows Distinguished Achievement Award

ASPPA honored Cynthia A. Groszkiewicz, MSPA, FCA, MAAA, with the 2014 Edward E. Burrows Distinguished Achievement Award. Groszkiewicz actually received the award at the ACOPA Actuarial Symposium in Chicago on Aug. 16. 

She is the Director of Employee Benefits Services in the Atlanta office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, and has more than 30 years of experience in benefit plan administration, consulting, plan design and IRS and DOL audit representation. 

A member of ASPA (and then ASPPA) since 1974, Groszkiewicz served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Pension Actuary and in various capacities on the Government Affairs Committee, the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. She was also a founding member of the first ASPPA Benefits Council in Atlanta in 1993, which served as a model for today’s local ASPPA Benefits Council groups. She also served as Secretary of ACOPA.

The Edward E. Burrows Distinguished Achievement Award is presented annually to a pension actuary who has, by his or her actions, set an example for other pension actuaries. This is an actuary who has gone above and beyond in forwarding ethics, education, beneficial legislation or regulations (or such other actions as the selection committee deems appropriate) that enhance the private pension system or the professionalism of enrolled actuaries within the private pension system. Burrows was a beacon in this regard, and ACOPA honors him by presenting an award that recognizes those who follow in his path.

Martin Rosenberg Academic Achievement Award

ASPPA honored Evi Tjandra, QKA, and Grant E. Brown, CPC, ERPA, QKA, QPA, TGPC, CFP®, with the 2014 Martin Rosenberg Academic Achievement Award. Tjandra, of Allied Consultants, Inc., was honored for Outstanding Achievement on the 2014 DC-2 Examination. Brown, of Compensation Planning Inc., was honored for Outstanding Achievement on the 2014 CPC Examination.

The Martin Rosenberg Academic Achievement Award honors its namesake, the late Martin Rosenberg, a fellow of ASPPA and recognizes the top performing candidates each year based on credential education examinations. The ASPPA Pension Education and Research Foundation (PERF) administers the award, which ASPPA established in 1990 to honor Rosenberg.