SEAA Person of the Year

SEAA has honoured its first female Person of the Year at the association’s 43rd Annual Convention, held in April in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA.

The award was presented to Carrie Sopuch-Gulajan, Construction Insurance Agency president, based in Manassas, Virginia, in recognition for her service to the steel construction industry and the Steel Erectors Association of America.

Sopuch-Gulajan has worked in the construction industry since the 1990s, first in an engineering department, then on the corporate side of safety and risk management and as an insurance business agent. Sopuch-Gulajan was appointed to the SEAA Board of Directors in 2011 and since 2014 she has served as the Convention Committee chairperson.

Alan Sears, awards chairman, said, “Carrie is a tireless worker with passion and determination. She has played an invaluable part in making golf tournaments, outings and fundraisers a huge success for many years. More recently, she has taken the SEAA National Convention to a whole new level.”

Sopuch-Gulajan, said, “While receiving the Person of the Year award was a pleasant surprise, my real reward is helping others understand insurance, and being able to guide them in transferring their risk. I’m a doer, and not a very good receiver, so it was humbling to be recognised.”