FAIA establishes award to honor
lifetime achievement in client service
By Bob Bloss
(From left) Jeff Brady, president, FAIA; Irma Platt, recipient of the IRMA award; Tom Gallagher, Florida insurance commissioner; and Tom Cotton, chairman, FAIA
"Broadway has its Tony. Television has the Emmy. Music has the Grammy, and movies have an Oscar.
"Now the insurance industry has its very own Irma."
Credit Thomas M. Cotton, CIC, CPCU, CRM, chairman of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA), with creating the Irma and for delivering those words that introduced this new, but overdue award. And credit Mrs. Irma Platt with personifying the high standards that inspired it.
Tom Cotton has known Irma Platt his entire life. She joined Hugh Cotton Insurance, Inc., Orlando, Florida, in October 1958, several years before Tom, now the agency's president, was born. As for Irma, she hasn't missed a beat in 43 years as a customer service representative, administrative assistant, business manager, vice president, project coordinator, and unofficial "chief cook, bottle washer, and favorite aunt."
In seeking a way to honor such loyal performers--the unsung backbones of virtually all agencies--Cotton wanted to go beyond a simple "thank you" for exemplary dedication. He devised the Irma accolade and presented the original Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement award during the Awards Luncheon of the FAIA convention this past June at Walt Disney World.
Mrs. Platt attended the luncheon under the assumption that she and other Cotton agency employees were there to honor their boss, Tom Cotton, upon his inauguration as the FAIA's new chairman. Only midway through Tom's speech, when he cited "... those special individuals who kept the books, swept the floors, and tied the shoes of the owner's children as they ran through the office," did modest Irma Platt realize that the spotlight was about to zero in on her.
Irma Platt has done far more, of course, than tidying up youngsters' apparel over nearly a half century with the Cotton insurance business. According to Hugh Cotton, the agency's chairman, "... were it not for Irma, our business would not have succeeded as it has." Hugh had not planned for an insurance career. But when, soon after founding the agency, his father--Hugh, Sr.--died suddenly, Hugh was urged to take over the fledgling business. He started with only a handful of accounts and no supporting office staff in June 1948. A few months later Cotton met Irma through mutual business associates.
"She was working for an MGA down the street," he remembers. "Even back then she was considered the best customer service representative in Orlando. She handled all of their ratings, kept the books, and worked wonderfully with people. Her energy level and her accuracy were amazing. Still are. Well, I needed help with my bookkeeping, letter writing, and so forth, and Irma was willing to stop by my office when her own workday was finished. She took my work home with her, then dropped it off first thing the next morning on her way back to her regular job. I paid her, of course, and this arrangement went on for several years."
Cotton also lauds many of his father's friends and associates for their assistance in his insurance business orientation. He refers to them as patient coaches. Under Hugh's guidance, the agency has concentrated on commercial accounts. Today its volume is in the $12 million range.
By 1950, Cotton's business was growing steadily, Hugh married, and soon thereafter constructed a building that accommodated the agency at the street level and featured living quarters on the second floor. In 1965, the Cotton family moved to a new home, but the business remained at the old location.
After Mrs. Platt joined the agency on a full-time basis in 1958, she became something of a "favorite aunt," in addition to handling her daily business activities supporting a growing sales staff. One of the Cotton daughters, Cindy Parker, spent 25 years with the agency before retiring recently to be with her two teenage daughters. She initially worked directly under Irma, and credits her for "... teaching me everything I know about the insurance business." Evidently Cindy learned well and quickly, for she developed and oversaw a national program specializing in boat and marina insurance.
"Irma is an infinitely patient teacher," says Cindy. "She's the best mentor I ever had and was an incredible right hand to our dad. They were in business, just the two of them, for years and were a highly successful team working together. My dad was very driven to succeed, and I'm sure he would have without Irma. But not in the successful way it worked out with her help."
Hugh Cotton echoes Cindy: "Everybody, somewhere in their career, had somebody like Irma to rely on. She has that instinctive judgment of when to make a decision--and when not to. She always knows just how far to go in dealing with people, and never, ever, crosses that line. It's a remarkable, inborn knack. It's a gift to be able to deal with people in a sincere, understanding manner. Irma has that gift. When a client phones and is maybe having a bad day, Irma can instinctively make his day a little brighter than it had been before he made the call."
Agency President Tom Cotton relies on Irma's experience and expertise for servicing key customer accounts, many of which she's covered for decades. But his first memories of her revolve around the shoe-tying incident. "I remember that my dad rented out some of the first floor space to other businesses. He and Irma occupied the agency's only two desks just below the stairway. When I was about four years old, and Mother would put me down for a nap, I'd sneak out of bed, crawl down the steps, and then Irma would tie my shoes so I could go out and play. On the other hand I recall times when Irma'd use waste baskets to blockade the office so that we wouldn't interfere with important business!"
At one time all four Cotton children were employed at the agency. Today daughter Nancy and her family reside in Texas; son John is a Lutheran pastor serving in Nebraska.
In addition to her status as the Cotton family "adoptive mother," Irma has a son and daughter of her own, and five grandchildren. She chooses to spend most days--often early mornings and early evenings too--in the office where she's been a fixture, a confidante, and professionally productive these past 43 years. On rare occasions Irma breaks away to enjoy a day at the beach. She's also a physical fitness "walker." She and her late husband, Don, jogged regularly long before that activity was widely popularized. Don had earned an Agriculture degree from the University of Florida, and the Platts eventually owned a busy dairy farm. Irma still lives on that 100-acre property, leases the pasture, but insists on mowing her home's lawn herself.
Will this energetic lady plan to retire soon, after more than five decades in the insurance business? "Someone else asked me the same thing recently," she grinned. "I told him that will happen when I won't wake up someday!" If that's the condition, her colleagues and clients hope they'll see Irma on duty for many years to come.
In the meantime, The Platt Award and its Irma trophy which symbolizes lifetime achievements in servicing accounts and clients, and acknowledges invaluable contributions of assistance to the agencies where honorees work, will be awarded annually to a person who exemplifies the qualities and loyalty of the first recipient, Irma Platt.
Rough Notes is privileged to participate in this industry-wide citation by saluting winner(s) each year in our magazine. The Florida Association of Insurance Agencies envisions The Platt Award as a national or regional honor, and invites suggestions from state or sectional insurance organizations regarding the parameters. The FAIA will continue to oversee and coordinate the details.
If your state association would be interested in establishing its own Irma or in working with Tom Cotton to make this a national award, please contact him at (407) 898-1776 or
(800) 654-0851. *