StudioOne at 500: Reflecting on Growth and Looking to Rancho Mesa’s Future

In honor of reaching our 500th episode, Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley and President Dave Garcia discuss the history of StudioOne™ and plans for the future growth of Rancho Mesa.

Alyssa Burley: You’re listening to Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ podcast, where each week we break down complex insurance and safety topics to help your business thrive. I’m your host, Alyssa Burley, and today I’m joined by a co-host, Rancho Mesa’s President Dave Garcia.

Dave, welcome to the show.

Dave Garcia: Alyssa, man, I am so excited to be in StudioOne today and talking to you about this huge milestone.

AB: Yeah, so we're excited to record our 500th episode today. And we're taking this opportunity to give our listeners an update on what's new with Rancho Mesa and what we see in our future. But first, I think Dave, you wanted to talk a little bit about the podcast in general, is that correct?

DG: Yeah, because as the listeners know, I'm the oldest person in the company. And so podcasting to me was something I saw on my phone, but didn't really understand how it worked. And so I thought it'd be kind of fun just to go back in time and talk about how did we even get this thing started? So Alyssa, do you, your memory's probably better than mine. How did we get started way back when?

AB: Yeah, so that's interesting that you say that. And I do want to point out that this is our 500th episode. That is a huge milestone. So I did a little bit of research before today's episode and I found some interesting statistics. So Riverside says that only 90% of podcasts reach episode three. Okay, so that's pretty easy, right? But even fewer actually reach episode 20. Okay, that seems pretty reasonable, right? You know, you do a couple of episodes and then it kind of trails off. But another company or organization, Podmatch, says that podcasters have about a 10% chance of reaching episode 50. We blew that out of the water, I think maybe our first year or just after we had been doing this for a year.

Now, what's even more impressive is that reaching episode 200 is only done by 2.52% of podcasters. I don't even know what the statistics would be for episode 500, but that is a very, very small percentage or likelihood that anybody is going to get to episode 500. So I'm really excited about that. And it's really just because of the people that we have here, our team here in this department, all of our sales team, everybody who participates, all of our guests, we could not have done it without them.

DG: Yeah, I'm really, really proud of that. And when you see those statistics, you realize that we're probably serving a great audience that we've lasted this long, that we're committed. We're just a company and agency that believes in hard work. And this has become less hard work because we've gotten really skilled at it. And it'll be fun to now talk about, well, how did this all get started and what got us to 500. How we started, we would not have gotten to 500. We made changes along the way. Yeah. So, Alyssa, remind my poor memory. This was pre-COVID?

AB: It was pre-COVID. Wow. So, we actually recorded the first eight episodes in the fall of 2019. So, we had gone to, I guess it's an expo or a conference called Landscapes, and it was in Louisville, Kentucky and Drew Garcia, your son, he actually interviewed a couple of carriers, clients and non-clients about the landscape industry. And our very first episode was with Cody Kamek from Landcare Management Services and I think that they're out of Texas. So in January 2020, we now had a few episodes that we had edited and we decided, okay, we're going to release an episode every month, and we had eight interviews, great.

That was going to give us eight months’ worth of content is what we thought, and that gave us eight months to come up with four more topics, and then we would have our first year completed. So I thought we were doing great.

But we decided very quickly that doing an episode every month was not enough so we started off with just the one and then we decided okay we needed to have more episodes so I started reading the articles that our team writes every week and you know it was okay they're not great I don't even know if some of them are still on the website at this point but by April 2020 we had started reading articles, and we decided they're going to sound a little bit better if I'm actually interviewing the author of those articles. So I think by May of 2020, we were doing an episode a week, I was interviewing the person who wrote the article, and then we quickly realized we probably should be doing two episodes per week, one with the author of the article, and then we were also going to do one that was client services related. So we could talk about the services that we were providing, our HR portal, the SafetyOne app. Well, we didn't have it at that time, but you know, so anything that our client services team was doing.

So now we are, we're recording two episodes every week. And, you know, it's just gotten better from there. And you know, what's funny is at one point we were thinking, Okay, how are we going to come up with enough topics to have two episodes a week? And now we actually have too many episodes already recorded, right, Megan? That we're booked out for over the next month. So there is no shortage of topics to talk about. And that's pretty exciting.

DG: Yeah. I'm really excited about that. And Alyssa's being a little modest. And she was really the catalyst behind this, her and Drew coming to me saying, "Hey, let's do a podcast."

And I was saying, I know what that is, but how in the world do you do it? And they were able to put it together really quickly, as she mentioned. And then I think because of our specialization and really demanding our producers really understand those marketplaces that they're in, asking them to become pros, pros within those industries and write articles that are specific to the industries that they're serving. This was just a natural flow from going from a written article, you know, I guess, segue, and again, I'll give Alyssa and Drew a lot of credit here.

We realize as time goes on, people absorb their information in a lot of different ways. In my generation, I'm in my 60s, and we still like to read. Another generation might prefer to listen and another generation might prefer to just watch the video. So we thought at the time it would be good to try to kind of touch on all of those. Podcasting was the first venture down that. So I'm totally excited. I think it's gone from the guest reading their article to Alyssa really having an interview with them so that they really understand the content. So I couldn't be happier. Can't way to see where it goes.

AB: Yeah, and you know, what's interesting is, you know, we had planned to do the podcast like right before COVID, and obviously we had no idea that it was coming. But I think once everybody kind of went home and they were not in the office, the podcast really gave us another way to reach people that, you know, maybe people are at home, they're working, but they're listening to podcasts. And so it just gave us another way to reach those people.

DG: Yeah, and it was, you know, just digression of it back into the COVID days. I remember reaching out to Rob Darby, who's the president of Berkshire Hathaway, home state companies, large work comp carrier here in California, good friend. And we just talked about COVID. He and I just got on the line together. He was, you know, remote, I was remote. And that is still one of our all-time biggest plays of any one podcast.

AB: It is, still.

DG: Yeah, and it occasionally gets a play even today.

AB: It does.

DG: So, you know, we adapted to the COVID time and it really kind of accelerated the whole process of us doing podcasts and providing information to people in different kinds of venues. But funny story now, you're probably wondering, well, where did podcast. So listen, give us a little, give us a little background on how we started doing our podcast.

AB: Yeah. So, so like mentioned earlier, our first eight episodes, we recorded those at landscapes, right? But we knew that if we were going to continue this, we were going to need an actual space to record them. So it just happened that early 2020, We were actually opening up a second office. So our main office was in Santee, which is just a suburb of San Diego. And so we were going to open up another office in La Mesa, which is like five, 10 minutes away. And so when that group that was going to move to the La Mesa office actually moved, it opened up some offices, some space in Santee. And so we were able to actually convert our Executive Vice President Daniel Frazee’s former office into a recording studio. So that was really a game-changer for us because it gave us a space to record on a regular basis. You know we could have everything set up all the time. We didn't have to you know try to set up everything just to record. So that made a huge difference for us.

We did have some challenges though in that space. So if you're familiar with the area Gillespie Field is an Airport and we weren't too far from it. And so we would literally have to stop the podcast while the plane flew over and then we would just resume as soon as it was gone and even we had construction going on in the space next to us. And so we were constantly dealing with, you know, big trucks and backup alarms and all of those fun things that you get on a construction site, we were dealing with, we had all the noises.

So when we did move to our current location in Mission Valley, we actually got the opportunity to build out the studio that we're recording in today. And it really makes us appreciate how nice the studio is because we dealt with a lot of other things in the old studio. It's just part of the Rancho Mesa fabric now. It's just part of our history.

DG: Yeah, we have a gorgeous studio here now. We've got cameras, we've got monitors, we've got soundboards on the walls, we've got a producer's desk. It's pretty exciting and we feel like over those five years, six years now. We've really come a long way in being able to produce the podcasts and videos.

AB: Yeah. All right. So, Dave, you mentioned earlier that one of our early podcasts, you did virtually during COVID. So, do you want to talk a little bit about who we'd like to bring in as guests? I mean, sometimes it's just Rancho Mesa people, right? But oftentimes, we do bring in third parties. So, do you want to talk a little bit about guests coming in or maybe doing the interviews virtually?

DG: Yeah, I think that what we wanted to do was tap into different expertise in different fields. So we've had attorneys come in to talk about contractual language. We've had different safety experts come in and talk about tips, financial experts when it's on our surety side. But two that I remember the most, one was Rob Darby, which I mentioned earlier on the COVID side. But then I got an interesting phone call one day from a carrier that we work with that's homebase is in Wisconsin. And it was ahead of their claims department who had been listening to our podcast and reached out and said, "Hey, can I be on your show?"

And I'm like, when he said that, I'm like, "Oh, I have a show?"

I didn't even really realize that. Oh yeah, yeah, of course you can be on my show. So he wanted to kind of tell the story a little bit about what he felt made his company unique and claims handling this worker’s compensation care. So we you know we went back and forth with questions and then maybe two weeks before we were going to tape it he said, “Hey can I bring a third person in? He's our head of our claims and he's in Pennsylvania.”

And I'm feeling like wow I'm syndicated now so I'm going to be in Mission Valley one guy's going to be in Wisconsin and the other guy's going to be in Pennsylvania. I say okay, but then I've got to go see my boss to listen and say, “Hey, is this something we can do? Like, can we really have people in from two different states at the same time and make this work?”

And she's like, “Of course, it's easy, it's nothing to it.”

I'm like, okay, cool, let's do it. So that was super fun and really enjoyed it. We had the cameras up and running and we were looking at each other. It's kind of like a Zoom call, but we're recording it. And it was just fascinating. And I know they now use edits from that podcast in their onboarding process with some of their new claims examiners. So that was really just another cool story.

AB: Yeah, that was probably one of the first or maybe the first episodes where we had multiple people all in different locations. And it sounded great.

DG: Yeah, you wouldn't know it. You for sure wouldn't know it. And we probably could have made that a podcast because we did have the video as well. So yeah, that was a check that box. We can do that for sure. And then we've had, and listen, do you want to talk on this or do you want me to talk on getting to know different people?

AB: So the Getting to Know series is where we get to talk to employees and get to know a little bit about them. So funny enough, these episodes get the most plays out of any other topic by far. And I do think that it's because people want to know about the people that they're working with. It could be our clients that are listening, it could be carriers, it could be strangers. But I do think that people really enjoy learning about other people and how they get it in the industry and what they like to do in their free time, it just makes us feel more real to people. So I think that it's one of our better episodes when we get to actually talk to somebody that works here.

DG: Yeah. I've been fortunate to be the interviewer for those different episodes. And it's all voluntary, so we don't force anybody to do it. But I've worked with some people here, we're in our 26th year and I've talked to some people that have been here 15, 20 years. I thought I knew pretty much everything about them. And then we get into this conversation and I find they were a black belt in Taekwondo when they were a kid. And I'm like, hang on, what? And so, I think one of our core values here is we believe that insurance and life should be a people business. And so just the better that we know our clients, our carrier partners, and most importantly our employees, the better we all are for that. So I thoroughly enjoy that. I try not to twist people's arms to come in and do it, but it's so fun to find out where they grew up and what are their likes outside of work and things like that. So that's been just an awesome series. And then because of its success, we've extended it outside to some of our clients and carrier partners and just gotten to know them on a different level. So we did not see that coming at the start, I would say that.

AB: Yeah, yeah. So along those same lines about getting to know us as individuals, do you want to talk about your latest venture, Dave's Dugout?

DG: Yeah, thanks, Alyssa. Thanks for plugging in. So Dave's Dugout as a separate podcast channel and just briefly I guess it's a tribute. I grew up in a baseball family and my father was very influential to me and I realized in growing up I was around him a lot in the summer times because he was out managing in the minor leagues and at the end in the major leagues and I would spend just months on end with him and I was in the dugout a lot in the clubhouse, in the bullpen, the outfield, infield. And he was a really terrific, common sense leader of men. And as I've gotten older, I realized that so much of who I am today was because of things I learned just observing how he handled situations.

So in an effort to kind of get some of those stories out, to maybe help people, their stories that, so that those podcasts are three, four minutes.  They're kind of somewhere around baseball story type thing, but there's a little life lesson in there. Maybe it's applicable in business, in your home life, or just how you treat other people. Maybe you'll find some, you know, happiness and use in it. So we're going to continue that. And the ultimate goal is bringing other people in to share their dugout stories with me. And so if you're listening to this and if you listen to a couple of Dave's dugouts and kind of get the feel for them, you feel like you've got something to share, absolutely call me, love to have you in the dugout.

AB: Yeah, I'm really excited about those and we've only heard good things about each of the episodes. So make sure that if you're listening today that you check out Dave's Dugout, you should be able to find it on all of the major channels.

DG: Yeah, and if you really want to have a good laugh, the cover jacket, the picture for it, is the only picture of my father and I in baseball uniform that exists. I was 16 years old. My dad was managing in El Paso, 1974. And you can give me a hard time about how long my hair was. But so if you, for no other reason, look it up just so you can tease me about that picture.

AB: Oh yeah, we're excited about that.

DG: Yeah, it really does look great. So now that we've talked a little bit about the podcast, how we got started, do you want to talk about what's going on with Rancho Mesa and all the exciting things that are happening?

DG: Oh my gosh, I actually kind of got chills just then when you said it that way. Yeah, I really do. We're super excited. You know, we We're just putting the final paint touches on our expansion here in Mission Valley. So we're going to have the entire floor. We just added what we're calling the East County Lounge, just kind of a communal area where people can go in, relax, play a board game, have a meeting, talk it over with their coworkers, different clients, friends, family, whatever, and then just added a ton of additional space. So I know you know, we're looking to hire 30 plus people. And that's pretty exciting, don't you agree?

AB: Oh yeah, absolutely. So we recently published an article that talks about the expansion. And the reasons why we're expanding, you know, a lot of companies right now, unfortunately they're getting purchased by larger insurance agencies. And that's not the case for us, we're growing, we're growing organically and we're looking for good people here in San Diego and we're making a really nice place for them to work. We have a great culture, great atmosphere and we're just really excited to move into the new space and to welcome some new people.

DG: Yeah, it's a wonderful place to come every day and if you're out there and you're looking for different opportunities. You know, look us up on the website, come by the office, doors always open, love to have you here. But it's really exciting because to me, it just feels like we're at this next cusp of the next stage of Rancho Mesa.

And we operate in 22 states right now, all from San Diego. We've got a producer and his client manager on an airplane right now heading to Seattle to visit one of our clients. It's just totally exciting stuff going on here. So the space somehow has just made it 3D. It makes it feel real. And so we're here to stay and we're here to remain independent. We are not going to sell our agency. We've got 12 partners now. I'm excited about that, watching young people kind of embrace their careers and grow within Rancho Mesa. It just makes Rancho Mesa bigger and stronger and allows us to provide more services and resources to our clients. So it's a win-win all the way out.

Along those lines, we just continue to build out a suite of services. Let's just touch briefly on some of the things that you've got planned for the year.

AB: Yeah, so as many people know, we do have our SafetyOne platform and it includes a website and a mobile app, and it's based around safety, trying to make sure that our clients are training their employees and everybody has all the information that they need, but we're always adding new enhancements. So we're listening to our clients, we're listening to what they need, and we're adding some really cool features, so we're excited about that.

In addition to, we for workshops and webinars every single month, live and recorded, just to try to make sure that our clients are educated, they know what's happening in the industry and they can provide safety trainings to their employees. So we're excited about all of the different services that we offer to our clients and know that we're going to continue to constantly improve. We're not static over here.

DG: Yeah, definitely not static and definitely not static inside either. We really want to encourage our employees to kind of reach for the stars in their professional careers and their personal lives to try to give them a platform of knowledge and education and encouragement to go out and be the best version of themselves. So quarterly we do try to bring somebody in to conduct some kind of a workshop for us from time management skills all the way to nutrition. So we're always looking for those topics that our employees find engaging but beneficial. And that's just, for me, that's one of the most exciting things. It's just to watch somebody come in and then just their eyes get open and they're like, "Wow, okay, I can really go places here." And they can because as we grow, it just creates more and more opportunities within the company. So that's probably one of the things I'm most proud of is that opportunity. If you want to come in here and really see where you can go, I think we're the runway for you to do it.

AB: Yeah, and I think it's important for people to understand that, you know, we're hiring people with experience, but we're also looking for people who want to change their career and really want to get into insurance or, you know, maybe you're in accounting or, you know, media communications. We have positions available. It's just, we're not just looking for experienced insurance people. We've grown so many people that had no experience, but, you know, we've taught them the Rancho Mesa way and some people have been here for, you know, their entire careers, that's pretty cool.

DG: Yeah, and we do an engagement survey each year to just try to put our finger on the pole so we don't want to just drink our own Kool-Aid. We really want to know what are the employees thinking, what do they need, what do they want. And this last time we just did it in November, I think this past year. And listen, what were some of those numbers like?

AB: We were in the 90th percentile in most of the things. Most of them, I think we’re like 97-point-something percent satisfaction in a lot of different areas and you know we've been posting on LinkedIn those stats so check out our page on LinkedIn if you want to know all of the results. But I was really I can't say I was surprised but I was pleasantly surprised to see how high those numbers were and keep in mind this is a third party that administered this survey We had nothing to do with the questions or, you know, the answers, so that really makes me feel good that what we're doing, it's what people want, you know? They're happy to be here, and I think our people see that we're trying to make a culture that makes people feel comfortable, and they want to be here. And I think that's evident everywhere that you look at Rancho Mesa.

DG: Yeah, a lot of attention to detail, try to make everything really nice for them. And you know, one number that really jumped off at me too, Alyssa, during that was, I think it was 85% of our employees have all been here longer than five years.

AB: Yeah.

DG: And I'm super proud, I don't know if there's another business of any sort that can say, wow, you just don't lose people. And we don't, we lose them when they retire. That's pretty much when they leave us. So, but we know we're the type of people that we know there's another level, you know, we believe in the one of one that you can't not reach, but that's what we're striving for. So we don't know what the next, if we were at 97.2, we want to know how do we get to 98?

So, you know, we're looking to do that on an ongoing basis and you know, just to have a, obviously I've been here the longest, I couldn't do this alone. It's the group of people that's here and it's a shared mentality of really good people who want to work hard and give something back and just kind of make it a better place and keep it a people business. So I'm sorry, I can go on and on about all that. So thank you so much. 500 episodes, that's incredible.

AB: Yeah, I think your comments was a great way to end this 500th episode. So thank you so much. We'll see you at the next 500. Well, I'm sure that we'll hit our thousandth. That's what you say. 1000th episode.

DG: Yes. Yeah. So stay tuned. Follow us. Talk to you soon. Bye.

AB: Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne. If you enjoyed what you heard, please share this episode and subscribe. For more insights like this, visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Grow With Us: Rancho Mesa Expansion Brings New Opportunities to Mission Valley

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. is excited to announce the expansion of its Mission Valley office. In response to our continued and steady growth since moving into this new space 2 years ago, Rancho Mesa’s latest office expansion is expected to provide additional career opportunities to both current and future employees in the San Diego insurance community.

Rancho Mesa continues to grow organically as we build up our book of business one client at a time. To meet our growing needs, we recently acquired additional office space, expanding to occupy the entire second floor of our building in the Mission City Corporate Center. The new space underwent a three-month renovation to emulate Rancho Mesa’s rustic modern office style  including a second kitchen, lounge, additional offices and cubicles.

“The expansion to the office is going to look beautiful,” Senior Client Manager Christina Haake said.

The expanded office is vital for the growth goals of Rancho Mesa. As we continue to bring on  new clients, we are adding more team members to support them. Rancho Mesa hires top-tier professionals for roles as client managers, assistant client managers, client coordinators, producers, accounting assistants, client services, and media communications professionals in order to support our growth. The new space accounts for these positions and will allow for over 30 new employees, which we anticipate to fill within the next few years.

 “When I joined Rancho Mesa and its 18 staff members in 2010, our beautiful office in Santee seemed like it would fit us forever,” Sam Brown, Vice President of the Human Services Group, said. “I feel so fortunate that Rancho Mesa's high standards of how a workplace should look and feel have not wavered as we have grown the last 15 years. The new space is just as warm, welcoming, and beautiful as the day I first joined the company.”

As Rancho Mesa looks towards the future, we are excited and proud to not only further the careers of our current employees, but also to establish a greater commitment to the San Diego job market, creating more opportunities in the community.

“I’m so excited as we near the completion of the expansion of our office. It looks amazing and the timing is perfect to meet the needs of our continued organic growth. This expansion gives us the footprint we need to add new team members and create more career opportunities for all our employees,” Rancho Mesa President and CEO Dave Garcia said.

Rancho Mesa is looking for people who love what they do and want to join a winning team. Visit our www.RanchoMesa.com/careers page to learn more about joining our team.

Supporting San Diego: Rancho Mesa Attends FHCSD’s Spirit of the Barrio

Author, Jadyn Brandt, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Dave Garcia speaking as Master of Ceremonies.

From Left: KGTV Sports Director Ben Higgins, Padres Executive Vice President of Business Affairs, Sergio Del Prado, Spanish language broadcaster, Eduardo Ortega, and San Diego Community Power Director of Public Affairs, Jen Lebron

From Left: Rancho Mesa’s Dave Garcia with BHHC’s Margaret Hartmann, Katherine Berman, Cynthia Paulsen, Lonna Feemster, Tyler Michels, and Jessee Keirstead

From Left: Rancho Mesa’s Dave Garcia, Sierra Stone, Kim Vasquez, Joyce Flores, Jack Marrs, Olivia Velasco, Sam Brown, and Alyssa Burley

On Friday, March 21, 2025 Rancho Mesa employees attended Family Health Centers of San Diego’s Spirit of the Barrio luncheon.

Rancho Mesa President & CEO Dave Garcia served as the event’s master of ceremonies. A panel of notable voices in the world of Padres baseball—including Padres Executive Vice President of Business Affairs, Sergio Del Prado, and Spanish language broadcaster, Eduardo Ortega—discussed changes to the team’s roster and updates to Petco Park for the 2025 season.

“Family Health Centers of San Diego plays such a critical role to our region as a provider and community leader in affordable healthcare,” Sam Brown, Human Services Group Vice President, said.

Attendees enjoyed a tamale lunch, and participated in a Padres memorabilia auction, helping to raise more than $3,500 for Family Health Centers of San Diego.

“Spirit of the Barrio puts leadership on display as the community shows its support and celebrates success together,” Brown said. “Rancho Mesa's employees are proud to play a small role in these events and Family Health Centers' success stories.”

About Family Health Center’s of San Diego
For over 50 years, Family Health Centers of San Diego’s (FHCSD) mission has been to provide caring, affordable, high-quality health care and supportive services to everyone, with a special commitment to uninsured, low-income, and medically underserved persons. To learn more information, please visit www.fhcsd.org.

Rancho Mesa Attends the Artisans Ltd. Annual Board Meeting

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing and Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On March 9-11, 2025, Construction Group Vice President, Sam Clayton, represented Rancho Mesa at the Artisans Insurance Ltd. Board of Directors Meeting in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Artisans Insurance Ltd., a member-owned group captive, represents California trade contractors. Clayton attended the meeting to support the many clients who are members of this program.

“The Captive had another great year and declared over $5 million in dividends to its members,” Clayton said.

The event featured a round of golf at the Greg Norman-designed Solmar Golf Links, followed by the board meetings and President’s Dinner. Clayton also connected with Rancho Mesa clients across a diverse range of specialties, including engineering, mechanical, painting, landscaping, and flooring.

By attending meetings such as these, Rancho Mesa ensures we are well informed on the insurance changes that affect our clients.

Rancho Mesa’s Top Podcast Episodes and Articles of 2024

Author, Jadyn Brandt, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa has always been committed to empowering employers with essential knowledge about insurance, surety, and workplace safety. We kept up this commitment in 2024, producing nearly 100 podcasts and articles covering topics central to the industry. As we look back on the past year, here is some of our most impactful content from 2024.

Top Podcast Episodes of 2024:

1. Ep. 393 Navigating 2024's Contractor Challenges with the Surety Association of San Diego

Andy Roberts, Rancho Mesa's Account Executive for the Surety Department and President of the Surety Association of San Diego (SASD), is joined by fellow SASD board members to delve into the major challenges confronting contractors in 2024 and strategies for optimizing your surety relationships.

2. Ep. 443 Exploring the Current Commercial Surety Climate

Andy Roberts, Rancho Mesa's Surety Account Executive, is joined by Miggs Borromeo, Commercial Surety Underwriter for Merchants Bonding, to discuss the current climate of the commercial surety world in Southern California.

3. Ep. 411 The Prime Contract and Its Impact on Your Rights and Responsibilities

Rancho Mesa’s Surety Relationship Executive Anne Wright talks with Pam Scholefield of Scholefield Law in San Diego, and discusses the factors subcontractors should consider before signing a prime contract.

4. Ep. 447 Exploring Innovation and Problem Solving in the Commercial Construction Industry

Kevin Howard, Partner with Rancho Mesa, interviews Jeremy Dentt of Dentt Properties Inc. and explores a range of topics relating to innovation and problem solving in the commercial construction world.

5. Ep. 403 Return to Work Programs: Best Practices for Handling Workers' Comp Claims

Rancho Mesa's Media Communications & Client Services Manager Alyssa Burley and Account Executive Casey Craig discuss return to work programs as a best practice for handling workers’ compensation claims.

Top Articles of 2024:

1. WCIRB 2024 Construction Dual Wage Threshold Increases Approved

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approves an increase in hourly wage thresholds for all 16 construction dual-wage classifications. This article outlines the increases for each classification.

2. Employee Spotlight: Rancho Mesa’s Christina Haake Elected President of PWI

Senior Client Manager Christina Haake was elected President of the Professionals within Insurance (PWI) San Diego. Haake shares her thoughts on the organization and what she is looking forward to in her term as President.

3. Most Commonly Reclassified Lawn Care and Landscape Workers Compensation Governing Codes

In states that are under the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) rating bureau (in which there are currently 35), there are two major class codes used by landscape professionals. Each code applies to specific job duties and have different rates. This article explains when each class code should be utilized.

4. New California Employment Laws for 2025

New legislation was implemented across California at the start of 2025. This article highlights some of the most relevant legal changes for California business owners in the new year.

5. How Healthcare Staffing Agencies Can Prevent Claims

Healthcare staffing agencies play a vital role in maintaining patient care standards. This article provides steps healthcare staffing agencies can take to prevent claims and protect their operations.

Rancho Mesa’s entire library of insurance and safety podcast episodes and articles can be found on our website under “Insights.” To get the latest podcast episodes and articles, subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Employees Overwhelmingly Vote Rancho Mesa Best Workplace

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

The insurance industry is a people business and Rancho Mesa is proud of the work we do in our community and the people on our team. The dedicated individuals who protect our clients are truly what sets us apart.

We value employee satisfaction across all areas of life. So much so, we decided to ask employees about their job satisfaction and we found that 93.5% of our employees said they have a high level of overall job satisfaction. And, while many companies have purchased “best place to work” awards through various publications, Rancho Mesa wanted real data from our real employees. Last year, Rancho Mesa used MarshBerry’s reputable Employee Engagement Survey which allowed employees to voice their opinions honestly and confidentially. MarshBerry then evaluated the feedback and provided a summary of the results. These results offered insight into areas such as career advancement, management, and work/life balance. Here’s what they discovered.

94.3% of employees say their work schedule allows them to have a work/life balance.
Rancho Mesa prioritizes work/life balance by ensuring manageable workloads, encouraging employees to take regular breaks, and time off. The agency offers a strong PTO policy, wellness programs via its health benefit plans, all in order to support employees' well-being. Rancho Mesa leadership promotes deep respect for personal time, with no expectations for after-hours work. The agency believes in recognizing the team’s efforts, ensuring that everyone can maintain a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives.

97.4% of employees say their careers are being advanced by working at Rancho Mesa.
The agency supports employees' career growth through continuing education courses, professional development workshops, and internal promotions. Rancho Mesa funds insurance licensing and certifications for team members, encouraging designations such as AIS, AINS, CRIS, and CISR. Furthermore, in 2024 Rancho Mesa promoted 16% of its entire workforce to more advanced positions. The agency is passionate about supporting its employees' professional goals, setting them up for a fulfilling and successful careers.

97.5% of employees say their immediate supervisor cares about their well-being.
Rancho Mesa upholds a leadership style that is committed to maintaining open lines of communication, regular check-ins and guidance when needed. Leadership also recognizes and celebrates achievements with initiatives like the OneofOne® Recognition Program, encouraging both leadership and employees to submit praise for when their team members go above and beyond. Based on the numbers, 67% of Rancho Mesa employees were publically recognized for their OneofOne work in 2024. The agency is proud to have cultivated a work environment where employees feel supported and truly cared for by their team.  

97.4% of employees say their job fully utilizes their knowledge, skills and experience.
The agency is committed to offer challenging and meaningful work that aligns with the team’s individual expertise. Rancho Mesa also utilizes employees' skills by creating opportunities for them to train and mentor others, encouraging continuous learning, and ensuring every team member can grow and contribute in their own distinct way.

92.1% of employees say they plan to keep working at Rancho Mesa for at least the next three years.
Rancho Mesa is proud to maintain a low employee turnover rate, which reflects the strong loyalty and satisfaction felt among the team members. Many employees choose to build long-term careers with Rancho Mesa, some even retire after 20+ years. Rancho Mesa believes this is the biggest indicator of its commitment to employees.

We’re honored to have the real voices of our team vote Rancho Mesa a best place to work, and we’re proud of the company culture that led to these results. If you are seeking a lasting career that values personal growth, professional development, and a positive work environment, you are invited to explore Rancho Mesa’s employment opportunities. 

Rancho Mesa’s 2024: Our Year in Review

With 2024 officially behind us, Rancho Mesa is proud of what we have accomplished the past year. 2024 was a year of breaking records, growing our team, and adapting to the changes in the insurance world. We’ve continued to strengthen our commitment to providing OneofOne® service to our clients, while keeping up-to-date with the tools and resources they need. From refining our policy review process to expanding our SafetyOne™ training library, we’ve focused on staying ahead for clients while enjoying the journey along the way. Here are some highlights from our 2024 year.

IIABA Best Practices Agency Designation for 18th Consecutive Year

In August, Rancho Mesa was recognized Best Practices Agency for the 18th consecutive year by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”). This special award is only given to a select group of agencies that are carefully evaluated based on their practices, methods, and finances to find the top performers in the industry. We were proud to stand out as one of a select few agencies to earn the Best Practices status in California.

Employee success

Our team celebrated many professional achievements in 2024, including impressive career milestones.

• Rory Anderson joined the Ownership Team as a new Partner.

• Yvonne Gallagher was promoted to Senior Client Manager/Team Lead.

• Kelsey McPherson was promoted to Senior Client Manager/Team Lead.

• David McCoy took a new role as Client Coordinator.

• Brenda Khalil took a new role as Client Technology Coordinator.

• Megan Lockhart was promoted to Marketing & Media Communications Specialist.

• Rachel Bristol was promoted to Client Manager.

• Maria Lotta was promoted to Assistant Client Manager.

• Ashley Hunter was promoted to Client Manager.

Brittney Thompson

Eileen Rojas

Manuel Ovalle

Penelope Marquez

Jadyn Brandt

Alex Torres

Georgina Diaz

Joyce Flores

Olivia Velasco

Natalie Aguayo

Along with our team’s internal achievements, we also welcomed 10 new employees across a diverse range of roles, to our RMI family last year.

Jeremy Hoolihan at his IIAB Board Member Installation dinner with his wife, Cheri.

Rancho Mesa employees dove into the industry’s community last year, taking on impressive leadership roles.

• Surety Account Executive Andy Roberts was appointed President of the Surety Association of San Diego (SASD).

• Partner Alyssa Burley was appointed Parliamentarian for NAWIC San Diego Board.

• Partner Jeremy Hoolihan served as an IIAB San Diego Board Member for the 2024 year.

• Senior Client Manager Christina Haake served as Secretary for PWI San Diego.

client & industry Involvement

Rancho Mesa stayed active and engaged in both our clients’ industries and the insurance community last year. Our Account Executives attended numerous conferences and industry events in order stay updated on the trends that affect our clients. Here are the highlights.

President Dave Garcia, Landscape Group VP Drew Garcia, and Account Executive Greg Garcia attended NALP’s Leaders Forum Litibu, Mexico.

The team attended I-Day this year, connecting with insurance professionals at our booth.

Construction Group Vice President Sam Clayton attended Artisans Insurance Ltd. Board of Directors Meeting in Nassau, Bahamas.

Partner Jeremy Hoolihan attended BHHC’s Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, NE.

Partner Rory Anderson attended Grow Summit 2024 hosted by Stay Green, Inc.

Drew Garcia and Greg Garcia attended NALP’s 2024 ELEVATE Conference in Charlotte, NC.

Client Services

Rancho Mesa is proud of the services and added resources we offered clients last year. We hosted 10 live workshops and streamed 53 virtual webinars for our clients to attend.

Additionally, our Safety and Risk Management Network, StudioOne™, published 99 podcast episodes in the 2024 year, and brought in 14 outside professionals as guests.

Our Employment Law Update workshop, hosted in November 2024 and presented by attorney Thomas E. Daugherty of Klinedinst San Diego, was highly anticipated and covered employment law changes in the 2025 year.

PWI’s Thanksgiving Food Drive, donating to those in need during the holiday season.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s for the Alzheimer’s Association

Family Health Centers of San Diego's Spirit of the Barrio, which raise funds for the San Diego community

Annual support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October

2024 MAAC Project Soirée, Rancho Mesa is proud annual sponsor of the organization which makes impactful change in the San Diego community

Community involvement

In addition to our industry involvement, Rancho Mesa remained dedicated to supporting the San Diego community by participating in sponsorships and events that align with the initiatives we proudly advocate.

Team enrichment

Rancho Mesa takes pride in fostering a dynamic work environment and creating camaraderie among our team. In 2024 we enjoyed celebrations and social activities beyond the office, which strengthened our team’s bonds, helping us serve our clients effectively. Here are the highlights.

The team cheered on the Aztecs at many SDSU football games in Rancho Mesa’s suite at Snapdragon Stadium.

We hosted clients and carrier partners on the lawn at our Mission Valley office with Fiesta Friday.

Our annual Summer Party was a blast for the whole family at Stone Brewery in Liberty Station.

We celebrated the season with a casino themed Holiday Party, this year at the Brigantine at Portside Pier in San Diego.

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What a year! Rancho Mesa takes pride in our achievements of 2024, and we’re grateful for our clients, partners, and fellow team members that have made them possible. As we embark on the new year, we continue our commitment to delivering OneofOne© service and are excited for the 2025 journey ahead!

Growth for Generations: Rancho Mesa Kicks Off for 2025

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing and Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Friday, January 10, 2025, the Rancho Mesa team gathered at ARLO Restaurant at the Town & Country in San Diego for its annual Kick-Off Meeting and lunch to reflect on the past year, acknowledge achievements, and set goals for 2025.

Employees enjoyed a delicious lunch and dessert while Rancho Mesa President Dave Garcia presented a summary of the 2024 year. Garcia acknowledged successful employee milestones, sales achievements and offered insight into the 2025 outlook.

Garcia also gave means for celebration as he elaborated on the construction of our Mission Valley office expansion, occupying the entire floor.

We appreciate our clients and partners who have supported Rancho Mesa the past year. We look forward to continuing creating growth for generations in 2025!

View the Rancho Mesa 2025 Video:

Employee Spotlight: Rancho Mesa’s Christina Haake Elected President of PWI

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Friday, December, 13, 2024 Senior Client Manager Christina Haake was elected President of Professionals within Insurance (PWI) San Diego.

PWI is an organization that brings together local insurance professionals in San Diego County and provides opportunities for networking, career development, education and connection through events that give back to the community.

The inauguration took place at PWI’s Winter Wonderland Holiday Breakfast at the Admiral Baker Golf Course. Haake was joined by her Rancho Mesa team members who attended to support and celebrate her achievement.

“My first year at RMI I went to a PWI event to meet others in the insurance industry. It was exactly what I was looking for in a group,” Haake said. “I got to talk with members that were in different stages in their careers and roles in the industry, and also be social and do fun things around San Diego, all while raising money for some amazing charities.”

Haake has over a decade of experience in the insurance industry. She previously held the position of Secretary on the PWI board, and has personally coordinated many events for the organization.

“I'm super excited and honored to be the President of PWI in 2025.  PWI has and always will have a special place in my heart,” Haake said. “These members have not only become my friends but my mentors and have always been there to support me throughout my career and other milestones in my life.”

Rancho Mesa commends Haake on her leadership accomplishment, making a positive impact within the insurance industry.

Rancho Mesa Celebrates the 2024 Holidays

Author, Jadyn Brandt, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa’s high rollers were in even higher spirits, on Saturday, December 7, 2024, as the team celebrated the holiday season with a night at the casino!

Our staff, alongside loved ones and friends, placed their bets at the Brigantine at Portside Pier, and enjoyed a night of festive food, drinks and raffle prizes.

Rancho Mesa wishes you a Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!