Geico celebrates half-century mark in Stafford

Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA)

Jun. 24--Former Gov. George Allen kicked off his address at Geico's Stafford County regional office Tuesday with a cheery "Team Geico, good morning!"

Allen had been the speaker at the five-story office building's dedication, and was back to help celebrate not only its 25th anniversary, but also the 20th anniversary of Geico's National Print Mail Center being moved to the company's Stafford County campus.

He said bringing more jobs to Virginia was his top priority when he became governor in 1994, and he was thrilled when Tony Nicely, Geico's executive chairman, told him the insurance company wanted to expand its presence in the Fredericksburg area.

"Heck, even a caveman could figure out that having Geico would be good!" Allen said.

The nearly 200 people filling the building's auditorium burst into applause at hearing the reference to the company's familiar slogan.

Allen said that the company's decision was "a seal of approval for the state of Virginia" and sent a signal to other businesses that the commonwealth was a good place to locate. The subsequent expansion of the workforce at the regional office from 700 that year to more than 4,000 today, he added, proves that the Fredericksburg area is a good place to live, work and play.

"Thank you for solidifying Virginia's reputation," Allen said.

He also praised the regional office for being on Virginia Business magazine's Best Places to Work in Virginia list three times, and its donation of more than $14 million to local nonprofit and community organizations over the past 25 years.

"I look at this like a championship team. They produce great winning results," Allen said. "It makes it easy to see why Geico is the No. 1 auto insurance company in Virginia--D.C. and Maryland, too--but we care about Virginia. We want the Geico team to keep grinnin' and keep winnin'."

The insurance company, known for its animated gecko spokesman, can trace its roots in the state to a small, temporary office that it opened at Shannon Air Park training center in Spotsylvania County in August 1990, said Scott Markel, Geico's regional vice president.

He said back then there were so few employees that he and his boss, John Isso, did everything from changing light bulbs to hiring staff at what's now the Fredericksburg Hospitality House and Conference Center. When they needed a Phillips head screwdriver to assemble office furniture, there was so little development nearby that Markel said he had to buy it at a gas station.

"I still have the corporate screwdriver," he said, holding it aloft to cheers.

Markel said that it came in handy after the office grew big enough to move a small contingent of employees to a building in Riverside Business Park on U.S. 17 that November. When a leak caused some ceiling tiles to bulge with water, he used it to poke a hole in them to relieve the pressure.

"It erupted, to the great joy of everyone but me," he joked.

Still, Markel said he was proud to see Geico's name going up on the Riverside building. It was visible from Interstate 95 and people realized that the company was in Stafford.

"It's been a wonderful journey," he said.

Bill Roberts, Geico's president and CEO, said the first office at Shannon gave Geico the confidence that the area had the necessary talent pool, and that the company could open a regional office and grow along with the community. The office had 700 employees by the time it moved from Riverside to its current space a few miles away in what was then a largely undeveloped area along U.S. 17.

The $34 million building was the largest the company had built since the 1970s, he said. In addition to auto insurance, the company's commercial, home, renters and specialty insurance services started in the building and continue to use it as their home base.

Geico also chose its 44-acre campus as the location for the company's corporate data center, and the National Print Mail Center, which coordinates, prints, and mails out all materials to policyholders nationwide. The NPMC has sent out over a billion pieces of mail.

Today, Geico is Stafford County's largest private employer, and the highway is lined with retail stores, restaurants and hotels.

"Based on all the commerce on 17, it's worked out pretty well," Roberts said.

Speakers also included Geico's assistant vice president of information services Robbin Martz, who read a proclamation from Gov. Ralph Northam. Stafford Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Snellings and Del. Mark Cole offered proclamations as well.

Snellings lauded Geico for its donations of both time and money to such things as the Stafford Education Fund and the Boys & Girls Club, and said that the only time he hears from the company is when "Amanda" calls to ask for more parking spaces.

"I hope I'll be back for the 50th celebration," he said. "I'm not too sure about that, but I do look forward to the next call from Amanda that we need more parking."

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