Originally published April 6, 2021. This story is part of the Sams/Hockaday archive.
ARTICLES
Celebrating 40 Years at Sams/Hockaday & Associates
By Jeff Sams and John Hockaday, Founders of Sams/Hockaday & Associates
At Sams/Hockaday & Associates, our 40th anniversary offers a prime opportunity for reflection. It gives us an opportunity to celebrate four decades of serving our clients through life's most important transitions, including retirement.
It’s hard to believe it has been 40 years.
We started in the early ‘80s, and at that time, computers were just catching on. At one stage of building the agency, we had a lot of discussions on whether or not we needed a fax machine. I (Jeff) thought we shouldn’t spend the money on it – I didn’t think it was necessary. But John said we needed one. (He was right.)
Left to right: Rick Lutovsky, John Hockaday, Cheryl Hockaday, Susan Sams, Eric Brechnitz, Jeff Sams.
At one point, we had clients from Shelbyville that would call Decatur, and that was considered a long-distance phone call at the time. When we got a toll-free 800 number, that was a big deal!
Then came the Apple II – our first computer.
We didn’t know how to do a thing but turn it on and watch it warm up! We later learned how to run quotes, and we would enter people in just to see how it could formulate rates. It was truly amazing compared to looking in a rate book.
I (Jeff) remember when we started growing, and I wanted a secretary to help me with all the paperwork. My first secretary was Carol Routin. She was a wonderful lady who we lost to cancer a while back. I will never forget her.
Our first signs, displayed on Jasper street, were made in my basement. I had a projector that copied the business card and projected it onto a big board. I traced the letters and hand-painted our first sign. It sounds horrible, but it actually turned out very good! At that time, our name was 4 Seasons Insurance, and our slogan was “for all the seasons of your life, we insure.”
In 2021, we marked four decades of serving clients in central Illinois. Thank you to the clients, families and team members who have been part of that history.
