Longtime insurance agent looks back on 40-year career

High Point Enterprise (NC)

Aug. 17--HIGH POINT -- Roger Richardson credits divine intervention of sorts for steering him into the insurance business.

As a young man teaching school and coaching football in Kannapolis in 1977, he began to wonder if he'd chosen the wrong career. He said he prayed for a sign and received it when he was contacted about an opportunity to become a State Farm Insurance agent in High Point.

In July of that year, he started a "scratch agency" that he built into Roger Richardson Agency Inc., a fixture of the local business community from which he will retire Aug. 31.

"I started when I was 27 and thought I would work until I was 57. Now I'm 67, and I just think 40 years in business is enough," Richardson said. "I've had a lot of customers with me for 30-plus years, and I really appreciate their loyalty."

Those who work with Richardson in his Eastchester Drive office say the old-school values honed through building his business from the ground up are the key to his longevity.

"Roger has been able to positively impact thousands of people during his 40-year career as a State Farm agent," said Richardson's son, Lee Richardson, an account manager at the agency. "His career was built on doing business ethically, working hard and building relationships with customers in our community. He was an amazing ambassador for State Farm."

A native of Indian Trail in Union County, Richardson earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University.

New to High Point in 1977 with no clients, Richardson relied on cold calling to get his agency off the ground.

If a prospect was not a State Farm customer, "I would say, 'Before you renew, I would like the opportunity to give you a better buy,'" he recalled. "I would record their name and the date on an index card, and when their renewal time came up, I would call and give them a quote."

During his first two years, he received a small stipend, but eventually, commissions from sales of auto, home, life and other types of insurance policies became sources of income.

"There was much more of a relationship with clients back then," Richardson said. "We knew each other. I have clients all over the state. I would write their business here and develop that relationship. They might move to Raleigh or Charlotte, but they still allowed me to be their agent."

Valerie Murphy, who has worked with Richardson for 18 years as the manager of his office, said he's been a model of customer service.

"Roger's been a great boss," Murphy said. "The key to keeping that business is keeping it personal, knowing the customers, meeting their needs, helping them accomplish what they need."

Richardson said State Farm will continue to operate an agency out of his Eastchester Drive office after his retirement.

"From a policyholder's standpoint, nothing changes," he said.

Richardson said he's looking forward to traveling and spending time with his family in retirement. He and his wife, Kathy, have four children and eight grandchildren.

Outside of his business, community involvement through his church, First Wesleyan in High Point, has been a point of pride, he said.

He's volunteered with the church on refugee resettlement efforts since the 1980s, helping those seeking asylum from Southeast Asian countries Laos and Myanmar.

"Roger's an awesome man," Murphy said.

pkimbrough@hpenews.com -- 336-888-3531

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