This is the thirtieth in our series of conversations with former leaders of Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia. Mike Funkhouser served as IIAV Chairman of the Board after being elected in 2006 at the convention at The Homestead. This is the thirtieth in our series of conversations with former leaders of Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia. Mike Funkhouser served as IIAV Chairman of the Board after being elected in 2006 at the convention at The Homestead.
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Ask anyone over the age of 50 if they’ve ever been to Woodstock and the smart aleck response is usually "yes, but I can’t remember much after Joan Baez played." There is another Woodstock, of course, and it is in Virginia nestled about halfway between Harrisonburg and Winchester, just a stone's throw off I-81. The likes of Baez, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Gracie Slick, Joe Cocker, Neil Young and Country Joe McDonald from the Woodstock event in 1969 may never have ventured through Woodstock, Virginia. Their loss if they haven’t. It is a delightful town with a lot of character. It is also the home of Michael F. Funkhouser. Not originally from Woodstock, Funkhouser claims the town of Mt. Jackson as his first "home," just ten short miles away.
After high school, Mike didn’t go far for his college education. James Madison University in nearby Harrisonburg suited him just fine. Majoring in Computer Information Systems as a business degree, Funkhouser recalls, "I didn’t even have a computer at JMU until my senior year. The hand-held phone I now carry probably has 100 times more power than the unit I had then." Upon graduating in 1988, Mike began working with AT&T programming private line billing systems in northern Virginia.
Married life soon followed. In June 1990, Mike and wife Beth were married. They had met while both attending JMU. 1990 was a significant year for Mike for another reason, too. A few short months after their wedding, Mike and Beth relocated to Woodstock and he joined the insurance firm of Haun-Magruder, Inc. Founded over one hundred years earlier in 1893, the agency was owned by Mike’s father who had started there in 1963. On October 1st, Mike began as a producer. "This was," as Mike puts it, "the dawn of agency automation." With Mike’s computer training and experience, he landed the task of "automating" the agency. Mike soon realized that this was a much larger task than he’d anticipated. The agency system forced Mike to move from a "mainframe" environment, to which he was accustomed, to a new "network" environment.
At the time, Haun-Magruder, Inc. was a large writer with United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company or USF&G, as it was known. The system being used, Leader, was purchased by Applied and Mike headed to Atlanta for special training. Recalling the use of Novell Network, Mike spent about 70% of his time at the agency working towards automation and the remaining time on new production.
Today, Mike proudly serves as President of Haun-Magruder, Inc. Mike’s father, Frank, is still with the firm working daily. Haun-Magruder has grown to nine employees and occupies a prominent position on Woodstock’s Main Street. The agency has a business mix of about 70% personal lines and 30% commercial lines. With only one new home start in Woodstock during all of 2010, the business could bit a bit brighter, but Mike is grateful that the agency has done as well as it has during this economic slump.
As a young adult, Mike felt no pressure to become involved with the agency and he is applying the same parenting philosophy to his children. Mike and Beth have two growing sons. Andrew and Brent, ages 17 and 13 respectively, occupy much of Mike’s personal time these days.
Mike has diligently served on the Board of the Duke Club ---- the fundraising arm of JMU’s Athletic Department ---- for nearly four years. For five years, Mike was an elected member of the Woodstock Town Council. Professionally, Mike is actively involved with Main Street America’s Regional Agency Council on which he now serves as Vice Chair, and he has served on its National Council as Chair.
Since there was no local insurance association to which Mike could belong, becoming involved with the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia early in his career was paramount to his success. It was Steve Lester, II (IIAV Past President 2002-2003 from Wytheville) who initially encouraged Mike to get more involved with IIAV and "herded him into leadership" as Mike remembers. Mike’s first involvement was to participate in the IIAV Legislative Committee.
When the District 6 IIAV Board of Directors slot opened due to an expiring term, then IIAV executive Ted Smith and agent Bob Short contacted Mike to fill the position. Mike eagerly accepted the challenge. Becoming more involved with the budding Young Agents Committee earned Mike the honor of being tapped IIAV Young Agent of the Year in 2005. Moving rapidly through the "chairs" Mike was installed as IIAV Chairman at the annual convention at The Homestead in 2006. During his term, Mike was steadfastly involved with the expansion of the IIAV building and the fundraising efforts necessitated by such expansion. Mike and Bob Bradshaw traveled to Florida to meet with Main Street America resulting in the company’s generous $50,000 donation to the IIAV Building Fund. Additionally, Mike was instrumental in creating the IIAV Budget Committee to manage fiscal matters more closely. During this period also, much more emphasis was placed on growing IIAV’s Education Department’s needs and services.
Beth Funkhouser also stayed busy, working with a local telecommunications firm for four years. Then, just three and a half years ago, she opened a local retail shop. Wayfinder Gifts located on Main Street is a boutique specialty gifts shop worth visiting next time you're in the area.
It has only been a few years since Funkhouser became "ineligible" to remain as an IIAV Young Agent and "looking back" on his insurance career seems wholly inappropriate. So much of Mike’s career remains in front of him. Like many of his professional colleagues, Mike quickly acknowledges that the independent insurance agency business has been very good to him. "The relationships developed and people I’ve helped as an agent have made this a terrific career," Mike states. "This business," he adds, "is a fantastic way to make a living, be involved with the community, and be able to spend time with family."
Mike tells the story of one of his most memorable events during the house fire of one of his clients. "I was able to hand a significant claims check to the owners of the burned home while the fire trucks were still on the scene," Mike exclaimed. "One cannot express how meaningful that moment was for me and for the policyholders," he adds. This is a true testament to the value of the services an independent agent provides.
Mike Funkhouser is still a young man and there is much left to do. For the moment, he's eager to savor the time with his wife and sons. Growing the agency is also a priority and Mike will devote a lot of energy towards that goal. In the meantime, his second home at Nags Head is always a get-away treat ---- especially this time of year. The local golf courses are beckoning. The Dukes of JMU still have an insatiable appetite for Funkhouser’s fundraising skills, and even though Mike is not currently on the Town Council, one never knows if a run for mayor is in the foreseeable future.
Mike Funkhouser was barely 3 years old when Bert Sommer stepped onto the stage at Woodstock on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It was August 16, 1969. One of Sommer’s tunes performed that day --- titled "Things are Going My Way" ---- includes this line: "Things are goin’ my way". This sounds much like a Funkhouser anthem as "things" do, indeed, seem to be going his way.
If you missed the previous articles you will find them on our website at www.iiav.com under News.
Danny Mitchell (dmitchell@iiav.com), IIAV Membership/Marketing Director
Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia