planned during the four-day Symposium, believes project co-ordinator, Suzie McKeegan.

President of The Whitfield Group Ltd., a marketing and promotions company, Mrs. McKeegan says the wine tasting, cigar sampling and the golf tournament are all vital to the conference's success.

"The insurance industry is also known for entertainment,'' she said. "It is, I think, the world's most travelled industry. Therefore, if they're travelling they also have a lot of socialising that they have to do so we think that some of our social events are important. When we structured this and presented it to the (insurance) community we said we would have a wine tasting and a lot of people thought that was very frivolous. But we said no, you're not looking at it from the industry perspective.

"You all have to entertain many nights a week. You have to take out clients that are very important to you and your business. You've got to go in there and know your wines, know your champagnes, know your foods, because your socialising is an important aspect of the industry. No, it isn't the primary aspect, but it's all part of the package.

"So we created the wine tasting which is conducted by a master of wine, who actually lives on the Island, Robin Blackburne. We have a capacity of 250 for the wine tasting which is a very large wine tasting.'' The cigar sampling, she said, is also crucial, merely for what it symbolises if nothing else.

"The other thing we came up with,...is a cigar sampling. In the major cities of the world, cigar rooms are hot. And if we're going to be the hottest thing in the insurance industry we've got to be up on what's happening in the marketplace.

"What do cigars have to do with insurance? Absolutely nothing. But they have a lot to do with wrapping up the deal. You go to the cigar room and have your cordials and your courvoisiers and your liqueurs at the end of the evening, you light up a very expensive cigar, it's part of the ritual. So we've taken over the wine cellar at the Southampton Princess and there will be a cigar seminar and sampling which is going to be headed up by John Casling and the cigar store, Tienda De Tabaco, will be our presenters.'' Capping the conference will be a rock performance by an unlikely band of musicians -- members of the local insurance industry.

"We've also created a band called Rock and Roll Re and it's all the boys in the insurance industry who are musicians and they get up on the stage as Thursday night's finale and perform and the audience goes nuts. How many other industries in the world would ever get their CEOs and presidents performing on stage in front of an audience?'' Sponsorship for the 1997 Symposium has also been overwhelming, she said, with it almost matching that which was pledged for the 1995 event. Unfortunately the size of the trade show was reduced due to space capability but it has already been sold out as has the golf clinic to be run by Craig Stadler, PGA professional, former Masters champion, and winner of last year's Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out in Bermuda.

"We are just overwhelmed,'' she added. "We (initially) only booked 200 rooms per night at the Southampton Princess and now we're well over 300 rooms per night. So we've increased our number 50 percent fold. Of course the Princess is really happy and everyone's very excited because it's really huge. And our committee, and especially Robin and myself, are so proud that this was our idea and everyone sort of said, `well you know, I don't want to come' or `I'm not sure' and now it's a success.'' And Mrs. McKeegan had nothing but praise for chairman of the event, Robin Spencer-Arscott.

"I'm in the marketing business and have been for (years) and Robin is the first person I've ever met who's in an industry that's totally different from ours yet is the best marketer. He has the marketing skills and he has the insurance knowledge and when you combine those two together, you have a winner. And when you're dealing with someone like Robin,... and you come up with unusual concepts, Robin never says, `I don't see that' or, `Gee, I don't know about that Suzie.' "Everything that I've ever presented to him or tried he says, `Well, let's investigate it that was a good idea' or `That was great' or `That was creative I've never seen anything like that before. That sounds fun.' So that's what makes the event successful. You've got to be willing to do anything. Think of who the audience is. The audience and the delegates that come to our events are the chairmen, CEOs, CFAs, and senior management of major corporations around the world. That in itself is such a proud thing for Bermuda, to be able to draw that clientele.'' PGA professional Craig Stadler will conduct the Bermuda Insurance Symposium's golf clinic today at Riddell's Bay Golf Club preceding the BIS III Golf Tournament CONFERENCE CON BUSINESS BUC