McDonald Insurance Agency is excited to announce its official launch to provide its national childcare insurance programs and services to the childcare industry in Alabama. Based in Marietta, Georgia, we are licensed to provide our services nation-wide. From July 17-19, Gina and John had the privilege of meeting wonderful childcare professionals from all over Alabama while attending the annual conference of the Alabama Association of Licensed Early Care and Education (AALECE) in beautiful Orange Beach. Gulf Region Early Childhood Services (GRECS) helped sponsor and run the event. Over a hundred daycare and Headstart leaders were in attendance. The two and a half-day session was full of fun and informative presentations from state officials and professionals in early childhood education. There was significant discussion of Early Headstart initiatives, managing classroom behavior, state regulations and requirements, dealing with stress and improving relationships with children and their parents. After setting up a table with other service providers, Gina and John spent the majority of time getting to know AALECE members and discussing the importance of insurance and having the right policies in place to protect their businesses. John gave a 20 minute “lunch and learn” presentation, providing an overview and insights into specific areas important to childcare professionals, including property and general liability, abuse and molestation, child accident, umbrella policies and worker’s compensation. There were several questions from daycare owners and directors dealing with potential situations for claims, including incidents which might occur in the parking lot of a daycare center after the children are signed out by parents. It was very interesting to hear firsthand the concerns of childcare professionals in Alabama. We must confess that after enjoying our time at the conference, we took advantage of the beautiful weather, glistening beaches and some great food and music at the Florabama!