OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - July 25, 2008 - An American Fidelity Assurance Company actuary has joined the elite group of professionals who have achieved status as Fellows of the Society of Actuaries. Joy McDonald earned this designation earlier this month.

About 20 Fellows in the Society of Actuaries are located in Oklahoma, and 13 work for American Fidelity Assurance Company. Worldwide, about 12,000 have achieved this ranking.

McDonald is a Group Health Pricing Actuary. She has been with AFA since 1989. McDonald took her first exam for the actuarial fellowship in 1988, and then took a number of years off from the rigorous course of study while her children were young. She recently realized the 20-year anniversary of that first exam was approaching, and made it her goal to finish before that date.

"This was a commitment made by my whole family, that they would support me in this and that I would do my best to pass so that I could finish as quickly as possible," McDonald said. "I would also like to say that the support of my department and the camaraderie of the actuarial community here at AFA definitely had an impact on my ability to achieve this designation. Everyone here would regularly ask me how things were going. Whenever anyone passes, we all celebrate, and we share in the setbacks as well. It's been very motivating."

To become a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, candidates must first achieve Associate status, which requires five to six exams each lasting up to five hours. Fellow candidates go on to take an additional two to three exams that are about six hours each. In addition, to pass the exam, the Fellow candidate must score in the top 40 percent.

About American Fidelity Assurance Company
American Fidelity Assurance Company is a third-generation, family-owned organization providing insurance products and financial services to education employees, trade association members and companies throughout the United States and across the globe. Founded in 1960, it has grown to become one of the largest private, family-owned life and health insurance companies in the United States. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, American Fidelity has more than 1,500 employees in 26 locations across the nation. It was named to Fortune magazine's 2008 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the fifth straight year and also is on Computerworld magazine's list of the "Best Places to Work in IT." In addition, it has been ranked by Training Magazine as one of the Top 125 Companies in America for employee training. Since 1982, American Fidelity has been rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best Company, one of the nation's leading insurance rating services.