Those in attendance to present hometown Agency with their traveling trophy were l-r: Chamber President Samantha Goff, Grant HTA employees Kandi Zimmerman, Tiffany Long, Jeff Skeels and Leslie Burge as well as Chamber Vice President Michelle Ross.
HomeTown Agency takes October business spotlight at monthly chamber meeting
Jeff Skeels was present at the October chamber meeting on Thursday, Oct. 21 at the senior center representing HomeTown Agency.
The HomeTown Agency (HTA) was founded in 1996 by Rick Einspahr and Terry Engell with offices in Wauneta and Cambridge, making this their 25th year of operation.
Jeff Skeels joined the agency in 1998 and that April opened an office in Grant at the Cook Upholstery building located at 114 Central Avenue.
“The current office is located at 150 Central Avenue - or the old FSA offices to date some folks, “Skeels joked.
Since then the Agency has added several locations in 2001 offices were opened in Arapahoe and McCook finally Imperial and Hayes Center just the past couple of years.
The HomeTown Agency offers several lines of insurance including home, auto, commercial, farm, crop, life and health.
Skeels explained how the insurance industry has changed over the years but HTA’s primary focus is still their customers to bring value to them by providing insurance solutions that fits their specific needs.
“A clear example of this came with the passage of the Affordable Care Act where the general public was faced with purchasing health insurance through the federal marketplace which was embraced by HTA to assist people thorough out the process. Another focus of the agency has been to assist folks with the difficult and complicated world of senior insurance products which has separated HTA from several of the other all lines insurance agencies in the area,” he said.
Skeels says that the number one asset of HTA is the associates he works with day in and day out that have joined him in the insurance industry.
“The people that I work with at HTA have been our primary resource for success, they’ve gotten licensed, expounded their insurance knowledge through continued education and found their niche in this business to bring additional value to our clientele.”
The HomeTown Agency has a total 15 full-time and 4 part-time associates covering the entire operation from Grant to Arapahoe. Skeels has had the luxury of stability specifically here in the Grant and Imperial locations where Kandi Zimmerman has been clocking in for 22 years, Tiffany Long another 10 years, Elise Musgrove for five years and it will be three years for Leslie Burge in January with another 3.5 years prior experience with a captive insurer before joining HTA.
“The passion, drive and competitive nature to bring added value to the customer by this dedicated team of associates continues to amaze me” Jeff stated.
The HomeTown Agency believes in community involvement.
You will find associates of the Agency serving on several different boards or clubs ranging from churches, chamber of commerce, schools or even different municipality positions in the towns they represent.
The Agency believes in giving back to the people who support our local businesses by giving their efforts to make our communities better by donating either monetarily or through hours of personal time.
“We believe our slogan ‘insuring your way of life,’ is more than a jingle. It’s understanding our clients, working alongside them and providing solutions to protect their assets,” Skeels said.
The Grant office can be reached by calling 308-352-2394.