preferred partner spotlight
ennie Dibala STATE FARM Written by Roland Rodriguez Photography by Brianna Cortez Photography
As an elementary school teacher, Jennie Dibala knew a lot about caring for people. She taught students to be prepared, and she walked with students and families through tough times. After experiencing Hurricane Harvey and helping with relief efforts, Jennie discovered that her genuine concern for others, and her ability to teach were the perfect combination for owning an insurance agency. Now she helps people and families prepare for disasters, and she walks with them through the recovery process. Jennie Dibala had been an elementary school teacher in Michigan before she and her husband John moved to Corpus Christi in 2010. She started teaching at the Seashore Learning Center on Padre Island, and Jennie also created a leadership development business. Then Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017. Dibala continued teaching and developing leaders, but she also actively participated in hurricane relief efforts through her church, New Life Church.
14 • August 2021
As she stepped into a voluntary leadership role, it felt like a full-time job. “I was leading hurricane relief efforts for several different counties and volunteer teams,” explained Dibala. “During the process, I came across many people who didn’t understand their insurance policies and were having complex insurance issues, and some who didn’t have insurance.” During the post-hurricane clean-up, she was focused on helping others, and not thinking about becoming an insurance agent. She was just glad she was in the right place at the right time to help hurting people. “I felt very exhilarated and excited that I was helping people. But at the same time, it was exhausting, emotionally and physically, because we were helping people who came back to nothing. Their homes were completely destroyed,” she recalled. Jennie explained, “The volunteer work was extremely emotional, but as I was taking care of people, it just made
me feel alive. It made me feel like I was doing something really good to help others in need. God had me right where He needed me, in that time of need, for those folks.” Dibala served as a volunteer leader for six months, even when other volunteers had to leave. “That made me start thinking, ‘Where is this going?’ I didn’t want to be a storm chaser, but I still wanted to help people,” she said. Jennie went to a networking meeting that she had previously been involved with through her leadership development business. While she was there, her good friend RJ Alfaro with State Farm in Portland asked if she would consider being a State Farm Agent. The agent complimented Jennie for doing wonderful things as a volunteer, and then said it was the same type of thing State Farm Agents do! RJ had explained, “We help people be prepared for the unexpected, and we help them recover if they have an event where they need us.”
@realproducers
