Beyond Allstate...

June 26th, 2009--my last day in the office.

Carol and I on May 20th, 2009 at my retirement party.

That's me in 1980 (4th from left) in the old Commercial Regional Office at a staff meeting---had to wear coat and ties back then!

My sweet wife just added a post titled "Honey, I'm Home..." commemorating the fact that as of June 30th, 2009, after some 33 years I have now officially retired from Allstate Insurance Company. Suffice it to say that those were great years and a great carreer.

I was hired by Allstate in Greensboro, NC and immediately relocated to the Charlotte Region starting my career on September 20th, 1976. I knew up front as a condition of employment I would be relocating to the Atlanta area in a year or so. And after just a little over a year in Charlotte, the company moved us to Atlanta.

From 1977 thru 1990 we were considered the Southern Commercial Regional Office located off I-75 and Northside Parkway. It was during those years I advanced from Unit Manager to Territorial Underwriting Manager (TUM) to Terrirtorial Commercial Manager (TCM) in 1988.

Allstate at one point decided to take it's quality to the next level and contracted with a Florida company who presented us with a plan to improve our quality standards. I was one of a few selected to attend a Quality College and learn how to teach those standards. For about 2 years (1988 thru 1990) we taught all of our Commercial Associates how to "do it right the first time, on time, every time" via the Quality Education System (QES).

Also, in 1982 I was one of the youngest managers to be selected to participate in the Manpower Development Rotational Program (MDRP). I entered what then was Personnell (now Human Resources) for 3 months and interviewed some 385 employment applicants for positions we were hiring for. From there I went to the Comptroller's Department and worked on the region's budget planning and lastly I rotated into a newly formed Commercial Division of Allstate named Northbrook P&C--we contracted only with selective large alphabet houses who could write millions of Commercial premium overnight. I stayed there for three years and was promoted back to the Allstate side in mid 1985 as a TUM.

In the early 90's we sold the large Commerial Region where some 600+ employees worked for so many years and moved to a high rise at 5660 New Northside Drive just outside I-285 next to the Chattanoochee River on north side of Atlanta. My office originally was on the 8th floor but later moved up to the 9th.I was one of a few TCMs whose department marketed Commercial products thru both the captive and independent agents market distribution system.

On 10-27-92, I transferred over to a new division that would handle Independent Agents only. This operation was so new that another manager (from NY) and I were given the charge to decide what we would call ourselves and develop a postion standard as to our accountabilities. We came up with Commercial Field Manager (CFM) and thus started my last 17 years with Allstate--these years were to be spent working from home and travelling every week.

Originally we had one profit center named Independent Agent Regional Commercial Center (IARCC). It had the Chicago and Atlanta offices. I found myself traveling between the two quite often. We added CFMs--each with company cars, expenses, and objective to profitably grow the top line (new business). As time went on, I went from being responsible merely for a territory to once again managing folks.

In addition to having Georgia and the Carolinas as my personal territory, I also managed about 7 CFMs located in Texas, Florida, Mississippi, New York, and Pennsylvania. I traveled at least once a year with each of these in their markets and we also had at least one CFM Conference in Atlanta and I would also bring them in during either Christmas or Kick Off meetings. Those were great times!

Over the years I had great folks that I worked with, for and managed. Those are the memories I now carry with me. I even had some great trips to Home Office where we worked hard and played hard. I remember one such trip included a boat ride down the Chicago River into Lake Michigan. Likewise, I worked in the San Francisco Branch Office of Northbrook for two weeks auditing their compliance to underwriting standards. I had a great time each evening just touring that wonderful city. I also had great trips to LA and other places over the years--these will be the fond memories I now will treasure.

This feature is titled "Beyond Allstate". So, what is in store for me now that I have closed that Allstate chapter?

Looking ahead, first and foremost Tutz and I now enjoy sitting at the breakfast table for lunch and eat without interruption. Also, we are having a great time each morning on the screen-in porch--making and discussing our plans for the day and week. Plus, we are not very far from each other--this is by far the greatest part of retirement for me--after all these 17 years of being apart during the week, we are now together and I have now found my real "comfort zone".

Naturally, I have projects around the farm I want to start and finish--all in the same day or week! As I write this I have a note beside my laptop that has 14 "to do" items on it that range from adding stepping stones from drive to workshop, to putting down tile in the "man cave" bath, with projects in between. I will look forward to sneaking up on each one of these in a calm and organized fashion as opposed to thinking I have to do these between 8:00 am and Noon on Saturdays.

Another great part of retirement is flexibility. If I get up one day and decide instead of working on a project let's take the new Beetle to the mountains--then off we go! Mattie has gotten use to me being around full time and now really gets angry when I leave---oh the joys of having a 5 pound Yorkie that suffers from Separation Anxiety--LOL.

I also will now have more time to "walk the walk" as it relates to one of my goals--that is to perform at least one good deed daily. That combined with my church calling will balance my life and purpose! Not to mention I have already begun the mental transition of emotionally caring for those issues I have control over and removing from my daily thought process those issues/items abeit politics, etc I have no or very limited control over.

Carol told me just today that the beauty of retirement is: "..wait up when you want to, go to sleep when you want to, and eat when you want to!"

Oh retirement---there is life after Allstate!!!