IIAV Past President - Stephen A. Lester II, CIC

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This is the 27th in our series of conversations with former leaders of Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia. Steve Lester served as IIAV Chairman of the Board having been elected in 2002 at the convention in Wintergreen, Virginia.

It was his senior year at George Wythe High School in Wytheville, Virginia. The year was 1981. Football coaches from Division I and II programs all over had been courting the athleticism of Steven A. Lester, II and the serious choices were rapidly being narrowed. But still the heat was on for Lester to make a decision as to which college or university he would devote the next four years. Sid Clark with Royal Insurance Company and author of The Making of an Insurance Man was a personal friend of Lester’s father, Steven A. Lester, Sr. (IIAV Past President 1976-77) and had strongly urged Lester to attend the University of Virginia. Virginia Tech was much closer to home and Coach Bill Dooley had applied enormous pressure to convince Lester that Blacksburg should be his choice. Lester recalls his final private meeting with Coach Dooley at Blacksburg’s Red Lion Restaurant. The wild card was the University of Richmond and the persuasion of Coach Dal Shealy. Somewhat frustrated by the process of selecting a school and eager to "move on," Lester said one evening at home that he’d accept the offer of the next school that called . . . . whichever it was.

The phone rang. It was from Shealy’s coaching staff. After a brief conversation between Lester and the assistant coach, Shealy phoned and the deal was done. It was off to the University of Richmond to get a degree and play football for the Spiders.

While at U of R, Lester majored in Economics. The football team struggled in its division. Lester recalls that during his sophomore year, the Spiders were winless. 0-10. That’s hard for any competitive person to swallow and Lester is nothing, if not competitive. Undaunted, Lester and his fellow teammates collected themselves and repositioned the football program in another division. By his senior year, the team was ranked #8 nationally. Quite a turn-around.

After graduating in 1985, Lester joined The United States Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Company’s Richmond office. After a brief training period at the USF&G home office in Baltimore, Lester returned to Richmond and worked with such notables as Branch Manager Bob Robertson, Don Keck, Steve Deal and Waymon Purdy. At USF&G, Lester began as a Personal Lines Underwriter; within a few years he was promoted to Special Agent.

While at U of R, Lester met Lisa, the sister of one of his teammates. Lisa was not immediately enamored with Steve and for three years would not go out with him. 0-3. Undaunted, Lester persisted and won her over. A proposal of marriage ensued; however, Lisa --- having been reared in Clifton Forge --- did not want to live in Richmond. Lester realized that moving back to Wytheville and working with his father’s agency, Ewald-Lester Insurance Agency, would make everyone happy. Steve approached his Dad and let him know that he wanted to get married and return to Wytheville. Lester, Sr. retorted, "You can’t come home UNLESS you’re married."

So it was that in 1990 Steve left USF&G and Richmond and headed to Wytheville to, as Lester states, "Start from scratch in the agency as a new producer."

Assimilating into an established agency is rarely easy. Arriving among long-standing employees as the son of the owner can sometimes be a challenge. Steve recalls that not everyone was standing at the door with open arms. Lester, Sr. advised Steve to adapt to the new environment and "win ‘em over by working hard."

Ewald-Lester Insurance Agency continued to grow. By 1997, the agency merged with James Insurance Agency. The newly formed group was trading as Blue Ridge Insurance Agency. Two short years later, the agency was sold to Bankers Insurance. In this new role, Steve served as Regional Vice President for an area including Roanoke and points west. The new affiliation was terrific for business and the book grew well.

In early 2005, John Brown and Tommy Via with the Leonard L. Brown Agency in Blacksburg began discussing with Lester their interest in him. They needed a partner and Steve fit the bill. Five months later, Lester joined the agency in Blacksburg. With strong family and business roots in Wytheville, Steve opened the Lester Insurance Agency in 2007 on Main Street in Wytheville as a branch of the Leonard L. Brown Agency.

Not only is the insurance business serving Steve well, but his father, Steve Lester, Jr., made some keen business investments that have not only proven wise but now keep Lester, II extremely busy. Lester, Sr. had formed a real estate venture in the 1990s. Lester Properties owns several commercial buildings and residential dwellings. Steve’s mother, Jean, is a big help with this portion of his business.

In a more unusual venture, Lester, Sr. was approached by a friend in the early 1970s with a business proposition. This friend worked in a local fastener manufacturing plant. He convinced Lester, Sr. to invest in purchasing a local printing firm. The friend would operate the printing concern and Lester, Sr. would run the business. Not long thereafter, Lester, Sr. bought out the friend’s interest. A nearby University of Virginia graduate with a master's degree in English was a writer and the idea of running the printing operation was appealing. Lester, Sr. brought in the new talent and the business has blossomed. It purchased another printing concern sometime later. Overseen by Steve, the firm today has 22 employees and is grossing $2.2 million in revenue.

Sadly, in July 2008, Steven Lester, Sr. passed away and IIAV and the insurance industry lost a true and dedicated stalwart. Steve knew his father was gravely ill and his relationship with his father grew even stronger. Routinely this father-son pair would do things together or, when Lester, Sr. simply wanted to stay at home, his faithful son would bring lunch or dinner over and spend some quality time. Steve recalls that one day his father had phoned him. It was a Sunday and they chatted briefly. Young Steve had planned on attending church and then playing a round of golf. When asked if his father would like to join him and ride along, Lester, Sr. declined and said that he’d "see him at the turn." Golfers know that this simply means moving from the end of the front nine holes of play to the beginning of the final nine holes of play. When Steve had finished playing hole #9 and began #10 he saw his father sitting in the car nearby. Lester, Sr. waved to him just to acknowledge him and then slowly drove off. No words were spoken. Upon reflection on this tender moment, it seems clear that it was an acceptance that the final days were approaching. His father must have relished the moment and been satisfied that his fatherly duties had been carried out successfully, lovingly and with great devotion.

Steve Lester, Sr. had been an avid participant and supporter of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia. Steve recalls that at an early age his father would bring him to just about every annual convention. Often the family’s summer vacation was the IIAV Convention. Young Steve felt quite at home among IIAV peers. Sometimes, too comfortable. Steve had become friends with IIAV and IIABA past president Dwight Dillon’s son, Len. One year when both were teenagers they were at the IIAV convention in Hilton Head. They’d gotten hold of some bottle rockets and were launching them from the hotel room’s balcony. As if that were not disturbing enough, the two managed to set a nearby palm tree ablaze. One can only imagine the unwanted attention that must have drawn. Steve remembers the direct verbal onslaught wrought by the local fire chief. Who’d have thought independent insurance agents could start a fire at their own convention?

Becoming involved with IIAV as a new agent was a natural process. Steve participated in the local Independent Insurance Agents Association of Southwest Virginia and served as its President. When Pam Gates of Chaney Thomas Insurance Agency completed her term as the IIAV District 7 Board member, Ted Smith --- then IIAV’s executive officer --- called to see if Steve would serve on the Board. After serving in this capacity, IIAV President Rick Farmer called him to go into the chairs. Moving through the chairs, Lester was tapped President in 2002.

Lester’s first Executive Committee meeting was not uneventful. Ted Smith announced his resignation, leaving to run the Florida Auto Dealers Association. Serving on the search committee for Smith’s replacement, Lester notes that the committee did a thorough job. Selecting Bob Bradshaw to head the Association was the perfect decision.

During his term, Lester worked hard with other IIAV leaders on two main issues. Primarily, Lester was determined to unite IIAV and PIA into a merged, statewide organization. Lester laments that this objective could not be achieved. Secondly, Lester wanted to revive the IIAV Young Agents Committee. At that time, it had become somewhat inactive. His efforts paid off and the Young Agents Committee was resurrected. Lester is certainly pleased today to know how significantly the YAC has grown and flourished.

Today, Lester can reflect a bit on his earlier days in the insurance business. He is concerned with the new generation of young people eyeing the insurance business as a potential career. The industry, Lester admits, "Has not done a good job of getting the word out about our business." "It is not," he continues, "a late-evening-meet-at-the-kitchen-table sales job. Agents today are trusted advisors and should be viewed as such." Finally, Lester advises them, "Give it (the career) a shot."

With two sons, Drew and Hardy, growing up all too fast, Lester likely is quietly and pragmatically preparing them for much later years just as Lester, Sr. did for Steve. Thankfully, everyone is healthy. But Steven A. Lester, II is most probably checking out both of them every day and twice on Sunday afternoon with this thought in mind: "See you at the turn."

If you missed the previous articles you will find them on our website at www.iiav.com under News:
Gerard Story
Daniel J. Arris, AAI
Charles M. Morrison
George D. Griffith, Jr.
John L. Sim
Robert K. Nein, CPCU, CLU
Daniel J. Peacock, CPCU
Ralph Snead
Robert J. "Bobb" Dennis
Philip A. Colclough, Jr.
Robert E. Mullen, Jr.
Ben B. Dutton, Jr.
Wilford H. Ball, III, CPCU, AAI
James S. Day, AAI, CLU
Charles B. Gibson, Sr., CLU, ChFC
Lowery D. Finley, III, CPCU, PFP, AIA, CIC
R. David Priest, CPCU, AAI
D. Wayne Smart
Barnard W. Grier, CPCU
Harold D. Slemp
James P. Bradner
Charles J. Cralle, CPCU, ARM
Richard A. Farmar, III, CPCU, AAI
C. Dwight West, III, CPCU
H. Powers Thomas
M. Stevens Harris

Danny Mitchell (dmitchell@iiav.com), IIAV Membership/Marketing Director