The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York honored four of the industry’s local leaders and an ambitious local insurance producer’s trade association with awards at its annual leadership dinner.

The honors were given at the organization’s 127th Annual Business Meeting held in May at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, N.Y.

In his last act as IIABNY chairman of the board, Neal L. Sullivan presented three individuals with the Chair’s Distinguished Service Award, the association’s highest honor.

Recipients of the award were: Eileen A. Frank, president of J.P. West in Manhattan, N.Y.,the first woman to chair the Conference of Special Risk Underwriters and the National Insurance Industry Alliance; David M. Gelia, executive vice president of United insurance Agency in Amherst, N.Y., the association’s chair-elect for 2009-2010 and a valuable asset in helping the association tackle business challenges on the horizon; and Lisa K. Lounsbury, senior vice president of the IIABNY and president of IAAC, the organization’s membership services division, for guiding continuing education efforts and improving the group’s errors and omissions insurance and other programs.

The association also awarded Douglas Katz of Jacob J. Katz Co. in Bardonia, N.Y., with the American Association of Managing General Agents Award, for his work in initiating and managing outreach to New York state agency management systems users groups, coordinating education and advocacy on behalf of independent agents.

The Independent Insurance Agents of Westchester County received the inaugural award for Local Association of the Year, recognizing their outstanding effort and accomplishments, including the largest delegation at a legislative event and hosting a sell-out crowd at their annual “Education Day.”

The IIABNY has represented the common business interests of independent insurance professionals since 1882, with more than 1,900 agencies and their 18,000 employees relying on the not-for-profit association for legislative advocacy, continuing education and other means of industry support.