EPC Rochester / Origins

History

During the late 1920's and early 1930's it became apparent to trust officers in the banks and to life underwriters that clients were not being served adequately due to a lack of cooperation between the two groups. Boston had organized a Life Insurance Trust Council on September 11, 1930.

In Rochester in 1934 John W. Remington, Esq. was Vice President and head of the Trust Department of Lincoln-Alliance Bank and Trust Company, William H. Stackel was Senior Vice President and head of Trust Department of Security Trust Company, Nels Lengeman was Vice President and head of the Trust Department of Union Trust Company and R. Reed George was Vice President and head of the Trust Department of Central Trust Company, Mr. Frank W. McChesney was President of the General Agents and Managers Association and Ellen Putnam was President of the Rochester Life Underwriters, Inc.

These persons, plus several other trust officers and life underwriters, attended a meeting on May 24, 1934 to organize a Life Insurance and Trust Council. John W. Remington invited Mr. Basil Collins, Trust Officer of Old Colony Trust Company in Boston, to tell us how effective Boston's Council had been. Boston was the first Council in the country, Rochester, the second, followed by Syracuse in 1935, Portland, Maine, Atlanta, Georgia and Baltimore in 1937, Chicago in 193, Pittsburgh in 1939, and Seattle, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Buffalo in 1940. Thereafter the organization of Life Insurance Trust Councils was rapid.

Rochester alternated officers between life underwriters and trust officers. In November 1939 the name was changed from The Life Insurance Trust Council of Rochester to the Rochester Life Insurance and Trust Council.

Gradually, Life Insurance Trust Councils throughout the country became aware that the public needed not only cooperation between life underwriters and trust officers, but also cooperation between the four professions concerned with estate analysis and planning, namely, attorneys, certified public accountants, trust officers and life underwriters.

At the March 4, 1957 meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rochester Life Insurance and Trust Council it was agreed to invite fifteen attorneys selected by the Board to join the Council. March 29, 1957 an invitation was sent to attorneys: John H. Berman, Nicholas E. Brown, Anthony L. Dividio, Alfred W. Dunbar, John S. Gilman, Donald R. Harter, George H. Hawks, Jr., E. James Hickey, Lathrop Marsland, P.D. Oviatt, Jr., Frederick W. Post, Sydney R. Rubin, John G. Shaw, Donald S. Westfall and Howard M. Woods. All accepted the invitation. In 1958 the Board of Directors invited four Certified Public Accountants, all of whom accepted the invitation, namely Otto Schultz, Charles Clapp, Stanley Dye and Paul Zaenglein.

In June of 1958 the name was changed from the Rochester Life Insurance and Trust Council to the Estate Planning Council of Rochester. A new set of by-laws was adopted.

Each year the officers include a member from each of the four professions and except for an occasional resignation, each moves up from treasurer, to secretary, to second vice president, to first vice president, to president. Since 1976, the Board has had the services of an Executive Secretary, which has made the work much easier for the elected officers and insures continuity.

Membership is by invitation to those persons in each professional group who are engaged in trust and estate analysis, administration and planning. A new member is proposed by two current Council members, one from his discipline and one from another of the disciplines represented in the Council. Presently the membership is limited to 220 regular members.

When a person resigns or becomes 65 another person is elected to fill his or her place as a regular member. There is a waiting list in each category which indicates how highly membership in the Council is valued. There is no limit, however, on the number of retired members.

The minutes of the Board of Directors between 1935 and 1946 have been lost, so that it was difficult to compile a complete list of the presidents of the Council.

The former presidents of the Council are as follows:

Warren S. Parks 1934-35
William H. Stackel 1935-36
Frank H. McChesney 1936-37
John W. Remington, Esq. 1937-38
Earl Lincoln 1938-39
William A. Rose 1939-40
1940-41
Nels Lengeman 1941-42
1942-43
1943-44
1944-45
1945-46
1946-47
Glen Reem 1947-48
Arthur Carruthers 1948-49
Timothy Crowe 1949-50
Charles Seuffert l950-51
Frank B. Alberts, CLU 1951-52
Bruce Percy 1952-53
Ellen M. Putnam, CLU 1953-54
R.Reed George 1954-55
Basil R. Weston 1955-56
J. Robert Murray 1956-57
Bert A. VanHorn 1957-58
Wilmot R. Craig 1958-59
Robert M. Williamson, CLU 1959-60
E. James Hickey, Esq. 1960-61
Clayton F. Kaul 1961-62
Stanley M. Dye, CPA 1962-63
Richard B. Parks, CLU 1963-64
Donald R. Harter, Esq. 1964-65
James J. Sweeney, Jr. 1965-66
N. Clifford Nelson, CPA 1966-67
Horace D. Olmsted, CLU 1967-68
George H. Hawks, Jr., Esq. 1968-69
Raymond Englert 1969-70
Alvin Birnbaum, CPA 1970-71
Edmund B. Case 1971-72
Daniel W. Hemming, CLU 1972-73
D. Robert Nicholson, CPA 1973-74
Robert J. Vanas 1974-75
John S. Gilman, Esq. 1975-76
Arthur Kaufman, CLU 1976-77
Donald Margolis, CPA 1977-78
David W. Fay 1978-79
Alan Illig, Esq. 1979-80
Mark B. Smith, CLU 1980-81
A. Harvey Stolnitz, CPA 1981-82
Stephanie Z. Schodde, Esq. 1982-83
Lawrence J. Oberlies 1983-84
Raymond E. Naber, Jr., CLU 1984-85
Stanley Underberg, CPA 1985-86
Jon L. Schumacher, Esq. 1986-87
Alan R. Ziegler, CLU 1987-88
Robert S. Landman, CPA 1988-89
Dana R. Consler, CFP 1989-90
David R. Ferris, Esq. 1990-91
Stewart R. Moscov, CLU, ChFC 1991-92
P. Gerard Sokolski, CPA 1992-93
James B. Harrison, CPA, CTFA 1993-94
David Pettig, Esq. 1994-95
David Ianni, CLU, ChFC 1995-96
Steven G. Schwartz, CPA 1996-97
Russell J. Mandrino 1997-98
Jill M. Cicero 1998-99
Fred W. Beltz, CLU, ChFC 1999-2000
William T. Sirianni, CPA 2000-2001
Howard J. Gordon, Esq. 2001-2002