When I first met Lorne Marr at a Shopsy’s restaurant in 2005 before a Toronto Maple Leaf’s game, I had no idea how much he would change my life. Not that my life hadn’t experienced several drastic changes already. You see, when I was younger two separate experiences left me with a lasting impression.
The first was the illness of my mother. To see such a strong, beautiful, and loving woman bravely face thyroid cancer was absolutely devastating. In the midst of her struggle, the second experience hit me with full force. My father was rushed to the hospital for an emergency coronary artery bypass. These two wonderful people had done everything they could for me and my siblings. They loved us, cared for us and provided for us. Being a spectator to their critical illness made me feel helpless, confused and angry. I wanted to help, but apart from being loving and supportive, my options were limited.
Since I know how it feels to experience the financial and emotional hardship brought on by critical illness, I’ve dedicated my life to promoting the value of critical illness, disability and life insurance. It is my way of using my painful experiences to the best possible advantage. Lorne Marr must have sensed my need to do something in this vein back in that restaurant because he felt I would be a key building block in the development of LSM Insurance. Over the next few months we met and talked, working out a plan so that I could do what I wanted to do most – sell life insurance.
It became more than a mentor-mentee relationship. Lorne Marr became my friend. Even though he was the insurance pro and I was just starting out, he respected my opinions and even now asks for my thoughts on some of my ideas. We have attend several industry events together and enjoyed many road trips. I had the pleasure of a little friendly competition, bowling against Lorne Marr in the Lupus Bowl
Lorne Marr admired my passion to make a difference and I admire his passion for developmental coaching, leadership, sales training and consulting. We both want to make the world a better place; and he helped me do that by putting me in a position to share my passion and change lives for the better.
