THE BILLION DOLLAR MAN

Is this for real?  Yes. Is he for real? Yes. Is he available?  Unfortunately, No. Well, who is he?

Ron (Ronald A.) Copes is Vice President of Community Relations at MassMutual Financial Group located in Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut. He is happily married to Melva Copes and they have two sons, Ron II and Rodney.  So, there will be no T.V. shows made about how to marry this billionaire!

            Ron has worked at MassMutual for 13 years, starting out in human resources and moving into community relations. His current responsibilities include running MassMutual’s charitable giving program, representing the company in the community, serving on selected boards and committees as MassMutual’s representative, and reviewing grants and in-kind giving programs for both Springfield and Hartford.

            Behind the pleasant demeanor presented by Ron—one CEO, who lobbied to have him serve as chairman of her organization’s capital campaign, described him as a “gentle” man, one to whom women easily relate—lies a no-nonsense, intelligent, perceptive, tough businessman with very obvious deep family and religious values and clear community and educational goals and commitments. 

             Ron likes to tell kids the story of how he got to MassMutual. He thinks it sends an important message and it does.  He had served in the army for 27 years and was ready to retire and was looking for a new job.  He couldn’t find one in the Nashville area where he was living at the time.  However, a friend he had made when he served in Viet Nam, with whom he had remained friendly, put him in contact with a mutual friend from their Viet Nam days who was, at the time, a vice president at MassMutual.  Even though the two men had not kept in contact, because they had had a positive relationship 20 years previously, this vice president friend had Ron send him his resume. He then got Ron an interview leading to a second career that has been extremely rewarding for Ron.  His message to kids: “Always put your best foot forward in every situation. You never know whether or not someone you meet might be in a position to help you later on in life.”

            Ron’s first two years at MassMutual were difficult years for him.  On a personal level, his family made the decision not to immediately move to this area with Ron after he got the job so that his youngest son could finish high school in St. Louis.  Although this decision was hard on everyone at the time, it was ultimately a good decision that worked out well for his son and the entire family.  On a community level, Ron ran into the same stumbling block that a lot of Black outsiders run into when moving to Springfield—a cold shoulder.  Even though, because of his position with MassMutual, he was able to do things and make things happen for the community, often he was rejected.  According to Ron, it was like “bringing something to dinner and (it) not being accepted because it wasn’t grown here.”

            But Ron did not let that attitude stop him.  He continued to make inroads in the Springfield Afro-American community in order to be of service, and he is in a unique position to do so.  Billions of MassMutual community dollars go through this non-ego driven, unassuming man’s department.  In addition to the work he does in Springfield, Ron gets a special pleasure out of serving the Hartford community, as well, since he was born and grew up in Hartford.  For him, “It is a joy to return as an adult and be able to renew relationships having grown up in Hartford as a welfare kid.”

            Enough about Ron.  Back to the billion dollars. What’s the catch? Never mind the catch--just show me the money!  How can I get some--just a little--of that billion dollars?  Okay, so Ron’s not going to stand out on the corner in Mason Square and hand out a billion dollars! But what he and MassMutual are doing is just as good and even more valuable. They are giving away 20,000 FREE term life insurance policies, each with a $50,000 death benefit through MassMutual’s LifeBridge Free Insurance Program.  Which means that if you are a parent and you die anytime during the 10-year term of the life insurance policy, the $50,000 death benefit will be applied solely toward the education of your eligible children.

            This means that if you qualify, your children will be able to continue their education without having to worry about where the money will come from.  What a wonderful gift to be able to give to one’s children and to oneself--to know that your children’s future educational needs will be taken care of if something happens to you.  So far, only 200 policies have been awarded so there are more than enough left for you to get one.  Please don’t wait, act now.  All you need to do is fill out the LifeBridge eligibility form printed below and return it to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1295 State Street, Springfield, MA 01111-0001.  Do this for the children.  You’ve already given them roots.  Now give them the wings to fly and a future to go after.