Marion Heaberlin is this year's honoree
By Bob Bloss
Marion Heaberlin, who has been with Lupfer-Frakes Insurance for 33 years, is the recipient of this year's Irma Award, which is sponsored by the Florida Association of Insurance Agents. With her are (left) Sam Lupfer, AAI, President of Lupfer-Frakes Insurance, and (right) Tom Cotton, creator of the Irma Award and President of Hugh Cotton Insurance Agency.
Breaking slightly from tradition this year, the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) presented its annual Irma service citation not just once, but twice, to the well-deserving honoree. The initial awarding took Marion Heaberlin by the same sudden surprise that had startled past winners of the prestigious Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Irma, inaugurated in 2001 and named for its first recipient, recognizes a person whose professionalism and loyalties to his or her agency and its clients have continually gone "beyond the call of duty" over a long period of time. Marion Heaberlin clearly personifies the high standards established by Irma Platt, who has served for approximately 45 years as a customer service representative, administrative assistant, business manager, vice president, project coordinator, and unofficial "chief cook, bottle washer, and favorite aunt," according to her boss, Tom Cotton.
In the past, the recognition ceremony has taken place during FAIA's annual convention, when attention is suddenly focused on the stunned winner. This year, however, the surprise presentation was made to Marion at the offices of Lupfer-Frakes Insurance in Kissimmee, Florida, where she's been handling personal lines since she joined the agency in 1970.
"Marion does not normally attend the FAIA Convention's awards luncheon," explains Sam Lupfer, agency president. "So when I learned she was the Irma winner, I asked Tom Cotton to come over to our offices before heading out to the convention that morning. Tom is president of the Hugh Cotton Insurance Agency in Orlando, and was president of the FAIA when he conceived the idea for an award to honor our industry's special people who serve their agencies' clients and producers with care and professionalism. We called all of our personnel into the lobby where Tom addressed them. When he began talking about the Irma trophy, its background, the criteria for winning it, and then announced that a Lupfer-Frakes employee was this year's recipient, it was clearly and quickly apparent that Marion was the honoree. The celebration began immediately."
Later at the convention's official awards lunch, about 20 of the agency's staff, along with one of Marion's daughters and a granddaughter, were proud spectators when Marion was formally introduced as the Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement winner. Bill Frakes, now in retirement and the man to whom Marion reported back in 1970, was also present.
Another of Marion's associates, among the many friends and family attending the all-day celebrations, was Gail Wrabel, who has worked closely with Marion since joining Lupfer-Frakes nine years ago. Gail was eager to offer praise for the 2003 Irma winner. "Marion is a very kind-hearted person who will do anything for anybody. Never gets upset. In fact I don't think I've ever seen her upset here at the agency," Gail says. "She's very thorough about every facet of her work. Customers will sit in our lobby and wait just for her. Even when someone else might be available to discuss their personal lines business, they'll wait for Marion if there's any chance at all that she'll be available to meet with them. Marion's our team leader. She's been a mentor to many of us. For so many years she was at the office very early and stayed very late. We'd almost have to push her out for her vacation. If she ever retires someone's going to have a lot of difficulty filling her shoes."
That day might come in the next two or three years. Now in her late 60s, Marion carries the same enthusiasm she has for business matters to her family of four children, 10 grandchildren, and two great grandsons. She is active with community service programs through the First Baptist Church of Kissimmee. And she also shares responsibility for her 88-year-old father with whom she and one of her daughters reside. In addition, Marion says that her brother "is a big help too, visiting with our father during the day.
"It's not that I don't enjoy my work--for indeed I do, very much--but I might retire sooner than I might have otherwise because I feel I need to spend more time with my father. He deserves it."
Marion is an Osceola County, Florida, native, having attended St. Cloud High School there. She worked for the Kissimmee police department before entering the insurance business with the former Reserve Insurance Company in nearby Orlando. When Reserve relocated to a distant part of the city, Marion learned of a possible opening with Lupfer-Frakes. "I'd heard that one of the women there was soon going on maternity leave, so I stopped in one Saturday morning to see if I could fill in for her," she recalls. "I talked with Sam Lupfer's grandfather briefly, and he hired me on the spot."
Marion began her Lupfer-Frakes career as a personal account analyst. Later she was promoted to personal lines manager. She holds a property/ casualty license and an AAI designation. The 2003 Irma is just the latest in a long line of industry and agency honors that have come to Marion. She has received numerous employee of the month awards over the years. And, precisely 30 years after her first day on the job, May 3, 2000, was officially designated as Marion Heaberlin Day.
Marion's modesty is not surprising, especially when reflecting on the Irma award. "I was flattered and thrilled just to learn that I'd been considered for it. It was so kind of the people here who made the nomination. Then, when I was named the winner, I was overwhelmed. The award," she stated, "signifies standards over and above my ability."
Her boss, Sam Lupfer, disagrees. "Marion is one of the most caring people I know. She has a deep, abiding Christian faith and is genuinely concerned about her coworkers, her customers, and her family. She has a depth in her heart that endears her to all of us. She does a tremendous job of bringing new employees under her wing and serving as an example to them of the importance of good customer service. "
Lupfer could just as well have been speaking for the FAIA's awards committee when he further lauded Marion Heaberlin and many other similar insurance professionals. "These service people are invaluable," he says. "They are the ones who daily serve our customers properly ... and that's the only reason we can continue to exist. Some of us are quick to take credit for our sales and producing accomplishments, but sometimes we're loathe to give recognition to the good people who take good care of our customers. So many, just like Marion with her courteous and pleasant manner, come in every day ... and make us look good."
This is the third successive year that the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, at its annual convention, has honored outstanding service contributors with the Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award. And Rough Notes magazine is proud to salute the winners. The FAIA, which can assist with coordinating the program's details, invites other state or regional insurance groups to submit Irma nominations. It is the Florida association's hope that this award will become an industry recognition that's national in scope. *
For more information:
Irma Platt Lifetime Achievement Award
Contact: Tom Cotton
E-mail: tcotton@hughcotton.com