AGENCY OF THE MONTH “R” STANDS FOR RELATIONSHIPS Montana agency helps customers find financial freedom By Dennis H. Pillsbury Managing Partner Brandon Smith, of Glidewell Investments & Insurance Group (GiiG), Missoula, Montana, was heading toward a career in banking when opportunity, as they say, knocked. “Sixteen years ago, I was just out of college and working at a bank with the goal of getting into commercial lending,” he recalls. “At
Agency of the Month
AGENCY OF THE MONTH HARD WORK, DEDICATION, AND HELP FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS Agency moves from “doing okay” to “constant improvement” By Dennis H. Pillsbury When college roommates Erik J. Loesch and Ryland Hilliard (Hill) Shaw III graduated, they embarked on financial services careers with Prudential. They later decided to leave, and ended up operating their own property/casualty insurance agency. Erik left first and started Atlantic Shield Insurance Group in
Agency of the Month PUTTING ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER From personal lines startup to financial services powerhouse By Dennis H. Pillsbury Tim Hyland started his working life as a high school teacher and coach after graduating from St. Louis University where, in addition to studying, he also played basketball. His next job was as an administrator for a downtown insurance agency where he was told that he could also do
Agency of the Month HYPER-FOCUSED ON THEIR NICHE California agency sees improvement in ROI as it focuses only on its niche business It was a pleasant summer day in 1989 and Russ Castle was taking a break from trying to decide what to do with his life by attending a Little League playoff game featuring, for him, his cousin’s son. It was a great day, capped off by the fact
Agency of the Month PURSUING DISCOMFORT Texas agency ventures outside the box to reach customers where they want to be reached When Heather and Brandon Smyrl started Highpoint Insurance Group in Friendswood, Texas, in 2008, their goal was to create an agency where employees would be treated like family and allowed to have fun in an industry that is naturally stressful, Heather recalls proudly. “At the time, we were strictly
