Jon Lovegreen, a State Farm insurance agent in St. James, is celebrating a decade of success but is grateful for his time helping people.  

“I feel a tremendous amount of accomplishment and gratitude to my team, my mentors and my family. Only about one-third of businesses make it to 10 years. To be counted among those 33 percent is something I am proud of,” he said. 

The idea to come to St. James began when Lovegreen was working as a team member for an agent in Kirksville. 

“I wanted to have my own agency one day,” he recalled. 

So, when the agent in St. James retired, Lovegreen and his wife, Sara, visited the area and were delighted by what they saw. Lovegreen was interviewed and hired to replace the retired agent and on Oct. 1, 2015, he opened the office.

“I grew up in a similar area to St. James…because of that, I knew from day one how important it is to build good relationships, both with customers as well as in the community,” Lovegreen said. “It's important to me that my team and I are involved in the community. Having a great team is also crucial to success. We come in every day ready to tackle our customers' worst days, from car accidents to home fires; we have to be there for them. ‘Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.’”

Reflecting back, Sara Lovegreen says when she met her husband, it was his dream to become a State Farm agent, so not only to see his dream come true but to see him thriving in that dream 10 years later is “awesome.”

“I'm just so proud of him,” she said. “It’s been really special to just kind of come alongside and be able to help make that dream come true. I'm so proud of how hard he's worked and proud of both of us for reaching out into a new community and finding a way to connect with people here. 

We didn't know anybody when we came here. It takes a special kind of trust between the agent and the community to not only get established, but to stay established.”

Brett Karnes, who works as a sales representative with Lovegreen, says he is so helpful to customers for many reasons but especially for his wealth of knowledge. 

“He definitely tries to go above and beyond for his customers and to make sure that they are properly insured and make sure that they have what they need and are content with it. He has done a really good job of that over the past 10 years,” Karnes said. 

Over the last decade, the team has evolved, and now includes three full-time staff members and two part-time team members. Originally, the office was at 850 N. Jefferson. Since Sept. 2017, the office has been located at 121 N Jefferson Street, services that are offered include personal auto, motorcycle, classic car, renters, home, farm, disability and pet life insurance products. For business owners, services include umbrella liability, commercial auto, workers comp, business owners, business life, business disability and landlord rental. 

“Our team will continue to grow and expand our customer relationships in South Central Missouri,” Lovegreen said. “We are already taking care of customers in St. James, Rolla, Cuba, Bourbon, Steelville, and Belle. Our goal is to be the premier agency in our region. I would also like to have a team member move on to get their own agency.”