75 years strong

Sept. 29--In 1943, Harold Keller, in his early 30s and from the Great Bend area, began Keller Leopold Insurance, a crop insurance agency in downtown Garden City.

Seventy-five years, six locations, three family members and thousands of clients later, the agency, Keller Leopold Insurance, is still going strong and is one of the oldest businesses in Garden City.

The company will celebrate its 75th anniversary with its clients Saturday night at Stevens Park, sharing barbeque and listening to a performance from Kaylee Keller, a pop country singer, Garden City native and Harold's great-great-niece, to thank the customers who have helped them grow for decades.

"We want to celebrate our customers. At the end of the day, that's what we're really celebrating. We're celebrating the fact that we have been able to be a part of this community for 75 years, to be what we feel is a significant part of the community," said Shawn Myers, a producer and owner at Keller Leopold in Garden City.

If anything else has remained consistent throughout the agency's history, it's the Kellers themselves. Brothers Doug and Eric Keller serve as president and vice president of the company, respectively. Following in the footsteps of their dad, Jim Keller, and their great uncle, Harold, they represent the third generation of Kellers leading the agency.

But, nearly 50 years of history precede their arrival at the company. Harold Keller began the company selling crop hail insurance and doing accounting work for farmers over the winter, Eric said. He partnered with Willard Leopold, who provided title abstract work.

In 1948, Myers said, Harold built what would become Keller Leopold's headquarters for more than 40 years: a building on Grant Avenue that now houses Iris' Cleaning & Restoration. Leopold Abstracting sat next door.

In 1953, Jim Keller would join his uncle, Harold, at the agency, spearheading expansion of the company's services and the development of farm and commercial insurance, Eric said. Jim bought the agency from his uncle and Leopold in 1967, sparking more involvement from his family.

Eric said clients or former clients often tell him about his dad, how he encouraged them to start their business or branch out on their own.

"To be able to come in here and build on top of the foundation that my dad worked and Harold worked so hard to build ... is really humbling and a real blessing..." Eric said. "My dad was an extremely optimistic person. He was an extremely positive person, and he loved the insurance business. And I think coming to work in a place where people come in and share those types of stories ... it's just really amazing. You get in your car when you're leaving (and think) 'Wow. It's pretty cool that pops was instrumental in encouraging them.'"

Doug and Eric both became involved in the company in the 1990s, several years after it moved to its current address on Fleming Street in 1985. Alan Schlesener, one of the first partners to join the firm from outside of the family, came on board in 1996.

That year, the firm kicked off an era of significant expansion in west and southwest Kansas, buying or combining with VC Insurance in Cimarron in 1996, Taylor Agency in Syracuse and Butler Insurance Group in Dodge City and Bucklin in 2006, Gall & Jones in Dodge City in 2009, 1st Insurance Agency in Cimarron in 2011, Ness County Insurance in Ness City in 2012 and Bridges Group in Norton in 2014, and opening locations in Cimarron, Syracuse, Dodge City, Bucklin, Ness City and Norton in their wake, said Nancy Novack, chief growth officer at Keller Leopold in Garden City.

The Bucklin location closed this year after its lone employee retired, but clients were serviced out of other locations, Novack said.

Today, most of the agency's partners aren't Kellers, and the firm's 40 employees serve about 6,700 clients across its six locations through personal, commercial, farm and business insurance, including life insurance and group benefits, Novack said.

Today, owned by Doug and Eric Keller, Schlesener, Myers, Debi Deal and Dave Donovan, it remains one of the more prominent independent insurance companies in the region.

In some ways, the clients are as ingrained in the company's history as anything else. Several families have been covered by Keller Leopold for generations, Myers said, and Eric said some individuals have worked with the company for decades. One man, now in his 80s, used to buy insurance from Eric's great uncle, Harold, he said.

"Instead of just a business transaction, you really get the opportunity to develop a relationship when you work with people for 10, 15, 20 years," Eric said.

Those relationships span out into the community, as well, Eric said. Taking a note from their father, who, like his uncle, was involved with the Knights of Columbus and St. Dominic Catholic Church, Eric and Doug and many of their fellow partners have dedicated Keller Leopold's resources to supporting local events and nonprofits, Eric said.

The company has donated to the YMCA, United Way of Finney County and Russell Child Development Center, as well as the Tumbleweed Festival and Leave a Legacy Foundation.

"Doug and I, and I think our office, was just raised with a belief that if you've been blessed like we have, it's important to give back. It's important to support these things in your community ... Your community is only as strong as we're willing to make it," Eric said.

Eric said it was possible for a fourth generation of Kellers to take the torch from he and his brother; both he and Doug have sons, he said, but they are either still in school or involved in other fields at the moment.

In the meantime, though, both Kellers and their fleet of coworkers will continue to serve the community by protecting what matters to its residents.

Contact Amber Friend at [email protected].

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