Women-led since the beginning, Strate Insurance Group in Morristown utilizes the strengths of its predominantly female leadership staff to guide the company, and its clients, into the future.

Tom Strate started Jack Strate Agency with his parents, Jack and Agnes Strate, in 1978.

Agnes graduated from Vanderbilt University with a non-traditional degree. She did not major in home economics; she instead studied Business. The achievement was rare: a female earning a four-year business degree in 1952.

Jack and Tom formed the sales force of the small business, while Agnes ensured that payroll and insurance company payments were made. She kept the business running at a healthy pace, according to Katherine Strate Smith, Tom’s daughter and the granddaughter of Agnes and Jack.

“My grandfather was very optimistic and extroverted; he was a people person. My grandmother was much more of an introvert and a behind-the-scenes person. Their roles in the agency were reflective of their personalities and strengths.”

“We’ve had a long history of having women in the business, not only in support roles, but in client-facing and leadership roles,” Katherine said.

The first two non-family employees were Barbara Jarnigan and Gloria Horner. They kept Jack and Tom in line and started the customer service department.

“I remember going to the office as a little girl and sitting with Barbara and Gloria,” said Katherine. “I loved watching them work, and I especially enjoyed listening to them tease my dad and grandfather. Those were great memories.”

Jane Strate Hopson, Katherine’s aunt, was also part of the employee benefits team at the agency for a number of years.

“No business is exclusively men or women,” said Tom Strate, current President and CEO of Strate Insurance Group. “Throughout the years, we have always focused on finding the right balance of talent, knowledge and experience.”

“I’m so proud of our history. We’ve always been an equal opportunity employer, but it is amazing to see so many examples of women who have had meaningful and fruitful careers in our business since day one,” Katherine said.

WINK had to ask: So, did you ever expect you would work at Strate Insurance Group?

The answer was quick and to the point: “Nope.”

Katherine joined the company in 2018 as a Business Insurance Sales Agent and now serves as Chief Customer Officer overseeing all agency sales, service, and operational functions.

“It helps that I trust my dad. Growing up with him, I always felt respected. I always felt a sense of worth, like I could be anything I wanted to be. I wasn’t pigeon-holed into a certain role or career.

“I’ve spoken to other men and women who work with their fathers, and they don’t have the same experience as I do,” Katherine said. “Tom and I don’t agree on everything, but we complement each other. If we disagree on something and we feel bad about it later, we’re not afraid to call each other and say ‘I’m sorry.’ We’re really focused on preserving our relationship first and foremost.”

“When I made the decision to come back and work here, I knew that first I had to earn my place in the company. I also could see great examples of women in leadership roles at Strate. They were very well respected and were given opportunities to grow and make a positive impact on the organization.”

So you found a strong female leadership environment already in place when you arrived on board?

“Absolutely,” she said.

“My dad’s right-hand person for 20 years was a wonderful woman named Tammy McDaniel. She started as a junior account manager and demonstrated an incredible work ethic and desire to learn. She eventually became the VP of Operations. She was so objective, so fair, so methodical. The staff trusted her implicitly. She managed and built the agency’s operations as well as our IT infrastructure.”

With an expanding business comes expanded responsibilities. The Strate Leadership Team now has five members that oversee each discipline of the business: Family Insurance, Business Insurance, Employee Benefits, and Finance and Administration. The Team Leaders, respectively, are Brandi Lane, Brandy Holland, Christine Gosser, Kim Ratcliff and Katherine.

“Each of our team leaders has worked hard to develop an expertise in their individual disciplines,” said Katherine. “We work together to set agency and departmental goals, based on our customers’ needs. I am beyond thankful to have a team of smart, fun, talented, and caring leaders who want to develop our staff and do great work for our customers.”

Strate Insurance Group is also blessed with the talents and expertise of Cathy King, a Business Insurance Customer Relationship Manager. “Cathy is an excellent example of someone who has dedicated themselves to learning our business—both from a technical and relationship standpoint,” said Katherine. “Her clients love working with her because she is extremely knowledgeable and she knows how to build great customer relationships.” This is clearly demonstrated to clients through the many industry designations that Cathy has earned throughout her professional career, including CPCU, ARM, CIC, AAI, and CPIW.

The strength of Strate Insurance Group comes from its employees.

“We have a very robust hiring process,” said Katherine. “We are particular about who we add to our team. Our clients have high standards, and we feel a great responsibility to find team members who can meet and exceed our clients’ expectations.”

Candidates go through multiple rounds of interviews that can include scenario roleplaying, a written technical exercise, group interviews, and more.

“We look for folks who exhibit our agency values of Trust, Relationship, Experience, and Knowledge,” said Katherine. “We also want team members who have a growth mindset, meaning they learn from failure, they celebrate the successes of others, they want to keep learning, and they embrace challenges.”

Strate has also had to exhibit a growth mindset in a post-Covid world.

“If it was 2019 and you told me we would have a hybrid work arrangement with two full-time remote employees, I would have said you were crazy,” said Tom. “COVID taught us we can use new forms of technology to do our jobs, and our high bar for finding team members made us search for candidates outside our backyard.”

Strate Insurance Group currently employs 16 people, two of whom live out of state and work remotely full time.

The company is indebted to the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce and the Morristown Industrial Board for their work in support of consistent development and progress in the region over the past 40 years.

“Most of our clients are based here in the Lakeway Area,” Katherine said. “Some of them are headquartered out of town, but they see the value in working with a local advisor. They like to work with a team who will come to their office and meet with them and their employees. As industry in our area has grown, so has our business. We would not be here today if it wasn’t for our customers.”

What makes the Strate team different?

“It all goes back to our values,” Katherine said. “We want to build trust with our customers by demonstrating our knowledge of our industry and working hard to build genuine relationships with them.”

“We’ve talked a lot this year, just within our team about how we can continue to build on the tradition for forming great relationships. Some of our clients have been with us for over 40 years.

When I walk into our conference room and see the portrait of my grandparents on the wall, I remember their legacy and want to make them proud.”