Jun. 20, 2019 | HM Insurance Group (HM) has always remained committed to corporate social responsibility, especially supporting organizations that do research, advocate for patients, and raise awareness in communities where they do business. When it came time to select a charity to benefit their annual national sales conference, Dan Cloyd, an uncle of a person with cystic fibrosis and regional sales vice president of HM Insurance Group, saw an opportunity.

Cloyd, who was chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Nebraska Chapter's golf event, first connected HM to the Foundation through sponsoring the event and suggested naming the Foundation the recipient charity at the conference.

Inspired by the 65 Roses^® story, HM focused the gala portion of the event on the emotional story of a mother, Mary G. Weiss, and her drive to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis, as well as the story of how the symbol of roses came to be. From explaining the story in business sessions during the day, to featuring vendor-donated cream rose centerpiece arrangements and selling long-stem roses and boutonnieres in the evening, the 65 Roses story was truly the highlight of the night.

“You could tell that the lightbulbs went off when attendees saw all the beautiful rose decorations and remembered the story they had heard earlier that day,” said Bethany Lipinski, event planning and promotions director at HM. With a goal to sell 65 roses by the end of the night, HM played a heartfelt video before beginning their sales, capturing the importance of raising awareness and finding a cure for CF.

“Something as simple as selling roses was so effective because of the power behind the 65 Roses story,” said Lipinski.