Hello!  My name is Annie Conner and I am the Chief Compliance Officer at Conner Benefits. 

Just to give you a little bit of background on myself, I have worked at Conner Benefits for the last five years and I have an absolute blast when I come to work!  My grandfather, Clay Conner, started this agency back in 1949.  My father, Jim, and my two uncles, Jack and Tom, purchased the business from my grandfather in the 70’s and have been running it ever since.  I have the privilege of being a third generation member of the Conner Agency along with other multiple cousins and siblings.  Many people ask me about the dynamics of working with my family and I always answer that it is such a blessing that I have this opportunity.  To be able to interact daily with my family and learn from each other has been such an awesome experience in my life. 

I’ll give you a quick summary of my resume:  I graduated from Purdue University (Go Boilers!!) with a degree in Small Business Management.  I was VERY sad to leave my alma mater but was excited about joining the family business.  In late 2003, I started my Human Resources training at an agency in St. Petersburg, Florida called Compliance Check.  I have to say that this program was right up my alley!  I am a major bookworm and I love the challenge of a new project.  So, when I was presented with the opportunity to assist HR’s with various laws, I hopped on the idea and never looked back.  It’s not been an easy road since laws seem to change at the exact moment we all become comfortable with them.  But I have been able to meet so many amazing people and learn so much about each individual organization that it’s worth dealing with all the regulatory mumbo-jumbo.  I have worked with many employers across the city and some parts of the state in all different areas of HR compliance.  Here are some of the areas that I focus on:  FMLA, ADA, COBRA, HIPAA, Employee Handbooks, USERRA, IRCA, EEOC, Sexual Harassment, FLSA, and Work Comp.   Every month I hold a 3-hour seminar on one of these topics as well.  Also, I recently obtained my SPHR designation and vow to never take that test again (4 hours is just too long!!).

My goal for this blog is to be able to interact with you in a completely different forum.  I’m not exactly computer literate so I hope you will be able to bear with me as we get started.  Blogs provide a whole new world of building relationships!  I’m sure we’ll be discussing legislative changes, articles, lawsuits, etc., but also feel free to ask me any questions about problems you are experiencing in your day-to-day HR world. 

Welcome and happy blogging!!!!!