Honored for service
American Family Insurance has honored Emporia agent Louise Schutter for providing excellent service to customers under the J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Insurance Agency Program.
Schutter, whose office is at 907 Commercial St., has been an American Family agent since April 1991.
J.D. Power uses a two-part evaluation process to determine which agents earn the service-excellence distinction. The first part is a customer-satisfaction survey; the second requires agents to meet or exceed standards of a national benchmark.
Agents who pass those two hurdles must then pass an on-site evaluation of best-practice areas: proactive reviews of customer insurance needs, claims handling, positive customer contacts, responsiveness and office environment.
Hill’s marks
anniversary
Hill’s Appliance Center is getting ready to celebrate its first year at its 2914 W. Highway 50 address.
The business, which has operated in Emporia for 22 years, has set aside Saturday, Sept. 8, for the celebration, which will include a sale and a visit from Bill Miller, noted as a broadcaster of “nostalgia” and vintage music.
Hill’s will also be giving away a 26-inch flat panel high-definition LCD television, at a drawing between 10 a.m. and noon. The store invites shoppers to register during the week for the drawing.
Company award
Stauffer Seeds dealer Dale Long of Emporia received his second consecutive award from the company for sales performance. The award was presented recently during Stauffer Seeds’ annual meeting.
Long and his wife, Beverly, live near Emporia; they have two sons and one granddaughter. He also runs a chemical company with his brother.
Long has sold seed for 20 years, but began working for Stauffer just two years ago. He attributes his success to Stauffer’s great people and products.
“It’s a small, people-oriented company with excellent genetics to choose from,” he said.
Visiting growers and helping them pick hybrids that fit their needs and soil types are his favorite aspects of the job.
“Stauffer enjoyed another year of growth and market share increase,” remarked Mike Smidt, Stauffer Seeds’ director of sales and marketing. “Our success is directly related to the efforts of Dale Long of Emporia. We salute Dale for his dedication to his customers’ profitability and commitment to placing our quality seed products appropriately.”
Stauffer Seeds is owned by Lawhon Farm Services of McCrory, Ark.; company’s headquarters are in Carroll, Iowa.
For more information visit www.staufferseeds.com or call (712) 792-2525.