Q&A with
DONNA ROPER Donna Roper is Vice President of Operations/Principal at McConkey Insurance & Benefits in York, PA. She also serves on the IA&B Board of Directors. Q. Tell us about how you got your start in the insurance industry! And how did your career path unfold? A. Like most people in the insurance industry, it was not my original career choice (in fact, my degrees and certifications were in psychology), but I landed here by good fortune and a bit of a Cinderella story. I was a stay-at-home mom with two young children and had decided to get back into the workforce. Having moved to the area from Texas, I didn’t know a lot of people here, so I took a job as a temporary employee with McConkey, hand-addressing invitations to their 100th anniversary party. Several months later, the agency was looking for a receptionist to fill in while theirs was out on sick leave. The position became permanent, and I gladly took it. McConkey took a leap of faith with me, as I did with them, and after about a year, I was promoted to Administrative Supervisor. Not only did that role include supervising the Admin team, but it also included serving as the IT person, HR resource, and manager of accounting. I did a lot of studying in the evenings for those roles, as I had never been exposed to any ofThree them.generations... It was such an exhilarating challenge! From there, my role continued to expand as the agency grew. I was given opportunities that I would have never dreamed of if I were designing my career. I lead the organization through the installation of a true network system and was instrumental in designing our current office space. When asked over the years about my ultimate career goal, even from my days as the receptionist, I would always answer that I wanted to be a partner in the organization. I was told that it was a lofty 8
goal, as I was not a revenue generator. But I worked hard to prove my worth, and eventually McConkey took yet another chance on me. That dream came true, and I am now the VP of Operations. I truly started at an entry level position, as a temporary employee addressing envelopes, and have worked my way up. I love to share this story with our new employees as a real example of how persistence and hard work can take them far in their career with our organization. Q. As vice president of operations, what does your typical workday look like? A. There is no such thing as a “typical workday” for me, and that is what I love about my job. I do start off each day by meeting with our CEO and HR Director. This gives us focus on what issues are pressing and how we can continue to advance the company. From there, I am in touch with all the divisions that I oversee. We work hard to hire and develop strong managers, so they make my job easy. I have a direct line of oversight to HR, IT, Finance and Accounting, Administration, and Compliance. And, operationally, issues with the building and its maintenance. These days [interview occurred in late December 2021] our office is working on a remote schedule, where employees are given the flexibility to come into the office if they choose, but most are working from home. I have elected to work full-time in the office, to make sure that all is running smoothly in-house. I spend probably half my day in front of a camera these days, on Teams and Zoom meetings with my coworkers.
FEBRUARY 2022
