Blaine Riney of Terry Riney Agency Inc. in Pinehurst has achieved the designation of certified insurance counselor after completing a rigorous insurance education program sponsored by the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors.

The announcement was made by Terry Tadlock, who is the education adviser for the North Carolina CIC program. The conferment was held in Charlotte on Oct. 11.

The Society of CIC is a key member of the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, the nation's preeminent provider of insurance and risk management education.

The National Alliance conducts more than 2,500 programs annually, throughout all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Currently more than 28,000 agents and insurance professionals throughout the country have received the CIC designation.

Blaine has demonstrated his professional competence through the successful completion of the five CIC institutes and comprehensive written examinations focusing on all major fields of insurance, insurance management, and agency operations.

Riney graduated from the University of Kansas in May 2000 and started a career in the financial services business in Lawrence, Kan., with Edward Jones Investments. He later worked for an annuity brokerage firm in Topeka, Kan., followed by an internship with Lincoln Financial Advisors in Kansas City.

Blaine, who lives in Aberdeen, joined his father's agency in Pinehurst in July 2005.

His father, Terry Riney, received his CIC designation in September 1979 in Oklahoma City.

"The CIC program has been a great benefit to me personally and to others I've worked with over the past 32 years," Terry Riney said. "It's a great way to stay in turn with our ever-changing insurance business."