Heather White, a remote employee of McElveen Insurance, was installed president of the Insurance Professionals of Acadiana May 19 at Fezzo’s Seafood, Steakhouse, and Oyster Bar in Broussard.
White succeeds Daphne Thibodeaux, McGriff Insurance Services, who remains on Insurance Professionals of Acadiana’s board of directors as immediate past president.
White has been a commercial account manager for McElveen since April, even though she is located in Youngsville and the agency is in Lake Charles. People in southwest Louisiana learned to work remotely subsequent to the hurricanes that devastated the area last year, according to White, who got the job when she responded to a job posting, which described the job as a “remote position.” McElveen now has two remote workers: White in the Lafayette area and another person in Baton Rouge.
Prior to taking the position with McElveen, White worked nearly 11 years for Hub International, where she was an account executive doing essentially the same she does at McElveen.
During her employment with Hub, White and practically everyone else began working at home. Believing she would be working at home about a month, she set up her office at the kitchen table. When it became three months with no end in sight, she turned a spare bedroom into an office. As it is now, she far and away prefers working at home – it saves time and money. Her commute has gone from 30 minutes to a walk down the hall. She can work out her own schedule, is regimented and has no distractions. Of course she misses some of the camaraderie, but the trade-off is no gas purchases, no dry cleaning bills, no money spent on office attire, and she can still get together with co-workers occasionally for lunch.
When White graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2001 with a degree in general studies, she began looking for a “real job” and accidentally found a career in the insurance business. A relative of her husband worked at Landry Harris and Company in Lafayette and told White the agency had an opening for a receptionist that for a college graduate would no-doubt lead to something else. White took the receptionist job and had it for about three months when a position opened handling small commercial accounts, then came a position handling large commercial accounts, but when she got her own book of business, she was hooked. She worked at Landry Harris for five years, and then landed a spot with Louisiana Companies, where she worked for two more years.
White holds the CIC, CISR and CIIP designations and is working toward the CRM and CLP designations.
In her discretionary moments, White volunteers at the Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Lafayette. She is a member of the Cuddle Crew and gets to rock the babies. When she is finished with the rocking, she gets to give the babies back and go home for a “good night’s sleep.”
As with most associations in 2020, White says it was a slow year for the Insurance Professionals of Acadiana. She assumed the office of president on July 1 and anticipates working toward getting the association’s golf tournament up and running again. In addition, the Insurance Professionals of Acadiana will choose a charity to support with donations of their time and funds during the year.
Officers installed with White are Penny Dugas, BXS Insurance Agency, vice president; Kerri Haydel, Dwight Andrus, secretary, and Tracy Bourgeois, Hub International, treasurer. Assuming positions on the association’s board of directors are Angie Viator, Thomson, Smith and Leach Insurance Group; Cristina Gonsalez, Hub International; Kelly Broussard, Dwight Andrus; Linda Ray, BXS; Tina Dupree, Dwight Andrus.
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