Meet Our Team

What’s your story- what brought you into wanting to sell Insurance?

“Growing up, my mother was in insurance on the company side, and I knew a lot of people growing up who were in insurance, so the career path seemed like a natural consideration.  They all seemed like good people and strong in family values.  In college, I knew I had a natural strength in communicating with people, and couple that with a strong desire to “do good” for folks in whatever my career was going to be, well, again, insurance seemed to check the box as well.  While in college, I decided to intern at an insurance agency while pursuing a minor degree in insurance, and the family of my girlfriend (soon to be wife) was in insurance also. So that just pretty much sealed the deal.  What other industry could you surround yourself with a culture of people that had strong family values, an industry that needed helpful advisors to guide people through some complicated choices, while rewarding those that could do this at a high level of excellence while loving those they served?  Well again, insurance advisory services seemed the obvious choice!”

Describe living in Western North Carolina and what are some fun things to do?

“There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t look out over Western NC and thank the Lord for blessing me with the opportunity to serve others here!  I love these mountains for a great number of reasons, but the #1 is the outdoor adventure scene.  I grew up in Tennessee playing in the woods and fishing in the creeks my entire life, and that is why I prayed for many years to be able to serve the communities around Western NC.  I love hiking the innumerable trails in these mountains with a backpack strapped to me, as well as pitching a tent and just breathing in God’s creation by a campfire.  

My wife would tell you that it was the trout fishing in these mountain streams that caught my eye the most, and in many ways, she would be telling you the truth.  But I can honestly say the enjoyment of these outdoors that has meant the most to me is when we began teaching my boys and countless others how to be great conservationists of these forests and streams through the Boy Scouts program.  Not only were we showing them how to get outdoors, have fun, and survive, we showed them how to thrive!  The numerous adventures we shared with our now young men in these mountains were great.  Hiking, Camping, Mountain Biking, Rock Climbing, Canoeing, Kayaking, Fishing, Shooting, and countless other activities were always on the menu!”

Describe Guidelight’s company culture?

“LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. One of the best things we’ve done as a company is to make our company culture one of love for one another!  We consider ourselves family, so like any family, we may have hiccups here and there, but overall, we know ever person with Guidelight would champion this sentiment.  We know if we are known for our love, the care and concern we have for our clients would be reflected in everything we do.  We believe our mission statement says it all… To love and guide others with excellence and second-mile service!

We developed our Core Values to be the lenses we evaluate all decisions.  We constantly ask ourselves and each other, how does the decision at hand reflect our core values, or how can we do better!  Check these out:

GRATITUDE - We embrace our calling with grace towards others and with thanksgiving in all things.
UNITY – We joyfully serve as a team, embracing the call to unity around our mission and vision.
HUMILITY – We desire the best for others over ourselves, and we are always open to learning and correction with humility.

RESULTS MATTER – We are proactive and thorough in diagnosing needs of our clients and prospects, and we do so with accountability.
CONNECT – We come together with others through clear & timely communications and properly setting their expectations
PERSISTENT – We operate with a zeal for the best in all things, never settling, coasting, or quitting in serving our clients’ needs and resolving issues.

Lastly, we must highlight our Vision, because this speaks to the “why” we do what we do.  Our vision is…  “To strengthen and protect our communities by building caring relationships with all those we serve.”  We strongly believe that we have a high calling to educate and advise our clients to the best of our ability, so when that unexpected accident happens, they feel peace that they are covered.  

When we do this well, we will have communities that are strengthened and protected in those times of disaster. We do this through nurturing caring relationships with everyone we come in contact with.”

Do you have any pets?

“Do we have any pets?!?  Yes, about 30!  The bulk of those 30 are chickens, as we have 21 of those.  We also have 5 goats (mini-Nubians), three dogs (two outside Guardian dogs, and the house Cockapoo), and what small farm would be complete without their farm cat!  We hope to add a few cows next year, and if you really want to go overboard with numbers, you could add another 20k plus pets if you count our beehives, and the fishpond! ????”

Why did you feel the need to rebrand to Guidelight Insurance?

“One of the attributes I love most about our company is our history and our diversity. We really needed a name change to properly reflect that.  Many of our agencies for decades were known as Nationwide agencies, as they were our number one carrier.  Over time, we had other independent agencies join our team that didn’t have a history of Nationwide, like our agency in Burnsville, NC, that has served that county since 1927! We also kept expanding our partnerships with more carriers to better serve our communities and giving clients choice.  We felt the need to rebrand to let our communities know we are a true independent agency, and we want to guide them through the many choices out there when it comes to personal and business insurance needs.”

Where do you envision Guidelight in 5 years?

“DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS Where we are.

In 5 years, we simply envision serving our clients better year after year right where we are.  Times are changing and the way clients want to be served changes rapidly.  We will always stay engaged with advancements in technology to better serve our clients, while promising to not lose that relationship- based agency focus that makes Guidelight so unique.  We know we can always do better at communicating and educating our clients, so we will constantly advance that mission.  

Whether it is the drop in visit for a review, the phone call for a risk evaluation, a back-and-forth email conversation, or even the quick text or social media chat, we will serve our clients the way they choose to be served.  That’s our commitment!”

EXPANSION

“Our leadership team envisions Guidelight expanding to other areas in the Southeast that are looking for a relationship-based insurance agency who align with our mission and vision. Besides NC, we have many conversations right now with partnership opportunities in East TN, Northeast GA, and the Upstate of SC.  What excites us the most is the number of other agencies we talk to that want to join our mission and partner with us to keep insurance local in their communities, with opportunities to give back to those people we serve.  There