Passing the torch

Dec. 04--MACOMB -- Cathy Early is passing the torch after 32 years in Macomb as a State Farm agent.

On Friday, Early announced her intention to retire from the agency, located at 1221 W. Jackson St., at the end of the month. She is passing the agency on to agent Tom Conklin. Current staff members will remain on board, she said.

"It's been my honor and my privilege," she said of working in the community as a State Farm agent.

She moved from Bloomington to Macomb to take over the agency, and considers Macomb her home. "I'm very blessed, and very fortunate to have had the opportunity to come here and meet friends, and meet my spouse and build a life. It's really been great."

She previously worked for an independent insurance agent for eight years. The owner of the agency encouraged her to look at State Farm, she said. "He was always very encouraging. Taught me a lot about the insurance business. He looked at me at one point and he said, 'You know, if I could do it all over again, I'd do it with State Farm, and that's what I think you should do.' That set me on my path," she said.

She plans to stay in Macomb and continue her current leadership roles, which include involvement on the Western Illinois University Board of Trustees and the McDonough District Hospital Foundation.

"What I'm really going to have the opportunity to do is spend more time with my family" which includes members in northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and California, she said. "That's what I'm really looking forward to. I'm looking forward to still being involved in the community, still seeing all my friends her, playing a little bit of golf here. But most of all, I'm really looking forward to having the opportunity to spend some more time with my family," she said.

When asked what made her choose this time to retire she said, "My spouse is retiring next year from Western, and when that decision was made to apply for retirement, we...consulted with our financial planner, and the financial planner said, 'Gee, you know, you could both do this.'"

The loss of one of her brothers to cancer a couple years ago also prompted her decision to retire. "That was a little bit of a life-changing event for me. I think we all know that life is -- life is a gift to us, and we don't control it. We don't control how much time we have. After I lost him, it made me reassess some of my priorities. That's part of what did it."

Although she made the public announcement today, she declared her intention to retire to State Farm a year ago. "I wanted to give the company the opportunity to find someone who could be the right fit," she said.

When asked what she felt she'd learned since she started here 32 years ago, she said it was how much she loved Macomb. "It really truly is home...we're so lucky to have all the things we do in this town."

She also learned to appreciate how much insurance agencies can do for people as she worked with clients during the best -- and worst -- times of their lives. "It was a privilege to be there," she said.

Early's last day in the office will be Dec. 29. Conklin, a State Farm agent in Farmington for the past 15 years, will take on the Macomb office as his second agency.

His mother was born and raised in Good Hope, and he has family living in McDonough County. Early said she is confident Conklin's experience and familiarity with the area will help make the transition a smooth one.

The office will be holding a Christmas open house on Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public is welcome to come celebrate Early's retirement and welcome Conklin.

Reach Michelle Langhout by email at mlanghout@mcdonoughvoice.com or find her on Facebook.

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