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The Roving Reporter

A Special Interview with

Shannon Betz

Cypress Benefit Administrators

Wrapping his conversation with Mike George at First Carolina Care

Insurance Company in Pinehurst, NC, our nattily attired Roving Reporter

(still sporting the knickers he donned for his ill-fated golf outing),

became enamored of finding out what a Clackamas is. Since he couldn’t

think of a better place to find out than Clackamas, Oregon, he traveled

cross-country in search of meaning … well … one meaning anyway.

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When, just five minutes after getting to town,

he learned Clackamas is a river, he thought he’d

make his time in Clackamas worthwhile by stopping

by Cypress Benefit Administrators to chat up

Shannon Betz about Wings Plus —

and whether the Sah-Hah-Lee Golf

Course is open in December.

RR: Goodmorning,Shannon.

Shannon: Hi.Whyareyouwearingknickers?

RR: Well,youseewhathadhappenedwas…couldwestartsomewhereelse?

Shannon. Sure.

RR: Thankyou.Mysourcestellmeyou’reaWingsPlususer.Canyoutellmewhatcapabilitiesyouuse?

Shannon: Rightnow,wejustuseAnnualStatement.Sofar,givenourbusinessstructure,wedon’treallyneedany

oftheotherfunctionality.Wedohavetopaypremiumtaxesbutonlyintwostates.Ifthatresponsibility

grows,we’llcertainlyconsideraddingWingsPlusPremiumTax.Butrightnow,premiumtaxesarenot

creatingalotoflegworkforus.

RR: Thatsoundsquitepractical.Howlonghaveyoubeenwiththecompany?

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Shannon: IwaswithWesternBenefitsfor10yearswhentheywereacquiredbyCypressinFebruaryof

2011.So,youcouldsayI’vebeenhereabout11years.

RR: AssumingyouwerearoundwhenthecompanystartedusingWingsPlus,wastheirsome

kindofduediligenceorselectionprocessconductedpriortotheselection?

Shannon: SomeonefromCypresshadgoneouttotheNAICwebsiteinsearchofvendorsin2005.

Afteridentifyingafew,CypressspokewithafewofthemandwereimpressedwithETM,as

wellastheuser-friendlinessofWingsPlus,whichiswhatsoldthem.

RR: So,ETMwasessentiallychosenoutoftheblue?

Shannon: Idon’tknowthatI’dputitquitethatway.ETMisaverysolid,customer-serviceoriented

company.They’realwaysupdatingandkeepinginlinewithNAICupdates.Theyhaveall

therequisitechecksandbalancesinplacetoensureyou’llneverfileaninaccuratereport.

WingsPlusensuresyouconformwiththeNAIC’sstrictregulations.AndETMalways

provideswonderfulhelpwithtechsupport.

RR: Haveyoufoundyourselfrelyingonthattechsupport?

Shannon: Infact,Ihaven’t.Andthat’sbecausethesystemreallyisuser-friendlyandhasaccuratedirections.

ETMalsoprovidesawebsitetoaccessforhelp,andthesystemupdatesandupgradesareadded

automaticallybecauseETMhostsit.Plus,theysendusemailtoletusknowwhenthoseupdatesand

upgradeshavebeenmade.Ifindthatveryhelpful.

RR: I’veknownothersoftwarecompaniesthatdidn’thavethebestproductsintheworld.Buttheydid

providetop-notchserviceand,so,hadmanyveryloyalcustomers.ItseemsETMhasboth.

Shannon: I’dagree.

RR: WhenyoustartedusingAnnualStatement,didyouhaveitlocallydeployed—ordidyoualwaysuse

WingsPlusfromthecloud?

Shannon: We’vebeenrunningAnnualStatementfromETM’sserverssincedayone.Itwastherightdecisionin

termsofcost,accessibility,maintenance,andservice.

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RR: Andwithanendorsementlikethat,comingheretospeakwithyouwastherightdecision.

Thankyouverymuch.

Shannon: You’rewelcomeverymuch.Doyouwanttotalkabouttheknickersnow?

RR: Notsomuch.

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