This week we are celebrating our first-year anniversary under one roof.  Though both Holt and Proctor insurance agencies were in existence more than 100 years and McBriarty Insurance for nearly 25 years, these agencies were brought together as one by president and CEO, Lyle Fulkerson, last February 7, 2011.

Prior to the actual move to 633 Elm Street in Milford, employees were up-rooted from their respective offices in Milford and Wilton. Some employees had been working in the same office space for nearly 40 years, so it was quite a transition.

According to Cathy Magee, risk management specialist and prior Proctor insurance employee, "I remember packing-up and being amazed at all the stuff I had accumulated in the last 32 years."

Agency receptionist and prior Holt insurance employee, Mary, remembers the challenge of moving an office in the winter.  "Because we had to pack all of our belongings over several days, I remember having to work off a tiny typewriter table for a few days," Mary said.  "I also remember having to work in our coats because of the hundreds of crates that the movers had to move out of the old office.   We had to keep the door open the whole time, so at one point, you could see our breath.  It is funny to think about now."

Coincidentally, on the very day of our move, the Proctor office had an ice dam claim and had water running down the walls once the door was locked for what we thought was the final time.  As 633 Elm Street was not hooked up with phone or internet service yet, and files were not organized, even the seasoned veterans were in a state on what to do next.  It certainly gave us some perspective on the anxiety a customer must feel when they have a claim.  Luckily we had a smart phone and could look up our insurance company's claim hot line.

Monica Clearwater, risk management specialist and prior McBriarty insurance employee, remembers feeling bittersweet.  "There were only six of us at McBriarty, so I was a little excited and nervous to go from six to eighteen co-workers.   That said, it has worked out great because everyone really gets along," Clearwater stated.

Fulkerson agreed.  "There was a sense of new challenges and opportunities that was very exciting.  It brought out the strengths of everyone," Fulkerson said.  "Now that we are settled we look forward to what the future has to bring."