Our People/Staff

John Craft
Chairman and CEO of the Alliance Group

In a life insurance industry career that has spanned more than three decades, John has devoted the last 20 years to recruiting and managing national marketing organizations, including his own agency, Infinity Marketing Alliance. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance Group, John’s passion each day is helping agents to succeed by developing and providing meaningful solutions for them to offer their clients.

The combination of unique proprietary products, training, professional support, plus a focus on building lifelong relationships and an unwavering commitment to provide peace of mind and improve the lives of the people they serve causes him to be more excited than ever about the future.

Carolyn Singletary
Vice President of Administration & Operations

Carolyn has over three decades experience in the life insurance industry, including managing the operations of Infinity Marketing Alliance. She has worked on behalf of the Alliance Group for the last 10 years, and is instrumental in developing the ongoing training Alliance offers to their MGA administrators throughout the country.

Carolyn was with a major insurance company before joining Alliance in 2001. She brings to Alliance more than 30 years of underwriting and management expertise, all performed with her patented attention to detail leadership and skill.

Dawn Babb
Administrator and Manager of Contracting

Dawn has been with the Alliance Group since June, 2009 and manages the contracting of new agents, along with training new administrators on contracting new agents. For Infinity Marketing, she processes new business, trains new agents, provides customer service along with a variety of other duties.

Dawn was with a major insurance company for almost 20 years before moving to Florida and joining the Alliance Group. Her enthusiasm and experience in customer service and field support is an inspiration to all who come in contact with her.

Debbie Simmons
Accountant

Debbie has been with the Alliance Group since November, 2007, and brings to the company over 25 years of experience in accounting, bookkeeping and office management. She offers a motivated and friendly approach to the field and loves what she does.

Along with volunteer work in her local church community, she enjoys playing music and going to the beach with friends and family.

Rick Drazien, CLU, SRM
Director of Communications

Rick brings over 40 years of life insurance marketing experience to the Alliance Group. He authors the Living Edge Agent Newsletter, the Connections Client Newsletter, and writes much of the content for our website. He believes in what we do and why we do it. He is passionate about keeping the Alliance purpose, belief and commitment to both agents and clients, fresh and vibrant. As he shares with everyone, “at Alliance, we do think differently.”

Gerald Stratton
President and COO of the Alliance Group

Jerry has over 40 years of personal production, life insurance, and financial planning experience consisting of nationwide clientele of closely held corporations and wealthy seniors. He has a BA and MBA and served in the Air Force. Jerry became a MGA in 1994 and started recruiting agents and agencies. His passion is watching new distribution groups grow into successful agencies.

He is now the co-owner, President and COO of Alliance Group. Jerry’s main focus is to develop new distribution within Alliance Group and deliver a state of the art training platform for agents to learn and grow in this business.

Lee Duncan
Vice President and Training Director for the Alliance Group

Lee worked 40+ hours a week to put himself through college and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2003 with a Bachelors degree in Finance and Business.  In September of that year he met Jerry Stratton who recruited him to join the Stratton & Associates Agency.  Since that time, Lee has sold personally as an agent and successfully performed every job in an agency.  He has done everything he asks agents and MGA’s to do including selling, recruiting, training and administration.

Since 2003, he has dedicated his working life to recruiting, motivating, and training agents in the insurance industry all across the country. He has recruited and trained thousands of agents on topics such as referrals, closing techniques, simple needs analysis, financial planning, and many different sales concepts, but his specialty and passion is introducing agents to a unique kind of life insurance that allows the client access to the death benefit when they need it the most through living benefits.  His passion for why he does what he does comes from personally experiencing the gut wrenching need for “living benefits” within his own family while growing up.

David McKenzie
Sales Manager

David has been with the Alliance Group since August 2008 and is involved with new business processing, managing the mortgage lead program, training new agents, customer service and a variety of marketing initiatives. He is also a licensed field agent.

David graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005 and previously worked as an operations manager for a large retail chain. He is a firm believer in the core values of the Alliance Group and the living benefits within our products.

Peter Goldfine
Social Media Director

Peter joined the Alliance Group in fall 2010 and is working to create, implement and maintain a Social Media Strategy to help define a revamped marketing strategy, aid in the recruiting process, and secure an overall approach aimed at increasing visibility and reach through our online presence. Peter will also assist with new business processing, and a variety of other marketing initiatives. He is an active, licensed field underwriter.

Peter graduated from Syracuse University in 2008 with a degree in Information Technology, followed by Masters Coursework in sales and marketing at New York University. Peter comes to us with a solid sales and marketing background, and he is a firm believer in the importance of Living Benefits, and the values set forth by The Alliance Group.

Betty Hopkins
Office Manager

Betty has been with The Alliance Group since June 2010, bringing to the table over 10 years experience in the life insurance industry and over 20 + years in office administration. She worked with Robert L. Turley of A. L. Williams during the start up years and also with MILICO’s home office during their transition period.

Betty attended West Georgia College, was a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Freshman Honor Society, and is a native Georgian. She is married with four children. She believes that the Alliance Group’s compassion, caring, and willingness to go “over and above” is very unique.

Julie Raffensperger
Receptionist and Administrative Assistant

Julie began working with the Alliance Group in April 2007. In addition to greeting visitors, answering the phones, and processing the mail, her primary job is to track all of the paramedical exams for the agents. She keeps up with status of exams to ensure they are completed as quickly as possible. She previously worked for Waddell and Reed for eleven years in their financial planning and securities business department.

Cathy Strickland
New Business Administrator

Cathy joined the Alliance Group in 2010 in an administrative position. She works with agents and home offices to process and track applications.

What drew her to the Alliance Group was excitement and desire to learn more about Living Benefits because at the same time she began working there, a friend suffered a devastating accident that illustrated the need for the kind of products we offer. She is proud to be with such a forward thinking company, especially in our current tough economy.