She was an Underwriting Service Assistant at State Farm^® and while she enjoyed her job, she had her eye on another position. She applied, but didn’t get it.

Kiwanis Jones

“I was pretty upset about it,” she remembered. “I wanted to figure out what I needed to do to get that job the next time around, but I didn’t know how to go about it. I felt like I needed someone to talk to.”

She needed somebody to help navigate her way around the organization, somebody to give advice, somebody to answer questions and sound ideas off of.

“What I needed,” Kiwanis said, “was a mentor.”

Getting Connected with Mrs. Pat

Giving advice, paying it forward and being a good neighbor are what mentoring (and State Farm!) is all about. State Farm places a lot of importance on mentorship and provides employees plenty of opportunities to connect and learn from each other.

Kiwanis got on the Mentor/Mentee Matching Tool, one of many services offered by State Farm that helps connect people who want to learn with people who want to share what they’ve learned. She signed up, and that’s how she met Mrs. Pat.

Pat Goodwin-Taylor

“Mrs. Pat” is Pat Goodwin-Taylor, an Administrative Services Manager. She’s been all over State Farm over the course of her 32-year career, including stops in Claims, Purchasing, Creative Services, Public Affairs and Underwriting.

“I’ve learned a lot being here, and if there’s anything I can share that can help somebody get to where they want to be, I’m going to,” Pat said.

When she first met with Pat, Kiwanis shared her disappointment about not getting the job she wanted. Instead of just providing encouraging words and interviewing tips, Pat started asking questions of her own.

“I wanted to know where she wanted to be,” said Pat. “Not just here at State Farm, but in life.

“You’ve got to know where you want to be before you think about how you’re going to get there.”

Things are What You Make of Them

Through their conversations, Pat shared some of the knowledge she’s picked up over the years, but it became clear early on that this relationship wasn’t just a one-way street.

“She pushes me,” said Kiwanis. “She said, ‘If you want me to mentor you, you’re going to have to do some work.’”

And do some work she did.

Through Pat’s encouragement, Kiwanis signed up for some classes offered through Degreed, an online educational platform offered to all State Farm employees. Kiwanis is currently taking insurance designation courses that will help increase her business acumen. She’s also taking some college courses and hopes to get her degree.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do and thanks to Pat, I’m on my way to doing it.”

A Virtuous Cycle

Pat says her love of mentoring started when she got some good advice early on in her career from one of her mentors.

“I had a job offer that I wasn’t too excited about. My mentor at the time sat me down and told me why this was a good opportunity and how by taking this role, I’d be putting myself in a great position going forward.” Pat ended up loving her new role and credits her mentor for helping her out early on. “That advice really set me on a great path, so when I got the opportunity to do the same for somebody else, I jumped on it.”

John Quimby

Being a mentor isn’t something Pat takes lightly, and neither does John Quimby. John’s a Property Claims manager who’s been both mentor and mentee over his 30-year career.

“I’ve been on both sides of it,” John said. “And I’ve gotten just as much out of giving advice as I have getting advice.”

John says mentoring people is one of the most rewarding things he does in his professional life. “Don’t get me wrong, I love a good email and conference call as much as the next guy,” John joked. “But if you can actually help somebody with their career? That’s huge.”

Mentoring is such an important part of the culture, State Farm even offers courses on how to be a good mentor. “We’re excited to spotlight some learning resources to help,” said Learning Director Michael Gardner.

“We know that learning through others is among the most effective ways to build new skills – and mentoring is itself a skill that takes some practice to do well,” Michael said. “The beauty of mentoring is that it’s a virtuous cycle that builds skills and grows relationships for everyone involved.”

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Kiwanis Jones

Kiwanis Jones was upset.

She was an Underwriting Service Assistant at State Farm^® and while she enjoyed her job, she had her eye on another position. She applied, but didn’t get it.

“I was pretty upset about it,” she remembered. “I wanted to figure out what I needed to do to get that job the next time around, but I didn’t know how to go about it. I felt like I needed someone to talk to.”

She needed somebody to help navigate her way around the organization, somebody to give advice, somebody to answer questions and sound ideas off of.

“What I needed,” Kiwanis said, “was a mentor.”

Getting connected with Mrs. Pat

Giving advice, paying it forward and being a good neighbor are what mentoring (and State Farm!) is all about. State Farm places a lot of importance on mentorship and provides employees plenty of opportunities to connect and learn from each other.

Kiwanis got on the Mentor/Mentee Matching Tool, one of many services offered by State Farm that helps connect people who want to learn with people who want to share what they’ve learned. She signed up, and that’s how she met Mrs. Pat.

Pat Goodwin-Taylor

“Mrs. Pat” is Pat Goodwin-Taylor, an Administrative Services Manager. She’s been all over State Farm over the course of her 32-year career, including stops in Claims, Purchasing, Creative Services, Public Affairs and Underwriting.

“I’ve learned a lot being here, and if there’s anything I can share that can help somebody get to where they want to be, I’m going to,” Pat said.

When she first met with Pat, Kiwanis shared her disappointment about not getting the job she wanted. Instead of just providing encouraging words and interviewing tips, Pat started asking questions of her own.

“I wanted to know where she wanted to be,” said Pat. “Not just here at State Farm, but in life.

“You’ve got to know where you want to be before you think about how you’re going to get there.”

Things are What You Make of Them

Through their conversations, Pat shared some of the knowledge she’s picked up over the years, but it became clear early on that this relationship wasn’t just a one-way street.

“She pushes me,” said Kiwanis. “She said, ‘If you want me to mentor you, you’re going to have to do some work.’”

And do some work she did.

Through Pat’s encouragement, Kiwanis signed up for some classes offered through Degreed, an online educational platform offered to all State Farm employees. Kiwanis is currently taking insurance designation courses that will help increase her business acumen. She’s also taking some college courses and hopes to get her degree.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do and thanks to Pat, I’m on my way to doing it.”

A Virtuous Cycle

Pat says her love of mentoring started when she got some good advice early on in her career from one of her mentors.

“I had a job offer that I wasn’t too excited about. My mentor at the time sat me down and told me why this was a good opportunity and how by taking this role, I’d be putting myself in a great position going forward.” Pat ended up loving her new role and credits her mentor for helping her out early on. “That advice really set me on a great path, so when I got the opportunity to do the same for somebody else, I jumped on it.”

John Quimby

Being a mentor isn’t something Pat takes lightly, and neither does John Quimby. John’s a Property Claims manager who’s been both mentor and mentee over his 30-year career.

“I’ve been on both sides of it,” John said. “And I’ve gotten just as much out of giving advice as I have getting advice.”

John says mentoring people is one of the most rewarding things he does in his professional life. “Don’t get me wrong, I love a good email and conference call as much as the next guy,” John joked. “But if you can actually help somebody with their career? That’s huge.”

Mentoring is such an important part of the culture, State Farm even offers courses on how to be a good mentor. “We’re excited to spotlight some learning resources to help,” said Learning Director Michael Gardner.

“We know that learning through others is among the most effective ways to build new skills – and mentoring is itself a skill that takes some practice to do well,” Michael said. “The beauty of mentoring is that it’s a virtuous cycle that builds skills and grows relationships for everyone involved.”

More About Mentorship

Mentoring is…

• A professional relationship where an experienced person assists another in developing specific skills and knowledge to enhance personal and professional growth.
• Intended to support and encourage people to manage their own development to maximize their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.

How Mentoring can support your development?

• Mentoring gives you a fresh perspective that can be a growth experience for both a mentor and mentee.
• Mentors and mentees make great sounding boards for one another.
• A mentor both supports and challenges a mentee to be their best.
• A mentor can open up or help find new opportunities for the mentee.

• Supporting local food banks
• Donating meals to medical workers and first responders
• Assisting the elderly with grocery shopping
• Supporting local restaurants
• Making and donating face masks
• Providing homework help
• ...and much more!

Read about some of the more unique efforts in the stories and news accounts below. 

In the News:

• "Serving" - video featuring State Farm Agent Thomas Waters (Homewood, Alabama)
• Black Woman Sends Orphans Black Dolls to Help Teach Them They Can ‘Be the Center of the Story’ (Richardson, Texas)
• St. Augustine State Farm agent supports community during coronavirus crisis (St. Augustine, Florida)
• Local State Farm agent helps firefighters reduce kitchen fires (Huntington, West Virginia)
• Columbus State Farm agents make donation to Center for Survivors (Columbus, Nebraska)
• Local State Farm agent sponsors Rustburg community day (Rustburg, Virginia)

Kenneth Howard attended Hampton University where he studied Business Management. While at Hampton he was a walk-on football player who went on to receive a football scholarship, and was initiated into the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. Both experiences enriched Kenneth’s experience at Hampton.

“I think in various leadership roles that I’ve had in my fraternity, other organizations and even as a football player helped me develop leadership skills, relate to others and provided me the ability to garner that support of others to go toward a common goal,” said Howard, a Technology Director at State Farm®. “I definitely take what I learned outside of State Farm as a validation point that really speaks to my collaborative leadership style, leading strong teams and driving quality results.”

Donna Jones attended Howard University, where she studied Insurance. Howard was one of 112 schools that offered Insurance as a business major. She was an insurance scholar and an officer for the Asa T. Spalding Insurance Society. Donna is now a State Farm agent in Winston-Salem, N.C.

“I think the internship opportunities and my overall experiences at Howard provided me with 85 percent of the business knowledge I still use today. I gained a lot of practical knowledge that I don’t know how I would have learned otherwise,” she said.

Opportunities for Success

Jones applied to Howard University after reading an article about it in a Jet magazine. She is a first-generation college student and was enriched by the students around her.

“When you go to Howard, you’re one of the smartest from your high school. When you get there, you quickly discover everyone else is too,” she said.

Howard began his college career at the University of Cincinnati and transferred to a much smaller Hampton University after two years. He was able to truly bond with classmates and teachers in a class of 30 compared to 300.

“Whether they were legacy students or not, being around high caliber students helped me raise my game and helped me to compete in my peer group as far as my educational accomplishments,” he said.

Giving Back

“My experience at Hampton really showed me the value and importance of giving back,” Howard said.

He’s been involved as a Board member of Safe Kids of Georgia on behalf of State Farm and previously served on the Management Information Systems Advisory Board at the University of Georgia. He held several leadership positions with organizations outside of State Farm. He served as President of Commitment to Excellence, a nonprofit organization which provides funding for high school students who want to attend college and offers a mentoring program.

Jones plays an active role in her community. In addition, she provides internship opportunities in her agency.

“I’m excited to be in a position that I can give back and provide internships through my agency. I’m energized by my experience at Howard and hopefully can give that to somebody else,” she said.

Budgeting for pet expenses such as food, grooming, or day care is straightforward. Planning for an accident, illness, or injury is not. The last thing any pet owner wants to decide is whether they can afford to treat their beloved dog or cat for illness or injury. Medical insurance for pets makes the decision easier, allowing for the care they need, when they need it most.

Trupanion’s high-quality medical coverage is designed for the life of the pet. Trupanion pets are never penalized for being “unlucky” and incurring claims. Nor do they raise rates just because a pet ages. Trupanion is the only provider that can pay the veterinary invoice at the time of check-out, often in seconds, eliminating the need for pet owner reimbursement. The option to enroll puppies and kittens from birth, with as few pre-existing conditions as possible, means even better coverage.

“Pet health issues can be unexpected and expensive,” says Ken Heidrich, Agency Vice President at State Farm. “Pet medical insurance helps reduce the stress of veterinary medical bills, allowing families to focus on their beloved pet. We’re excited to expand our alliance with Trupanion and offer this product as a way to help even more customers prepare for and recover from the unexpected.”

Customers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia can now enroll for Trupanion medical insurance online through statefarm.com®. While the short-term focus of this expansion is the online channel, work is underway to enable expansion of the agent channel in all other states.

“We are thrilled to help State Farm better serve all of their customers by making Trupanion’s high-quality medical coverage available for their pets,” said Margi Tooth, Chief Revenue Officer for Trupanion. “Designed with input from veterinarians, our comprehensive product coverage, 24/7/365 customer service and ability to pay veterinarians directly at the time of checkout, provide what we believe is the best value proposition in the industry.”

Trupanion is the leading provider of medical insurance for pets, insuring more than 500,000 cats and dogs in North America.

Trupanion will provide all pet medical insurance policy servicing. Underwriting or claims decisions will be at the sole discretion of Trupanion. Policyholders can access their pet medical insurance account and make changes to deductibles through the Trupanion website.

Pet owners can sign up for medical insurance for their pet by visiting the State Farm website at www.statefarm.com/insurance/pet. In addition, pet owners in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Missouri, and Oregon can visit directly with a State Farm agent to sign-up for coverage.

In The News

• Forbes:  Virtual Vets Are Raking In Funding—Is Pet Telehealth The Next Big Thing? (08/06/20)

Trupanion Contacts:

• Media: Michael Nank,michael.nank@trupanion.com  206-436-9825

• Investors: Laura Bainbridge, Head of Corporate Communications, InvestorRelations@trupanion.com  206-607-1929

As emerging technologies rapidly transform the workplace, experts predict significant displacement and demand for new skills to fill future jobs. The ability to adapt, learn, and transition to new and emerging employment opportunities will be essential for workers worldwide. Pathways for the Future is designed to address these changes, focused specifically on high school students, community college and university students, and career professionals who wish to compete for new and evolving jobs in the changing marketplace.

“Technological change holds enormous promise and the potential for job creation. It also challenges employees, employers and students and presents a change we all must adapt to,” said State Farm Chairman and CEO Michael Tipsord. “Today represents a new milestone in our relationship with ASU and builds on our corporate commitment to prepare not only for what’s coming, but for what is already happening. We look forward to growing this commitment with ASU and working together to build the workforce of the future through universal learning.”

With the online nature of the program, State Farm’s gift will enable ASU to assist many more learners regardless of their location and will provide students access to the transfer and transition tools which support curriculum pathway mapping and sequencing. This component will also help people discover career interests and provides a way for ASU to share pertinent information with mid-career adults and to students navigating higher education options.

There are four targeted groups for the Pathway Program, including:

• High School Students
• Maricopa County Community College Students
• Arizona State University Students
• Employees, already in the workforce, wanting to learn new skills, including State Farm employees

“State Farm has been a good neighbor to ASU for the past several years – our aligned values and our mutual commitment and investment of human and financial capital makes for an ideal partnership in Pathways for the Future,” said ASU President Michael M. Crow. “We believe strongly in the evolving model of universal learning, making higher education available to those from all socioeconomic backgrounds at any point in their lives. This is what the workforce of the future needs and what we hope to accomplish with State Farm. Together, our goal is to help people work through what will be a significant transformation in the economy.”

The program has three specific Academic Tracks, including STEM/Engineering, Business/Leadership and Humanities/Social Sciences. For more information on the tracks and complete program details, please visit: https://pff.asu.edu/. The Pathways for the Future portal can be accessed here.

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We are fortunate to live in a world where various cultures and populations celebrate diverse holidays and recognize different observances. Learning about the traditions of others helps us better connect. In this video, State Farm^® employees talk about what’s important to them this time of year. Visit the Holiday Highlights site to learn about celebrations taking place in the last quarter of the year.

“So you’re telling me, what we did…turned into a thing?” asked Cheryl Pisko.

Doing good is a powerful thing.

Pisko, is among a group of workers whose decision to volunteer served as the inspiration for a State Farm commercial. "On the Board" depicts a friendly competition between two employees. They do activities ranging from neighborhood cleanups, to wildlife conservation, charity fun runs, and supporting the fight against cancer. While the employees are portrayed by actors, the acts of good are real performed, by people like Pisko.

“Typically, I fly under the radar! But when I learned about an opportunity to record my actions and share those stories, I jumped in. It’s energizing.”

Leading up to the State Farm 100^th Anniversary in 2022, employees and agents are performing acts of good in the communities where they live and work. As part of the process, they share their experiences through an online portal.

“Giving back is something many of us have been doing for a long time, we just haven’t always talked about it,” said Pisko. “This is a way to do that, and support coworkers in the process. But I never knew my submissions would receive national attention!”

Small acts can have a big impact.

Like Pisko, Customer Care Rep Shawna Meiners couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the commercial.

“I had to watch it a second time so everything could sink in! How cool to be part of something so special.”

From donations to fundraisers – Meiners says a little bit, goes a long way.

“Growing up, I was one of the people who needed help – and didn’t always get it. Now that I’m established, it’s my prerogative to give back. That’s why I give an extra dollar, stop to help someone cross the street, or donate clothes. What might be small to you, means the world to someone else. I know it. I lived it.”

Being a good neighbor feels good.

As they re-watched the national commercial, the acts of good triggered memories.

“The charity run for Parkinson’s!”

“I save turtles!”

“I support cancer research!”

But what stood out most to employees wasn’t one action. It was the underlying message.

“This isn’t about where we work or where we’re from. At the heart of it all is humanity,” said Pisko. “Acts of good create a generous spirit. And that spirit grows and multiplies and changes lives when we make a decision to help.”

“Anyone can make a difference,” added Meiners. "And maybe, just maybe, this commercial is what people need to put that lesson into practice."