The agency entered the current decade with more breadth than ever. We hired three young producers for the future. You have to keep growing to stay relevant. Technology is at a turning point as we’ve gone to a “cloud-based” agency management system in the middle of the decade. This allowed us to be at the forefront of the digital…
The implementation of technology and expansion of the agency in the previous decade brought the agency to a new height. We were one of the first independent agencies to have a website. At that time a website was a big deal and expensive. The Biscuits started in 2004 and our office, which we remodeled in 2006, was a part of…
In the ‘90s, the agency would expand "with confidence" rapidly. Remember the 70’s when the agency’s Gross Premium was close to half a million? At the beginning of the 1990s that number was a lot closer to 9 million—18 times more than just 20 years before. Between 1994 & 1998, The Starke Agency, Inc, bought five other local insurance agencies:…
The ‘80s: The 1980’s brings us to our fourth and current location in downtown Montgomery, Alabama: 210 Commerce St. The building, previously known as the Old Implement Store dates back to 1895 and boasts some of Montgomery’s most extravagant Victorian brickwork. When the agency first moved into the building it shared the ground floor with two other businesses and the…
Bo had been working at the agency for almost 10 years when he decided his father, Bo Sr. was spending more time at the Beauvoir Club than he was in the agency. So, he decided to tell his father he would buy the agency from him. Bo Sr., knowing Bo’s finances, “dared” him to try. Bo took the dare seriously…
In 1962 Bolling P. “Bo Bo” Starke, II, joined the agency after two years of military service. Current President, Trey Starke, recalls being told that at the time the agency profits were split between the three family members—Bo Sr., Bo Bo, and Joe. Bo Sr. would take a set amount and the remainder would be split 50/50 between Joe and…
While the insurance industry and Montgomery continued to expand, the agency hired its first family member. Joe Jordan, Bo’s brother-in-law, began working at the agency as their second producer. By the 1950's Rawlings was no longer backing the agency and hadn’t for years. The Bolling P. Starke Agency was now the agency’s official name. Still located in the Frank Leu…
The decade begins the year after WWII began. Bolling, better known as “Bo”, left the states and went to Germany to serve with the Red Cross during the War. He had tried to enlist but due to his age (late 30’s), he was denied. He used the influence of Senator Lister Hill (a Starke University graduate) to find a placement.…
In honor of our 90th anniversary, we thought to share some of Starke’s most interesting and pivotal points through the last 9 decades over the course of 9 days. The agency was established in 1929, so our first ‘real’ decade was the 30’s. The United States was in the midst of the Great Depression, yet Rawlings and Starke (the very…
Starke Agency celebrates its 90th anniversary providing insurance and risk management to the people and businesses of the River Region and beyond. Starke is marking its 90th anniversary on September 5, 2019, which has been proclaimed Starke Agency day. There will be a “Block Party” held to commemorate the special occasion. An exciting afternoon of celebrations will be held at…