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2026 Advanced Sales Forum

Rooted in Knowledge — Aligned for Growth

7/27/2026 - 7/29/2026
Hyatt Regency Savannah, Savannah, GA
Register

Overview

Who Attends

Advanced sales and marketing executives of carriers and distributors, marketing specialists, sales officers and estate and business planning specialists with accountability for serving individual markets.

Highlights

Created by advanced sales professionals, the Forum provides advice and insights from industry leaders, and subject matter experts, with unique expertise in this segment of the financial services market. Whether you are seeking new, innovative ways to meet the challenges of organizational change, creative, yet proven concepts to bring to your distribution partners, or finding more effective, efficient ways to communicate with and educate stakeholders, attending the Forum will give you unparalleled insights from peers and implementable ideas from experts.

Host and Moderator

Katherine Goldsmith, JD, CLU, ChFC, ChSNC
Assistant Vice President, Advanced Markets, Western & Southern Financial Group

Katherine Goldsmith, JD, CLU, ChFC, ChSNC

Assistant Vice President, Advanced Markets, Western & Southern Financial Group

Katherine (“Kate”) Goldsmith currently serves as Assistant Vice President, Advanced Markets, for Western & Southern Financial Group and is a registered representative of W&S Brokerage Services, both headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to joining Western & Southern, Kate was Assistant Counsel for The Ohio National Life Insurance Company and its affiliated companies for 15+ years. Kate serves as Vice President and is on the Board of Directors of the Insurance Advertising Compliance Association (IAdCA) and is also a past President of the Association of Corporate Counsel Southwest Ohio (ACCSWO) chapter. She currently serves on LIMRA’s Advanced Sales Forum Committee.

Before becoming in-house counsel, Kate was in private practice as an associate with the Litigation Department of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, a Midwest law firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kate’s birthplace. Kate graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and later a law degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 securities licenses, and the Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Special Needs Consultant professional designations from the American College of Financial Services. In addition, Kate has been active in various regulatory issues of concern to the insurance industry pursued by CEFLI, the ACLI, and LIMRA, among other industry groups. Kate has presented at national industry conferences hosted by CEFLI and IAdCA, as well as at national and local events for both consumers and agents sponsored by Western & Southern Financial Group and non-profit organizations. Kate has published numerous articles of interest for producers of Western & Southern Financial Group’s family of life companies and prides herself on being a problem solver.

Speakers

Kathleen Bilderback, JD, LL.M. (Taxation), AEP
Counsel, Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C.

Kathleen Bilderback, JD, LL.M. (Taxation), AEP

Counsel, Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C.

Kathleen Bilderback specializes in estate, business, and executive benefits planning, with special emphasis on incorporating and maximizing the benefits of life insurance. She is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and former adjunct professor in the LL.M. in Taxation program at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.  

Bilderback graduated from St. Louis University with degrees in Accounting and Theatre. She received her law degree and LL.M. in Taxation from Washington University’s School of Law. Beginning her Advanced Markets career at General American Life Insurance Company (later merged into MetLife), she provided training and advanced underwriting support for the top producers of MetLife and its subsidiaries for 10 years before returning to private practice. In 2007, Kathleen and her partners founded Affinity Law Group, LLC to provide legal services to businesses, their owners, and executives at every stage of their life cycles. She rose to the position of Managing Member prior to successfully combining the firm into Sandberg Phoenix, a firm of approximately 200 attorneys in eight offices with a nationwide practice.  

She is a member of the Missouri, Illinois, and Pennsylvania bars. She is a former national President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. She has been an active member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) at the national and local level. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Zoo Association and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation Planned Giving Committee. She received the Accredited Estate Planner designation from the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. She has presented at AALU and the Top of the Table Meeting for the Million Dollar Roundtable. Kathleen was selected for inclusion in Missouri and Kansas SuperLawyers each year since 2012 and recognized by Best Lawyers in the areas of Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, and Trusts and Estates each year since 2020.

Steve Parrish, J.D., CLU, ChFC, RHU
Professor of Practice and a Scholar in Residence at The American College of Financial Services

Steve Parrish, J.D., CLU, ChFC, RHU

Professor of Practice and a Scholar in Residence at The American College of Financial Services

Steve Parrish is Professor of Practice and a Scholar in Residence at The American College of Financial Services. Parrish is an expert on retirement, estate, and business owner succession planning. He is a recognized industry authority, spokesperson and author serving as an ongoing contributor to Forbes.com, and is a contributing author to the 2025 e-textbook Retirement Plans and Retirement Planning. He was the 2023 winner of the Kenneth Black Jr. Journal Author Award and has written for the Journal of Financial Service Professionals, Journal of Financial Planning and Hastings Business Law Journal.

Registration

Early Registration Fee: (by July 1, 2026)
Member: $1,750
Nonmember: $2,950

Standard Registration Fee (after July 1, 2026):
Member: $1,950
Nonmember: $3,150


Cancellation Policy

In the event that a scheduled meeting or event is cancelled by LIMRA for any reason, LIMRA shall refund any conference registration fees that have been paid by the registrant. Under no circumstances, however, shall LIMRA be liable to the registrant for any other expenses including, but not limited to, airfare and hotel expenses incurred by the registrant.

All cancellations must be received in writing. Email customer.service@limra.com. Cancellations received before TBD will be refunded, less a $75 processing fee. Cancellations received from TBD to TBD will be refunded, less a $275 processing and administrative fee. No refunds will be issued after TBD.

Register

Hotel / Venue

Hyatt Regency Savannah

2 W Bay St
Savannah, GA, USA, 31401

Hotel Reservations

(877) 803-7534  (mention the Advanced Sales Forum)

Make your reservations by July 1, 2026, by following the reservations link, or by calling the reservations phone number and mention the LIMRA Advanced Sales Conference in order to receive the group rate of $199.00 single/double (plus applicable sales taxes). Requests after July 1, 2026, will be accepted on the basis of space availability. The group guest room rate will be offered three days prior and three days after the meeting dates subject to availability and must be booked by calling the hotel.

Please note that hotel rates will go up after the cut-off date or when the meeting room block sells out, whichever comes first.  Make your reservations early to be able to take advantage of our discounted rates.

If you receive any unsolicited or suspicious emails or phone calls about a hotel booking in conjunction with this meeting, our advice is to delete the email immediately. In the case of a phone call, never give out your credit card information. Our designated conference hotels will not call you unless you contact them first.

Contact us to learn more:

Suzanne Melanson

Conference Coordinator

LIMRA and LOMA

(860) 285-7879

smelanson@limra.com

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