Our Next Event: September 15-17,2021.
We are excited to have you join us for our next agent conference, September 15-17. Registration for the event takes place in 2 simple steps: (1) Conference Registration, and (2) Hotel Reservation Click the links below in order to complete each step.
In order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please let us know at least two weeks before the conference (September 5, 2021) of any auxiliary aids you will need in the meeting or function space. Also, when making your room reservation, please notify the hotel of any auxiliary aid needs you will have for your room.
Additional Hotel Information may be found below our list of speakers. Click HERE for the full schedule.
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Speakers
We will add more speakers bios as they are received.
Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez
Hall of Fame Catcher
Texas Rangers
Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) player who played at the competitive professional level for more than 21 years and who statistically is considered the greatest defensive catcher in MLB history. On the field, Mr. Rodriguez was the recipient of numerous achievements and awards, including, MLB’s all-time games leader as catcher, 7 time silver slugger winner, 2003 World Series champion (Florida Marlins), 2003 NLCS MVP, 1999 AL MVP, 14 time All-Star, 13 time Gold Glove award, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, Latino Hall of Fame and his last and most prestigious award 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame!
After Mr. Rodriguez’s retirement from baseball, his love for the game endured and to this day he continues to be involved in the sport through his involvement as the Special Assistant to the General Manager of the Texas Rangers, coaching of various major and minor league ballplayers as well as his work as a sports analyst for Fox Sports South West. Off the field, Mr. Rodriguez has and continues to be a well-versed businessman taking on a wide range of investments both domestically and abroad. Pudge also enjoys donating and giving his time to many different communities and non-profit organizations because giving back is a virtue he holds close.
Steve Suggs
Partner
Sales Manage Solutions
As a salesperson, sales manager, author of the book, Can They Sell, speaker, trainer and consultant, Steve Suggs has been in the sales and recruiting trenches for thirty-eight years. Steve obtained his business degree at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. Upon graduation he completed a 15-year career at Northwestern Mutual where he became an MDRT producer and Sales Leader. He has spent the last 21 years as a partner with Sales Manage Solutions.
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On a daily basis, Steve uses all the tools and processes presented to you today. He has trained thousands of State Farm agents, and conducts up to 50 consulting phone calls weekly with agents where he coaches agents to hire great sales team members, agent aspirants, and service team members who can pivot.
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For the past 38 years, Steve has been married to his college sweet heart, Tammy, and enjoys his two adult children, their spouses, and three grandchildren.
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Steve enjoys, woodworking, and repurposing older objects into decorative art.
Phillip Hawkins
Senior Vice President
South Central Zone
Phillip Hawkins is President and CEO of State Farm Lloyds; President of State Farm County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas; and Senior Vice President, South Central Market Area.
Phillip joined State Farm in 1990 as an agent in Killeen, TX. He has held a number of top leadership positions during his career with State Farm, working in Wichita Falls, TX; Ft. Worth, TX; Phoenix, AZ; and State Farm’s corporate headquarters in Bloomington, IL. While in the corporate office, he held the positions of Director of Strategic Leadership, Executive Assistant to the Chairman’s Office, and Vice President of Securities Products. Phillip was appointed President and CEO of State Farm Lloyds and President of State Farm County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas in 2010. He currently works and lives in Austin.
Phillip and his wife Celeste have four children: Leslie, a registered nurse; Matthew, a college sophomore; Renee, a college freshman, and Katherine, a 10th grader.
Rand Harbert
Executive VP, Chief Agency
Sales & Marketing Officer, State Farm
Rand joined State Farm as an agent in 1992. After serving in various leadership roles, Rand was appointed as an agency field executive in Chicago in 1999 & Vice President-Securities at Corporate Headquarters in 2001. Rand was selected Vice President-Agency for the Texas Zone in 2003, and named Agency Vice President in the Northeast Zone in 2005.
He was appointed Senior Vice President in California in 2007, and President and Chief Executive Officer of State Farm General Insurance Company in 2008. He was named to the Chairman’s Council in 2011, and was appointed to his current role in 2013.
A graduate of the University of Central Missouri, Rand earned an MBA from Webster University in 1988 and graduated from the General Management program at Harvard Business School in 2001. He earned his CLU designation in 2002.
Rand and his wife Kelly have three children: Morgan, Ross and Scott.
Dan De La Cruz
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North Central Market Area
Dan is a mission driven leader to takes every policy sale to represent 3 wins, the family served wins, society wins and State Farm wins. Dan State Farm background started in Auto Claims in 2002; joined the agency field office 2007 as an AFS and launched a scratch agency in 2009, then in 2018 luanched a MOA.
Committed to growth, while valuing systems & processes – Dan has grown his Legacy Agency to more than 4,500 Auto policies-in-force…. all while leading with Fire. Dan is a top producer of non-tenant policies in the North-Central Market Area. He recognizes the importance of onboarding, multi-line growth, and creating value in every customer interaction.
Dan manages a robust team of diverse professionals committed to growing the Agency through powerful interactions with customers and commitment to every line of State Farm solutions. His success has transcended into his second office location; where he is replicating his growth strategies and leadership philosophy. The Dan De La Cruz Agencies are known for being fast, effective, and committed to their customers. Agency results include:
Consistent Ambassador Travel
Consistent SVP Club
Consistent Chairman’s Circle Qualifier
Leading Market Area producer in Non-Tenant Fire production
Consistently ranked in highest Property/Casualty gain in Market Area
On time for Exotic
Dan delights in spending time with his lovely wife Lizet, and children Walter and Paris. He particularly enjoys his second job/distraction as Theatre Critic, and his time alone with nature while climbing. He is an unparalleled investor in his peers, and his heart for State Farm beats strong.
Michael Tipsord
Chairman, President, SEO
State Farm Mutual Automotive Insurance Company
Alongside the State Farm senior executive leadership team, Michael is driving State Farm to demonstrate unsurpassed value to customers and grow the business in an expanding, evolving and increasingly complex marketplace.
Michael was named chief executive officer in Sept. 2015 and president earlier the same year. He was elected chairman of the board of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in June 2016.
Michael began his State Farm career in 1988 and served in a number of leadership roles including vice chairman of the board, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.
A native of Illinois, Michael received a bachelor's degree from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill., and a law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter® (CPCU) designation in 1995, the Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU) designation in 1991 and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
He is a trustee of the Brookings Institution and is a member of the dean's advisory board for the University of Illinois College of Law. Michael is also a member of the American Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association.
Allyson Watts
Area Vice President
South Central Market Area
Allyson Watts, CLU®, ChFC®,CPCU® is an Area Vice President for the South Central Market Area. She has executive and profitable growth responsibilities for the northern portion of the South Central Market Area - including Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and North and West Texas. She serves alongside Area Vice President John Raube, whose area includes South and East Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.
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Allyson joined State Farm® in 1995 as an auto claim representative in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She became a scratch agent in Westminster, Colorado in 2000 and was appointed as an Agency Field Consultant in Atlanta, Georgia in 2004. In December, 2007, Allyson became a Zone Agency Administrative Assistant and acting Zone Marketing Manager for the Southern Zone. In 2008, she was promoted to the Agency Field Executive role where she served various markets in the metro Atlanta area. In April, 2013 she became a Sales Leader in the Conyers Territory and moved to a Leadership Enterprise Development Associate in Corporate in July of that year. She was appointed Vice-President Agency/Sales in the Western Market Area in 2016 and assumed her current role in 2020.
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Allyson received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has also obtained her Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) designation, Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designation, and the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) designation.
Allyson is married to Chad and they have two sons, Parker and Peyton. They enjoy the great outdoors and like to make time to travel and seek out new experiences.
Brad Riley
Agency Owner
State Farm
Brad Riley. Born and raised in Durham, NC. Graduated in 2014 for East Carolina University in Greenville NC. My Better half is Gina (works in my office with me) and we have two dogs Jax and Denali.
I began my State Farm Career right out of college at an office in Greenville NC. I was an intern caller and just made calls all day. In about 3 months I was able to start selling as an agent team member. Did so for about 3.5 years and took my opportunity here in Gastonia, NC (right outside of Charlotte NC).
Opened up Shop on 05/01/2019 with 4 team members. Lost a few along they was but now I have 9 total team members. Every day pretty much revolves around me training them professionally and personally to be the best they are capable of.
Additional Hotel Information
Hotel Rooms must be reserved by August 20, 2021.
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Additional Event Information
When
Starts: Wednesday September 15th, 2021 @ 6:00 pm CDT
Ends: Friday September 17, 2021 @ 12:00 PM CDT
Where
Texas Rangers Ballpark
1000 Ballpark Way
Arlington TX 76011