HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (Dec. 10, 2025)
Ï㽶ÊÓƵ President Honors Two Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Members with 2025 Farmer Award for Exceptional Leadership
On Dec. 9, during the Opening Session of the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’ (Ï㽶ÊÓƵ) 2025 Fall National Meeting, North Dakota Insurance Commissioner and Ï㽶ÊÓƵ President Jon Godfread presented the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s Raymond G. Farmer Award for Exceptional Leadership to Ohio Department of Insurance Director Judith L. French and Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek.
As part of his remarks, Commissioner Godfread noted the work of Director French and Commissioner Houdek in co-chairing the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s Risk-Based Capital Model Governance (EX) Task Force established earlier this year.
Director French also chairs the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s Life Insurance and Annuities (A) Committee, and Commissioner Houdek also chairs the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s Financial Condition (E) Committee.
The Farmer Award, given at the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ president’s discretion, honors an Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Member who has shown exemplary leadership and a sustained length of industry service and has contributed to advancing the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s mission.
Created in 2008, the award was previously known as the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ President’s Award for Distinguished Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Leadership. The Ï㽶ÊÓƵ renamed the award at the 2021 Fall National Meeting in honor of its recipient, then-Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Immediate Past President and South Carolina Department of Insurance Director Ray Farmer. Former Director Farmer retired in April 2022 after 53 years in the industry and insurance regulation.
(Top: [L-R] Director French, Former Director Farmer, Commissioner Godfread, and Commissioner Houdek)
About the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ (Ï㽶ÊÓƵ) provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate regulatory oversight. Ï㽶ÊÓƵ staff supports these efforts and represents the collective views of state regulators domestically and internationally.