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THE TO-DO LIST
Doug Childers, President and CEO and Jodi Underwood, Receptionist
Building on a legacy
Serving You First: We succeed by serving our clients, our community and each other.
PAID PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
—DOUG CHILDERS, PRESIDENT AND CEO
ven after more than 100 years, selling insurance never gets old at LassiterWare, a broker that has been ingrained in the Leesburg community since its origins in 1912. With the slogan “Serving You First,” LassiterWare employees continue to build on the foundation of the past by dedicating themselves to nding new ways to serve their clients and the community today and in the future. Privately held LassiterWare is one of the largest and top-performing independent insurance agencies in the country. The agency has expanded to four other locations—Ocala, Maitland, Tampa, and Jacksonville—and 90 employees, including 35 at the Leesburg headquarters.
“Our history speaks for itself and we are proud of it. We now shift our focus to the future and the progression that is taking place,” President and CEO Doug Childers says. “The company’s growing at a fast clip. We are more focused than ever today on the client. Performance is strong, and the agency is extremely healthy.”
LassiterWare specializes in commercial insurance, which represents 63 percent of the agency’s revenue. Policies for businesses both large and small include property and casualty, specialized industries, and employee bene ts. LassiterWare also o ers personal lines for home, auto, life, and estate planning, with discounts available when policies are bundled.
G.G. Ware formed Johnson and Ware with L.M. Johnson in 1912 before partnering with Paul Lassiter in 1943 to create Lassiter-Ware. Ted Ostrander Sr. became president in 1946 and his son, Ted Jr., joined the team in 1972 and served as president from 1983 until his retirement two years ago.
Ted Jr., the company’s longest-running President and CEO, is a friend and a great mentor to Doug, who has worked at LassiterWare for 13 years. The Florida State University graduate was the agency’s top producer during his first 8 years before rising to President and CEO in 2013.
Doug admits to feeling a little pressure to uphold Ted’s legacy and meet his responsibilities to shareholders.
“I’ve been able to surround myself with some great leaders. I’m very happy with my leadership team and the team in general.”
Among the leaders is John Bruneau, the vice president of insurance operations who holds the key role of overseeing property and casualty, the largest division in the company. He has 25-plus years of industry experience.
“John has done a great job,” Doug says. “He makes sure our reputation in the marketplace with our carriers is upheld.”
LassiterWare protects clients’ assets with unique services such as i3Risk™, a patented three-step evaluative process: identify risks, innovate solutions, and implement programs. LassiterWare also has its own team of claim liaisons working on the clients’ behalf.
“We bring resources to small businesses that typically were not available in that space, such as legal assistance, human resources, and technology platforms,” Doug says.
He encourages people to speak to LassiterWare’s quality agents so they avoid common mistakes such as not reading the policy, not purchasing a personal umbrella that covers all of their assets, and not shopping around for the best policy.
“We provide customer service with the most talented individuals in the industry,” Doug says. “We think there’s value in face-to-face conversations versus buying insurance over the internet, where people really don’t know what they’re buying.”
LassiterWare’s biggest goal is to double its $18 million revenue and become the largest privately owned agency in Florida. Doug believes his team can accomplish that goal in the next 10 years.
“We’ll do it with a combination of writing new business, keeping the business we’ve got, acquiring other agencies or books of business, and cultivating a positive work environment,” he says.
LassiterWare prides itself on a positive work environment, winning accolades such as the top award in the Southeast for the 2017 Best Agencies to Work For by Insurance Journal, and the 2018 Top 100 Best Workplaces in Central Florida by the Orlando Sentinel.
Yet the agency (and the industry as a whole) often has trouble nding and retaining employees. To address this concern, LassiterWare has developed an internship program and Building on the Best, a program that trains people with minimal experience, and also is working on a sales mentorship program.
“We have to gure out a way to ‘grow our own,’ and those are three ways we are doing that,” Doug says. “The hirings have been meticulous in the way we bring new people to the agency, how we check backgrounds, how we check references, and we do several di erent screens. It’s paying o as the people that are joining LassiterWare are talented and blend in very well with employees who have longevity with LassiterWare.”
LassiterWare o ers exible work schedules and paid birthdays o in addition to regular paid days o and 10 holidays. Each of the ve company o ces has a “Culture Champion” who helps maintain high morale by planning special occasions such as pizza day, ice cream socials, or happy-hour get-togethers.
In return, employees give back to the community through LassiterWare Cares, a charitable foundation. “No agency our size has ever done anything like that,” Doug says.
For its 107 years of service to clients and the community, its favorable workplace, and its generous philanthropy, LassiterWare maintains a great reputation in the insurance industry. In the near future, he expects to only enhance that reputation.
“We want to start thinking bigger as an agency, start thinking bigger as individuals,” he says. “We want to leave a legacy like the legacy that was left behind to me for the next generation.”
Susan McClodden
Caring extends beyond the job
LassiterWare Insurance is dedicated to much more than just insurance. The agency and its employees extend a helping hand through LassiterWare Cares, a foundation that supports three pillars: children, feeding the hungry and veterans.
All ve LassiterWare o ces—Leesburg, Ocala, Maitland, Tampa, and Jacksonville—band together to raise funds and donate items. The foundation also receives grants as well as contributions from insurance carriers, Executive Director Susan McClodden says.
In the past year, LassiterWare Cares has collaborated with prominent charitable organizations. Each o ce adopted a soldier, and the Leesburg o ce adopted two, through Operation Shoebox, which supports troops deployed overseas and returning home. “Culture Champions” in each o ce collect donations of hygiene items and other supplies, and care boxes are shipped to the soldiers every six weeks.
“We hear from some of our soldiers through emails and share that communication with all employees…it de nitely feels good knowing that we are making a positive di erence.” Susan says.
In March, employees packed hygiene kits in collaboration with Clean the World and kits were distributed to the homeless. In July, over 20,000 meals were packed to aid in disaster recovery for Feeding Children Everywhere, a national nonpro t headquartered in Longwood.
“It’s really great to come together as a company,” Susan says.
The foundation also donates toys, books, games, toiletries, and other items every year to Lake Academy Leesburg, an alternative school run by LifeStream Behaviorial Center for children with special academic and therapeutic needs. While LassiterWare Cares focuses on local assistance, it also helps disaster recovery in other states.
LassiterWare Cares received a Humanitarian Award in 2016 from the Leesburg Area Chamber of Commerce. This year, the Chamber Alliance of Lake County presented the foundation with the President’s Award for Outstanding Community Service.
Of course, charity begins at home for LassiterWare employees. “Any employee in need comes rst,” Susan says.
“I love the people here,” she says. “I do think we’re a family.”
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