I moved to Bellefontaine in 1982, and I've spent more than 40 years since then helping the people of my town protect what matters most to them. In an industry that talks a lot about policies and premiums, I've always believed the real job is showing up. Especially when things go wrong. Two storms, 20 years apart, taught me about what it means to show up for our clients and the people we care about.

In January 2004, an ice storm knocked out power across our county for days. Trees came down on roofs and cars all over town. Power lines snapped under the increasing weight of the ice. Hundreds of our clients had damage, and most of them had no idea where to start.

Our team didn't wait for the ice to melt. We stayed open and reachable, taking calls by flashlight at our own office. We invited claims adjusters from multiple insurance companies to work out of our office so claims could move faster and people could start rebuilding instead of waiting on hold.

And more than once, I fired up my chainsaw and helped clear trees off driveways or used my tool cat to move the snow and ice out of the way. Sometimes the fastest way to help a neighbor is to just start working.

Twenty years later, in March 2024, a tornado did something far worse… it destroyed homes and businesses outright, not just damaged them. Families and business owners we'd known for years lost everything in minutes.

The recovery from that storm is still going on today. Once again, our doors and our phones never closed. Once again, we opened our office to adjusters so payments could move faster. And once again, when someone needed a hand clearing debris before a contractor could even get out there, I was glad to pitch in…. READ MORE…