Recently, Picayune’s Stewart Insurance Agency placed 13th in Safeco Insurance’s “Make More Happen,” a national campaign to recognize the people who volunteer their time and resources for community service.
According to www.safeco.com, Safeco recognizes independent insurance agents who “make a positive difference” in their communities. The award consists of a donation to the nonprofit organization of an agent’s choosing and the agency was also entered into an online contest where the public can vote. The winners of the online contest receive additional funds for their nonprofits.
Last year, Stewart Insurance Agency owner Beth Lenoir attended a community meeting where she learned that participation in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Pearl River County had dwindled.
Like many members of her agency, Lenoir has a personal connection with the deadly disease known as cancer.
As part of her entry into the campaign, Lenoir wrote an explanation of why her agency chose the American Cancer Society’s Mid-South Division as their nonprofit.
In that narrative, she described her mother Joan Stewart’s battle with cancer.
“In 2003,” Lenoir said in the narrative, “my mother became very ill and went to the ER. It was determined she had blockage in her colon and within a few days, we were told the mass was malignant and had to be removed, along with parts of her colon and several lymph nodes. Over the next three years, the cancer spread to her lungs and esophagus.”
Lenoir’s mother died on Christmas Day in 2006.
Lenoir and members of her agency decided to honor their lost loved ones and raise awareness. They hung purple ribbons, spread word throughout the community, raised donations and participated in the Relay for Life events.
Her team raised more than $4,200, Lenoir said.
Lenoir said more than 300 agencies across the country sent in entries and 33 were chosen to participate in the online contest.
A link to the voting page was shared on the agency’s Facebook page and people were encouraged to vote and cheer for the local agency, she said.
“We were the only agency in the south to participate,” Lenoir said. “We are a small independent agency and finished 13 overall. We were two votes behind number 12.”
Thursday, Safeco representative Lloyd Lane presented the agency with a certificate and a check for $3,500 to American Cancer Society’s Mid-South Division Community Manager Carla Kyzar.
“I just want to say thank you to Beth and her agency for all they have done,” Kyzar said. “It’s also so great to be partnering with Safeco. It’s a wonderful opportunity and I just can’t say enough.”