Sep 29, 2017
In memoriam: Longtime PIA leader Don Flanders
PIANH is sad to report the passing of longtime PIANH leader Donald H. Flanders, CIC, CPIA, 10-term Laconia state representative, and chairman of the board of Byse Insurance Agency in Laconia, N.H., on Thursday, Sept. 28. He was 82.
Don joined PIA (then the Independent Mutual Agents) in 1960, shortly after he graduated from Bentley College and started his insurance career at the Byse Agency in 1952. By 1970, he was a director of IMA New England—then the largest affiliate of PIA in the country. In 1973, he became an officer; he served as president from 1976-1977 and remained an active past president until PIA of New England separated into individual state organizations in the early 1990s. At that point, he became active as a leader, and later as president, of PIA of New Hampshire.
His commitment to PIA and to the American Agency System was unwavering. Active as a PIA volunteer for well over half a century, he held every volunteer position in the association. He was elected to the PIA National board in 1988, first representing PIANE, and later PIA of New Hampshire. Aside from his PIA involvement, he was actively involved in protecting the rights of agents and policyholders in New Hampshire as a state legislator and on a national level as a member of the executive committee of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators.
Don was a former Laconia City Councilor, a trustee and past chairman of the board of trustees at Lakes Region General Hospital and a member of the Laconia Rotary Club. He served on the House Commerce Committee, and he was a member of the Belknap County Delegation. The Laconia Daily Sun called him, "a voice for moderation and working with other members to ensure that the county's needs were met in a fiscally responsible manner."
Don is survived by his wife, Lorraine, and their two sons.