our history1956edwin johnson, david johnson and ted s. kendall form a partnership in newtown, pa to market life and property and casualty insurance.1959johnson, kendall & johnson, inc. is incorporated.1965johnson benna inc. is incorporated to focus on life insurance and employee benefits; together both companies form the johnson companies.1981the johnson companies sponsor the first 401k plan in the usa under the leadership of ted benna. the johnson companies launch the first 401(k) plan for its own employees, which is still in use today for the employees of jkj.1990johnson benna inc. and johnson administrators merges with noble lowndes usa. jkj separates from that merger and becomes a standalone entity owned by its management team. under the direction of richard willis, jkj creates a focus for the senior living industry, providing special and unique services and products.1991jkj’s first agency owned captive is formed to serve the senior living industry.1994bruce r. white and john wright re-organize jkj’s business model to provide world class risk management services, maintaining a capability for serving all 50 states. the first dedicated risk management safety specialist is hired to provide loss control services. jkj also expands to provide dedicated services for claims management.1996jkj becomes a founding partner of riskpronet international, an organization of nationwide insurance agencies throughout the u.s. jkj benefits is formed to provide the same level of value-added consulting in employee benefits as jkj meet the challenges that employers are experiencing in structuring employee benefits programs.2008a joint venture is formed between jkj and dr. friedrich e. hörtkorn gmbh, heilbronn, germany providing risk management services to international businesses.2010jkj university began as an annual educational event geared toward our senior living clients. jkj university now represents all of our internal and external educational events.2011jkj financial services grows out of the merger between jkj and the lee / malarkey financial services practice, offering continuous service to its clients since 1934. jkj retirement services is created, re-establishing the jkj family of companies as a leader in the employer-sponsored retirement plan space.2016as a member / owner of the m financial group, jkj financial services is part of the launch of the industry’s first multi-carrier “eunderwriting” platform, enabling the implementation life insurance policies in days or even minutes, without traditional insurance examination and underwriting requirements.2017jkj launches our community service initiative “passion with a purpose”, an initiative which allows our employees to take paid time off from work to give back to our community, our client’s community or causes that they are passionate about.2019jkj acquires amusement entertainment risk insurance associates, known as a.e.r.i.a., who specializes in coverage for the amusement and entertainment industry.