Welcome Vikings!

Lesley Mann, CMO • October 18, 2022
Join me in an official welcome to GBU District 5000, IOV As of July 31, 2022, GBU is pleased to welcome our fifth super district, the Independent Order of Vikings (IOV) to our GBU family.

The late 1800s saw a significant influx of Swedish immigrants to Chicago and with it the need for social interaction and financial protections. Thus the Vikingarne (Vikings) was formed in 1890. The original initiation fee to join was set at just $2.00 with monthly dues of $0.50. Early member benefits included sick benefits and burial expenses.

The name changed to Independent Order of Vikings officially in 1892. IOV has established 121 lodges over its 132-year history, but as with many fraternal organizations, the number of lodges is down to just 15. IOV’s current Grand Chief (President), Rodney Ottum, is the 71st person to be elected to this position. IOV is mostly social fraternal organization. Its main philanthropic focus is in support of Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Burn Camp, Arthur C. Luf Children’s Burn Camp and The Great Lakes Burn Camp. The group also seeks to expand knowledge of Scandinavian heritage and language and encourages junior members to attend the Concordia Language Village camps. The organization provides fully paid “camperships” for two junior members each year.

We hope you will join the GBU Home Office team in welcoming our newest district, which will add even more to our ever-growing, heritage-rich GBU family.

All the best,

By Lesley Mann May 29, 2025
As we move into the second quarter of another exciting year, I want to take a moment to reflect on our accomplishments and share some of the new initiatives we are implementing in the realms of sales, marketing and community engagement. Over the past year, GBU Life has reached significant milestones thanks to the dedication and hard work of our team and the trust and support of our members. Our sales department has exceeded targets, and we have expanded our reach to more communities than ever before. We have launched several successful marketing campaigns that have not only increased our visibility but have also strengthened our brand's presence in the industry. For this year, our focus will be educating potential new members on the importance of securing their financial futures through life insurance and annuity products while serving their communities as part of our great Society. Looking ahead, we are committed to enhancing our sales strategies to better serve you. We are introducing some tools for our agents to enhance our products. One new tool is our Defined Benefit Annuity program which combines the Future Flex Fixed Index Annuity (FIA) with a software tool that can help determine retirement savings needs and break them down into contributions over time to help you meet your retirement goals. Be sure to keep in touch with your GBU agent to review your plans and products to see how adding an FIA to your retirement planning can help boost your savings efforts
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