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Game changing event: Brown & Brown of KY expansion here Jobs averaging almost $100,000 per year: And the company presence in Columbia has a positive growth curve; 30 jobs are foreseeable. The opening of the new corporate headquarters building for Brown & Brown of Kentucky in Columbia, represents not only one of the biggest economic development events in recent times, but it also puts to rest the mythical and most classic excuse for failure to bring in the highest level of good jobs: That we don't have the quality workforce good employers want. We do. It happened because one Adair Countian wanted it to happen, believed it could happen and made it happen, knowing that there really are acres of diamonds in our backyard, that the only thing which can stop Columbia from growing is failure to believe in ourselves. As a 'shy' associate of his - would put it, "All Columbia & Adair County needs to do is quit kicking itself (in the rear) and start patting itself on the back, look at the potential and look at what is actually happening here. There's genuine growth and there is opportunity. Right here. Right in Adair County. Right in our own backyard." - EW Click on headline for complete story and photo(s) By Ed Waggener Brown & Brown of Kentucky, headquartered in Columbia, KY, is moving to a new 4,000 sq. ft. headquarters off the Adair County Veterans Memorial Bypass, and there's one big reason, Michael Neal, Profit Center Leader/EVP Brown & Brown of KY says: "It's the work ethic of the employees the company has been able to hire here. They give 100%, and it shows in their productivity." Revenue from the Columbia office has grown six fold over the five years the company has been here. He's careful to add that the growth has come in part because of aggressive acquisitions, but increased sales production by existing employees is significant, too. The work ethic of local people is the big reason for the local expansion. Otherwise Neal says, the company wouldn't be here. But that's not the only reason for the expansion. "This is home," Mike Neal says, and that's why he's used his considerable influence with Brown & Brown to expand here. We have offices in Simi Valley, CA; Albany, NY; Tampa, FL; and Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio which report to our Columbia, KY office. All the accounting, human resources, and quality control for those offices and Columbia are administered by just four absolutely amazing women here in Columbia, KY: Georgina Roy, Jacqueline Collins, Katelyn Hunt, and Tiffany Coomer. That speaks volumes about how the company feels about Brown & Brown of Kentucky handles niche market insurance lines for Brown & Brown Inc., a publicly traded company with a market cap of $4.6 Billion Dollars. The group works primarily with the recreational vehicle industry, with offering casualty insurance policies to motorcycle, boat, auto, and travel trailer owners, as well as insurance for dealers in those line - offering dealers a one stop agency for lot coverage, general liability and garage coverage, workmen's compensation, health insurance, life and financial products including business planning and succession tools. Payroll already $1.5 million in downtown Office With 17 people now working on the second and third floor over the local Reed Bros. Insurance people at 132 Public Square, Columbia, KY, the company already has a payroll of over $1.5 million annually. The math most readers are doing in their head is right: The average income is almost $100,000 a year, a figure well above that of any other enterprise of its size in the area. Downtown has been a wonderful place for the company as it got a start here. But now they need more room than is available. "We're bursting at the seams," Neal said. There are plans to expand the staff here to 30 people, to what could approach a $3 million dollar payroll locally. Columbia has been a great place to launch a career "Not only is Columbia is a great place to run a business, but it has been a great place to launch a career as a young business person," Neal said. "It is a great town to grow up in. After my dad's early passing I was very fortunate that I had good role models," he said, naming a few. "My early mentors were people like Charles Marshall, Tommy Grider, Dan Antle, David Wells, Marshall Loy, Robert Flowers, Larry Marshall, Lynn McLean, and Curt Yarberry." And I was very fortunate to grow up with my dad having good friends and watching people like Lewis Garrison, Jimmy Downey, T.P. "Cotton" Phelps, Kenneth Scott, John Begley and Dr. M.C. Loy operate. In as small of town as Columbia ism there have been a lot of great leaders for a young man to look up to and learn from. And if I learned to fight to win every day, I learned a lot from Tommy Grider and Keith Young, two very driven and competitive people. "I'm saying all this because I just want folks to know being from a small town is no excuse not to do it at home," he said. "We have to act at the right times. Seize the right opportunities," he added. "Stay green and we will grow; get ripe and we will rot. Finally, he added, "I owe this statement to Tommy Grider. There is, in fact, a tremendous amount of progress going on right before our very eyes. That's what we ought to be talking about. Fortunes are being made by those with vision and those who invest in Columbia. I'm proud to say to my fellow Adair Countians, 'Thanks for the great job you do for the local community!' " Neal said. A semi-sweet move; they're leaving a wonderful home on the square The move to the bypass will triple the floor space. At present, there's 1,300 square feet. It's a beautiful location, one they've come to love, especially Neal's sister, Georgina Roy, who is the local groups Accounting and LD Leader. Her office, fronting on the public square, looks directly down on the Fountain Plaza and over the roofs of buildings on the public square and the new judicial center, and commands a spectacular view of Lindsey Wilson and the Begley Chapel. "It's a photographer's dream," she says. "People can't believe the photos I get when there are parades, snows, or a big event downtown." Not everyone in the local workforce qualifies for Brown & Brown of Kentucky and for a those high incomes. But Columbia has another significant reason for employers like them to be here: Lindsey Wilson College: "Eighty percent of our recent hires are graduates of Lindsey Wilson," Neal said. The staff currently working at Brown & Brown of Kentucky at its present Downtown Columbia, KY, location are: Michael Brown, Client Account Manager; Holly Caldwell Client Account Manager; Ronda Clevenger Administrative Assistant; Jacqueline Collins, Quality Control Leader; Tiffany Coomer, Accounting; Billie Jo Cox, Sales Producer; Eric Eubank, Sales Producer; Gene Giles, Sales Producer; Katelyn Hunt, Accounting; Kevin Kruzienga, Client Account Manager; Timothy Larimore, Warranty Sales Leader; Todd Moody, Commercial Sales Leader; Michael Neal, Profit Center Leader/EVP Brown & Brown of KY; Tony Neat, Sales Producer; Georgina N. Roy, Accounting & LD Leader; and Edward Woolwine Sales Producer. This story was posted on 2014-03-05 08:35:09
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