What a year 2020 has been. When we celebrated on New Year’s, we don’t think anyone could have anticipated the year ahead of us. We wanted to share month by month some pivotal moments that happened here at Arnold Insurance and in our communities. Let’s take a look back!
Shelley Clark, our Operations Manager, is one of the best employees we’ve ever had! Shelley’s dream was to go to Hawaii and we decided to make that dream come true as her Christmas gift. Needless to say, she had a blast in Hawaii and got a well deserved relaxing week off.
Angie Umfleet and Danny Dohogne attended the Southeast Health Cancer Gala. The gala benefits the SoutheastHEALTH Cancer Care Fund, which makes the cancer journey less stressful for those in need of urgent assistance during the course of their treatment. They had a fantastic evening supporting a significant cause!
In February, we were presented an award for being a 2019 Gold Key Agency! We are a top 10 agency for Meramec and we look forward to the future we will continue to build with them.
In March, the majority of restaurants and bars had to switch to takeout orders only so we ordered from our clients pretty frequently to show support! Some of our favorite places to order from are: The Honey Baked Ham (Cape Girardeau, MO), Bayou Bay Bar & Grill (Pochahontas, MO), Rosati's Pizza (Cape Girardeau, MO), El Cerrito Mexican Restaurant (Sikeston, MO), Castellos Restaurant & Catering (Poplar Bluff, MO) and El Torero Mexican Grill (Cape Girardeau, MO.) That's just a few, the list could go on and on!
We also supported local retailers like our friends, Feral!
And, know that even if your favorite restaurant or retail store isn't open for the public to come in, you can see if they offer carry out or shipping. This way, they get the support they need and you get exactly what you want... that's what we call a win-win situation!
When the pandemic first started, we came together as a team to see how we could support our local communities better. We decided to start an employee run program called Gifts of Hope. They donated money from their own paychecks to help those in the community that had been affected. Our leadership team loved the idea and initiative so much that they matched the donations. Overall, we were able to raise $29,000 to give back to our communities.
Insurance Executive, Brandon Shipman, teamed up with the Boulder Creek High School men's basketball team to clean our adopted street, Paloma Parkway. Serving our local communities to keep them clean and safe is something that’s very important to us!
We had our ultimate race in July! We put teams together within the agency to participate in different challenges each month. These challenges included riddle solving, serving community hours and putting in hours of education. It’s a great way to get team members who work in different areas of Arnold Insurance to come together and continue to learn!
We believe that internal education is crucial for professional development and keeping our employees engaged in their work. We strive to be an organization that continues internal education sessions so we can be the best team for all of our clients!
In October, we celebrated Down Syndrome Awareness Month! We held The Arnold Insurance Homebound Drive to support students that are immunocompromised and receiving their services at home due to COVID-19. Any services such as a teacher, physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist have to come to the homes of these children. Our local communities gave monetary donations and supplies from the provided list. We are so thankful for those who supported Down Syndrome Awareness Month!
We recently celebrated a 40-year partnership with SafeCo! You don’t get to celebrate 40 years too often. We look forward to the next 40 years with them!
The holiday season is a great time to help those who are less fortunate. Helping people is what we’re all about here at Arnold Insurance. We’ve adopted a family to spread some holiday cheer and gifts!
As tough as 2020 was, there were still so many positive things to look back on. With so much of the year's events beyond our control, we decided to focus on what we COULD control...our own relationships with each other, with our clients and our commitment to making a difference in the communities we serve. There were plenty of opportunities to do all three. While 2020 was a year for all that was atypical, we're grateful for what it taught us.
And together, we toast to an even better year in 2021!