Leadership: Farmers Insurance & The Ronald Reagan Library

Evolving business times require evolving leadership styles. Through the Presidential Leadership Program, Farmers Insurance and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library aim to craft emotionally intelligent leaders who can inspire others to reach great heights.

The Presidential Leadership Program brings together a corporation and a non-profit organization in a truly unique way. Farmers Insurance and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library are jointly committed to the development of leaders in the private and public sectors.

The Presidential Leadership Program uses all presidents, with a focus on Ronald Reagan, to showcase the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership. The program is a non-partisan, non-political study of how the 44 men who have served in the Oval Office have inspired the nation. 

Reprint from www.plpmediakit.com

SIMI VALLEY, CA. – What critical skills will America’s business and non-profit organization leaders need to succeed in the future?

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library have partnered to establish the Presidential Leadership Program, which explores the leadership competencies required to excel in the toughest job in the world and applies them to the business and professional arena.

The three-day course, conducted at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., is the latest offering from the University of Farmers, which, in February, was named the top corporate learning organization in the country by nationally recognized Training Magazine.

“The Presidential Leadership Program is an invaluable tool that will help us develop leaders within – and outside of – our company,” said Farmers Chief Claims Officer Bryan Murphy.  “We are honored to partner with the Reagan Library to develop a program that will create not just new visions, but also new visionaries.”

And, added Reagan Foundation Executive Director John Heubusch, “The Presidential Leadership Program gives us a unique chance to showcase Ronald Reagan as a true American leader. We are excited about teaming with Farmers Insurance to improve our nation’s leadership skills with this revolutionary program.”

The program launched in March, with 16 sessions scheduled for 2011. It is aimed at Farmers managers and executives, with a number of seats in each session open to associates of the Reagan Library.

The unique setting of the Reagan Library offers participants a one-of-a-kind learning experience. Activities take place in the Air Force One Discovery Center, which features replicas of the Oval Office, an aircraft carrier situation room, and the White House Press Room. The program includes:

• Exclusive video interviews with more than a dozen former Reagan staffers and leadership authorities, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Attorney General Edwin Meese, Reagan speechwriter and author Peggy Noonan, and leadership expert and former Clinton Administration official Betsy Myers.
• Use of an Apple iPad for each student to access the curriculum, participate in activities and take notes. Several activities also use Apple’s iPod Touch, as Farmers and the Reagan Library integrate new, environmentally friendly technology into their training. Farmers estimates its use of iPads for PLP is saving up to 80,000 sheets of paper per year.
• Interactive sessions on the importance of listening and storytelling in leadership roles, as well as discussions on emotional intelligence competencies such as empathy, situational awareness and inspirational leadership.

“The Presidential Leadership Program is a truly unique learning experience for all participants,” Murphy said. “We are looking forward to graduates taking an active and significant role in their future business endeavors.”

March of Dimes: Be a Hero for Babies Day

Re-print from Why Platinum?

June 29th, 2011.  Be a Hero for Babies Day is the day that Farmers Agents focus most on raising money for the March of Dimes.

Today, $2.7 Million was announced as the support we were able to raise for the fight for families facing the challenges of Premature Birth.

We'd like to thank and congratulate our fellow Farmers Insurance agents and employees for their dedication and hard work today, and all year.

Around the country various offices & districts held a variety of fundraisers.  BBQ's, to car washes, to raffles, to golf tournaments.

Farmers Insurance CEO Bob Woudstra presents March of
 Dimes Jane Massey with a check. This is a great day for all
 of the families who will benefit from the generosity of
 Farmers agents and employees.

The Platinum Elite Group made up of Farmers Insurance agents located around Southern California focus on the March of Dimes all year round.  Here are some articles on just some of the past events we've held.

Info on our July 22nd, 2011, March of Dimes Golf Tournament at Riverwalk Golf Club.

Our January, 2011, Golf Expo and Farmers Insurance Pre Open & the San Diego Charger Girls appearance there.

Luis Carbajal's Fundraiser in Ramona, and Mike Clinkenbeard's Fundraiser in Santee.

Our award for our MOD fundraising for the year 2010.

Here's the word from the March of Dimes blog:

Today is Be a Hero for Babies Day and Farmers agents across the country are doing their part to help fight premature birth. Some know firsthand what it’s like to have a baby born too soon and very sick. Like Jennifer Azaira. Born 10 weeks early, Jennifer’s son Jaxson had to fight for his life in newborn intensive care. Thanks to research by the March of Dimes and the generosity of the Farmers family, his story has a happy ending.

For 25 years, Farmers agents and employees have shown an incredible commitment to helping babies. But their great results wouldn’t be possible without people like you. And today, your gift will do double the good. Make your donation to the March of Dimes and Farmers will match it dollar for dollar.* You can also text the word HERO to 20222 to donate $5 right now.

To donate now, click Here.

Or, make a $5 donation by texting "HERO" to 20222.

Or, mail a check made out to the "March of Dimes" to the Platinum Elite Headquarters at:

Farmers Insurance

1011 Camino del Rio South
Suite 100
San Diego, CA  92108

Platinum Elite Headquarters can be reached at:

(619) 296-FARMERS
(619) 296-3276

Farmers Insurance & The Platinum Elite use an investigative and educational process to ascertain your current risk exposure and deliver to you through our 'Value Insurance Proposal' (VIP) the correct levels of coverage at the right price without compromising vital coverages. You need to protect your family and the assets you have spent a lifetime acquiring.

With Farmers Insurance & The Platinum Elite, there is a difference. Visit our website at farmersplatinumelite.com and discover:

Why Farmers Platinum!

* The content of this blog is for informative purposes only. It does not reflect official standing of any agent, agency, or company mentioned on the blog. Nor is this blog necessarilly an endorsement. Please consult with your insurance, tax, or legal specialist before making any decisions. This blog is purely meant to spark the thought process.

March of Dimes & Farmers Insurance: NBC Today Show

Al Roker & NBC Today Show featuring the March
of Dimes and Farmers Insurance celebrating the 6th
 Annual Be a Hero For Babies Day

Re-print from Why Platinum?

The Platinum Elite Group is very proud of all Farmers Insurance does to benefit the March of Dimes all simply because it's the right thing to do.

Today, June 29th, is the big day.  It's our 6th Annual Be A Hero For Babies Day.  But, it our 25th year working together.  With a Farmers Executive named to the M.O.D.'s National Board of Trustees, it's a relationship that will continue for years to come.

Clip from the Today Show from April 2011, when they featured the March for Babies, another big event heavily supported by Farmers Insurance. Or, click here to see our Why Platinum? article about San Diego's March for Babies.

From the March of Dimes website...

NEW YORK, N.Y., JUNE 29, 2011 – Today Show weather anchor Al Roker speaks to Farmers Insurance employee and March of Dimes volunteer, Matthew Potter about “Be a Hero for Babies Day” a one-day fundraiser in which Farmers Insurance hopes to raise more than $2 million to give more babies a healthy start in life. Matthew was part of a large group of moms, dads and babies from Farmers Insurance and March of Dimes who visited the show this morning. (PHOTO CREDIT: March of Dimes).

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Wednesday, June 29 – Celebrating another Farmers Insurance Be a Hero For Babies Day, a group of March of Dimes and Farmers Insurance volunteer moms, dads and their newborns appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” this morning. Wearing the March of Dimes signature purple and white colors, the group congratulated Farmers insurance employees, agents, and district managers nationwide with the hope of matching last year’s historic one-day fundraiser that brought in $2.65 million dollars all to benefit the health of America’s babies.

This June 29th was Farmers Insurance sixth annual Be a Hero For Babies Day, a one-day fundraiser held throughout the country. Farmers Insurance agents and district managers held many different events, such as local telethons, golf outings, pancake breakfasts and more in order to benefit March of Dimes research and other programs that help give moms full-term, healthy babies.

Farmers Hot Air Balloon at a Parkinson's
Fundraiser courtesy of the Platinum Elite
Group

The Farmers home office in Los Angeles, California held a community carnival featuring games and prizes for all ages, rides on the company’s ExtraOrdinaire hot air balloon and a view of the Farmers race car that is part of the company’s newly-established partnership with NASCAR.

“It has been another memorable and successful fundraising year for Farmers Insurance and Be a Hero for Babies Day,” said Farmers chief executive officer Bob Woudstra. “Each year we’ve had a great turn out with truly astonishing donations from across the entire country. Farmers agents and employees understand the serious problems caused by birth defects and preterm birth and we proudly work alongside the March of Dimes to help give more babies a healthy start in life.” 

As the nation’s third-largest personal property and casualty insurance group, Farmers is committed to improving the communities where their customers, agents and employees live and work. Farmers’ commitment to the March of Dimes spans more than two decades and has donated more than $31 million dedicated to research and education programs to protect infant health. 

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies®, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.

end of press release

Always make sure your auto, fire (home, condo, & renters), earthquake, flood, umbrella, and life insurances all properly work together to protect your home, your business, your future.

"We Are Farmers!"

The Platinum Elite Team:

Susanne Romo - Chula Vista & Kearny Mesa (license #: 0720743) - (858) 751-0956

Jasmine Guerrero - Downtown San Diego (license #: 0F60338) - (619) 501-6400
Brent McKiernan - Old Town San Diego (license #: 0F47109) - (619) 501-6425

Lorena De La Huerta - Hemet (license #: 0C51851) - (951) 766-8000

Joaquin Lopez - Oceanside (license #: 0G16853) - (760) 433-4214

Mike Clinkenbeard - Santee (license #: 0588767) - (619) 442-0415

Amber Ramirez - Ramona (license #: 0D95247) - (760) 789-0010
Luis Carbajal - Ramona (license #: 0F52624) - (760) 787-1100
Terry Snow - Poway (license #: 0707368) - (619) 463-6767 

Araceli De La Torre - Kearny Mesa (license #: 0G17321) - (858) 751-0956

Kevin Tuckey - Mission Valley (license #: 0B72553) - (858) 751-1357

Tony Gutierrez - La Jolla (license #: 0A87116) - (858) 751-0956

The Platinum Elite Headquarters can be found in the Farmers Insurance Building at:

1011 Camino del Rio South
Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92108

The Platinum Elite Headquarters can be reached at: 
(619) 296-FARMERS
(619) 296-3276

Farmers Insurance & the Platinum Elite use an investigative and educational process to ascertain your current risk exposure and deliver to you through our 'Value Insurance Proposal' (VIP) the correct levels of coverage at the right price without compromising vital coverages. You need to protect your family and the assets you have spent a lifetime acquiring.

With Farmers Insurance & the Platinum Elite, there is a difference. Visit our website at farmersplatinumelite.com and discover:

Why Farmers Platinum!

  

* The content of this blog is for informative purposes only. It does not reflect official standing of any agent, agency, or company mentioned on the blog. Nor is this blog necessarilly an endorsement. Please consult with your insurance, tax, or legal specialist before making any decisions. This blog is purely meant to spark the thought process.

Farmers Insurance at Pocono Raceway: NASCAR & the Hot Air Balloon

Thousands of NASCAR race fans stopped by the
 Farmers tent to take a look at the Farmers show car
 along with the hot air baloon and CCV. 

Re-print from Why Platinum?

Driver Mark Martin in the No. 5 Farmers car took on the Five Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, June 12, in Long Pond, Pa., finishing 18th. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon placed first, bringing home his 84th win.

The Farmers team enjoyed an action-packed weekend leading up to Sunday's race. On Thursday, the Farmers' show car was onsite to support the grand opening of the Philadelphia AgencyPoint where 24 new Farmers agents graduated from training.

The car was also on full display at Friday's Farmers Auto Shop in King of Prussia, Pa. where local consumers received a complimentary multi-point auto inspection while agents talked with potential customers and raffled off tickets to Sunday's race. Local radio station personalities broadcasted live from the event, promoting the new availability of Farmers products in the Philadelphia area.

The fun continued on Saturday when the show car pulled into the Pocono Raceway where it was on display through Sunday. Potential consumers talked with local agents, took rides in the Farmers hot air balloon and entered to win a ride on the Farmers Airship.

$5,000 LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program: Your Chance to Vote

Re-print from Why Farmers Platinum?

The heart of the Platinum Elite Group is the belief that families should be given the right tools to make informed financial decisions, and that too often they are not. Education is the key.  When we make the wrong choice, it's often our families that feel the effects.

When a parent passes away, the prospects of the child going to college become even tougher without that financial, and emotional, support from the parent(s).

Farmers Insurance and the Platinum Elite Group are not affiliated with the non-profit organization, LIFE, but we did want to publicize their scholarship program and help out one of these deserving young people.

Each of them has learned a life lesson the hard way too early in their lives.

The LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program provides financial assistance to students who are having a hard time paying for college due, in part, to the loss of a parent or guardian at an early age. 

By casting your vote, you can make paying for college a little easier for a deserving young person. Each of the three students featured in this national online vote has already been awarded a $2,500 scholarship. Your vote helps determine who will win an additional $2,500 in scholarship money.

Watch all three videos below and then vote for the student who you feel is most deserving of the LIFE Foundation’s top video scholarship. 

The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers make smart insurance decisions to safeguard their families’ financial futures.

Skyler Baird Draper, UT
University of Utah

Vote

Josh Gleim Altoona, PA
Pennsylvania State University

Vote

Mahogany Fleming Cincinnati, OH
University of Toledo

Vote

The deadline to vote is July 5, 2011 4:00PM EDT, so cast your vote today.

Platinum Elite Training: Caliber Collision Center Auto Body Shop Tour

Reserved parking for Farmers Clients.

Re-print from Why Farmers Platinum?

A part of being a good insurance agent is helping a client understand each step in a process, especially during tense times such as processing a claim. An agent knows the theory and can explain the basics, but if they can get out in the field, and see it for themselves, they can give better assurances to their client on what to expect.

On Thursday, June 9th, 2011, several Farmers Agents who are members of the Platinum Elite Team visited a Caliber Collision body shop. Caliber is one of the specialists who helps our clients restore their vehicle after an accident. The one branch in La Mesa repairs over 120 vehicles a month, many of those are clients of Farmers, or our sister companies, Foremost and 21st Century.

Susanne Romo organized the event, and agents including Joaquin Lopez, Jerry Cunningham, and their staff attended the event.

See previous blog about our relationship with Caliber Collision.

Caliber Collision Cemter,
La Mesa, Ca

We wanted to thank Matt Albright, Field Account Executive for Caliber Collision Centers, for arranging the tour and adding to our overall training. The day was very informative. We can now tell our clients what to expect from personal experience, not just "textbook" theory.

The Caliber Collision Center we visited can be found at 8310 Center Drive in La Mesa, Ca  91942.  (619) 337-8260.  Location Manager, Trevor Horton.

One of the fun thing we got to do at the end of the tour was set off an old car air bag, something you don't want to see close up.  See quick video of the detonation.

We got to examine how the air bag quickly inflates, but immediately starts to deflate (large holes in the underside) so that it cradles the face and gives with the impact. Hitting a solid air bag can be just as bad as hitting the steering wheel.

Driving Safety: National Tire Safety Week

Re-print from Why Farmers Platinum?

Source: Rubber Manufacturers Association


RMA's Tenth Annual National Tire Safety Week will be June 5-11, 2011. More than 22,000 tire and auto service outlets participated in 2010.

How Tire Smart Are YOU?

You already know that driving safely is important. And so is learning how to get the most out of your car by maintaining it properly. That includes the tires. Well-maintained tires make your car safer, helps it last longer, and saves you money, too.

But believe it or not, fewer than half of all drivers check the condition of their tires on a regular basis. Put yourself on the road to proper tire care by taking one or all of our tire safety quizzes.

Click on one of the links below to view the tire safety quiz of your choice and select the answer you think is the right one. If you want to study before your take the quiz, take a peek at our Be Tire Smart - Play Your Part Tire Safety brochure.

Take these Quizzes!

Tire Basics: Test Your 'Be Tire Smart' Knowledge The Pressure is On! How much do you know about tire pressure? Seasonal Safety - Watch out for slippery road conditions! Traveling Tips - Make sure your tires are ready for the road.

If you have any questions about National Tire Safety Week, please contact us at betiresmart@rma.org.

Click here to learn about the benefits of proper tire care.

For tips about tire maintenance and safety in Spanish, click here. 

RMA's Public Service Announcements

Listen now to RMA's important tire safety and maintenance messages

Brad Keselowski, NASCAR driver for Discount Tire car, talks about how proper tire inflation pressure can save you money and keep you safe.

Brad Keselowski, NASCAR driver for Discount Tire car, talks about the importance of proper tire inflation.

Don't play games with your tire pressure, locate your vehicle's tire inflaction pressure on the vehicle door edge and check your pressure once a month.

Don't flush your money away, check your tire pressure and be safe.

Bald isn't always beautiful, use the penny test to check the tread depth of your tires.