Dave Garcia, president of Rancho Mesa Insurance, interviews OneofOne® employee, Account Executive of the Construction Group Jeremy Hoolihan on his upbringing, personal life, and professional career.

Show Notes: Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter.

Director/Producer: Alyssa Burley

Host: Dave Garcia

Guest: Jeremy Hoolihan

Editor: Emily Marasso

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence, "Elevators Need Rock Too" by Spence

Transcript

Dave Garcia: Hi. This is Dave Garcia, president of Rancho Mesa. And thank you for joining me and listening to this week's “Getting to Know Your Rancho Mesa Family” brought to you by StudioOne™, our Safety and Risk Management Network. Today, my guest will be Jeremy Hoolihan an Account Executive in our Construction Group at Rancho Mesa. Hi, Jeremy. Welcome to the show.

Jeremy Hoolihan: Hi, Dave. It's great to be here.

DG: Okay, Jay. Well, obviously, I know a lot about you. I've known you for over 15 years, but let's let our audience find out a little bit about yourself. So where did you grow up?

JH: Well, I grew up in the East San Diego, an area called Oak Park. And then my sophomore year we moved out to Rancho San Diego.

DG: And then what high schools? Then, you attended two different high schools?

JH: I did, yeah. My freshman year I was at Crawford High School, which is actually my parent’s alma mater. And then as we moved out to Rancho San Diego, I ended up going to Valhalla for my sophomore through senior year.

DG: Okay. Well, I had three sons that went through Valhalla, all Norsemen. So that's great. Another Norsemen.

JH: Another Norsemen. [Laughs]

DG: So, Jay, when you were in high school, what kinds of activities did you participate in?

JH: I'd say my main activity pretty much growing up was soccer. So I was heavily involved in that through high school and actually into college as well. So a lot of club soccer, a lot of high school soccer. And then I was also involved with the ODP for, for several years as well.

DG: So it sounds like soccer was a big part of your life, and I know from living in East County that Valhalla had a great soccer program and reputation. So, tell me a little bit about the time you spent in high school and soccer and did you guys have any success at Valhalla while you were there?

JH: We did. So my sophomore year, we actually had, I think it was an unbeaten record of 70 plus games unbeaten in a row.

DG: Wow.

JH: So, you know, part of the draw to East County was actually Valhalla as well. My parents and I, we talked candidly about, you know, where we wanted to move, and we knew we wanted a move to East County, and we kind of zoned in on the area near Valhalla because I actually had several club teammates of mine that played at Valhalla. So, it was really an instant fit for me.

DG: Okay, and was Coach Logan still the coach at that time? Because he's a legend in soccer, isn't he?

JH: Yes. Coach Logan was there. Actually, his last year was my senior year.

DG: Oh, wow.

JH: So got to, got the pleasure of working with him for my sophomore, junior and senior year. Awesome guy. Really unique personality and a legend, like you said.

DG: Yeah, total legend. I understand he did some things really made it feel like a family, like didn't you have like pasta dinners or something that was a tradition? What was that all about?

JH: I did. Yeah, at least once or twice a year he would have a team dinner hosted at his house there in the Rancho San Diego area as well, and it was great. I mean, talk about camaraderie, right?

DG: Yeah.

JH: We had existing players and then he would also invite past players as well. So it was really neat to get to know some of those legends that you hear about, right?

DG: Right. Oh, that's great. Okay, so, Jay, outside of work, what do you enjoy doing or what hobbies do you have?

JH: Well, it was, let's think here, November of 2019, I had a conversation with my wife about our daughter and one of the interests my daughter had was, was going to the desert with, with my in-laws – or excuse me not my in-laws, my sister and brother-in-law. They have the desert toys, the razor, the quads, and we took a couple of trips out there and really created an interest in that. And so my wife, with her permission, allowed me to buy a razor.

DG: That's not something you shave with, right?

JH: No.

DG: Yeah. [Laughs]

JH: It's not, it's actually a desert toy, and I guess our vision was, is, you know, things in time move fast. So our daughter is you know, now going to be a sophomore in high school. So we want to just kind of value that time that we have with her.

DG: Sure.

JH: Until she goes away to college, and so this was something that we both had an interest in. So we decided to purchase that we really enjoyed, you know, not only the desert, but just camping in general. So it's something that we really love to do as a family.

DG: That's great. And if I'm not mistaken, you've also camp like on the in the beach area, too. It's not always the desert? You guys gone -

JH: It’s not, we just, camping in general-

DG: Yeah.

JH: -we love to do, so, you know, when it's the right season we'll utilize the razor. But other times, like, for example, we have a trip planned for Mission Bay, you know, to be close to the beach. We love San Elijo.

DG: Yeah.

JH: In fact, we're also taking a trip up to the Mammoth area at the end of this month for just, you know, just to camp.

DG: Oh, well, that's great.

JH: It's all about family, right?

DG: Yeah, totally. And, you know, I was going to ask you about your favorite vacation spot. You may have already named a couple, but is there another place that when you and Cherri and Kaia want to get away that you go to or like to go to?

JH: Well, it's, it's kind of hard to pinpoint one place, but I can tell you that I've had amazing trips to Europe, Italy, Germany, Austria, are all just amazing places. It's so different than the states and the fact that there's so much history involved with those countries.

DG: Right.

JH: So it's really neat to kind of explore those places. Another place which I haven't been back since, but Cherri and I took our honeymoon down to Jamaica, and we absolutely fell in love with that. So that's a place that I'd really like to visit.

DG: Oh, okay. Well, we'll make sure that Cherri gets a copy of this podcast.

JH: Right? [Laughs]

DG: Make sure it stays on the front of the top of the list.

JH: There you go.

DG: So tell me something about yourself that maybe most people don't know.

JH: Well, this is kind of random, but, you know, and kind of preparing for this, the one thing that I fear is heights. What's interesting is I can, I have no fear of rollercoasters. So, as long as I'm strapped into a cart or something like that, it's, I'm fine. It's just that, you know, looking over the falls or over, you know, looking down a cliff just frightens me to death.

DG: So you won't be parachuting anytime soon.

JH: No. [Laughs]

DG: Well, I have a similar fear of that as well. All right. Let's shift gears a little bit and let's talk about your role here at Rancho Mesa. So as an account executive or as a producer, as we call it here, in our construction group at Rancho Mesa, what are some of your responsibilities or areas and expertise?

JH: Well, obviously, first and foremost, you know, maintaining good relationships with my book of business, looking to continue to grow my business as well, working with my account manager, John Parker, and the support staff under him is trying to create a good working environment with people I work with.

DG: Yeah. Is there any particular areas of expertise that you and John and your team focus on in?

JH: Yes, absolutely. I'd say there's probably four myself two vertical markets that I really try and focus on. One that I started with since day one at Rancho Mesa is the construction industry. So not only artisan contractors, but, you know, residential contractors as well, residential GC's I should say. But one focus that I've really put towards in the last, I'd say, ten years is the janitorial industry.

In fact, just created a new program at Rancho Mesa called MaintenanceOne™, which I'm really excited about. It's a risk management program that we kind of cater towards the janitorial industry and looking to have a lot of success with that.

DG: Oh, that's great. Are there one or two areas of that role that you really enjoy?

JH: Yes, there is. I'd say, you know, there's a couple that come to mind. One is just the interaction with my clients. I really enjoy getting to know my clients and having the freedom to go out of the office and meet with them in person. I really enjoy that. I’d say the other thing is writing new business I've always been a competitive person, so unfortunately I'm not playing soccer right now or again, you know, that feeling out on a field anymore. So this is kind of the next best thing is there's nothing better than writing a new piece of business and then the camaraderie and the support you get after doing it with the people here in the office.

DG: Yeah, that's really important. I think for, to be able to get up and do it every day like you have for 15 years, you know, it's got to be something inside of that gets you out of bed every day and come in to the office.

JH: Exactly.

DG: So, as I said, you've been here for over 15 years, Jeremy. I always like to ask this question, its, so how would you describe if you met somebody at San Elijo, you know, and they're like, “Hey, so where do you work? Or what do you do?” How would you describe Rancho Mesa to that stranger?

JH: Well, it's interesting because, you know, obviously I've been here actually nearly 18 years.

DG: Oh, 18.

JH: Yeah. [Laughs] In September it'll be 18 years. Wow. Which is kind of nuts to think about. But so my entire insurance career has been at Rancho Mesa. I don't know anything different, but you know, in my 18 years of talking to other people, other producers at other agencies, I've come to realize that we're very unique and very thankful for that. I just love the collective IQ of the group, the fact that I can walk into any office and talk to them, not only on a personal level, but if I have an insurance related question got, you know, multiple answers and multiple people that are happy to help.

DG: Yeah.

JH: And that family environment is what I really value.

DG: Yeah. I think that really kind of leads through you all the time, that family feeling I – if it's been 18 years, it might as well be 50 years for me because it feels like from day one you were just, you made everybody feel a part of the family. And that is a unique feeling that I think that we have here is that everybody is willing to help each other, you know, accomplish whatever their goals are. Where do you see yourself in Rancho Mesa kind of going in the future, Jeremy is there anything that comes to mind?

JH: Well, yeah, I think, you know, like I mentioned before, looking forward to really seeing this MaintenanceOne™ program take off. I mean, having a focus is something that I think is important. You create expertise in a particular vertical and then just seeing where it goes from here, whether that's exclusive programs or share programs, looking to see how that takes place in the future.

DG: Yeah, that's exciting. Jeremy, is there anything else you'd like to add before we wrap up today?

JH: Yeah, I just I guess one thing I just want to thank you for your leadership. I mean, without you, this would not be possible. And, you know, you've created a culture here that I think you should be very proud of.

DG: Yeah, well, I am very proud, but it's that collective proudness, you know, that you get. I'm sure you and Cherri look at your daughter Kaia, and have pride in that. It's the same feeling for me. It's like, you know, Kaia is a big part of that, just on her own. And that's how I feel about Rancho Mesa. It's just we're all in this together. We've all got a role, and it’s fun to come to work every day. So thank you for sharing that with me. I appreciate that a lot.

JH: Absolutely.

DG: Well, Jeremy, listen, thank you so much for joining me and for letting all of us get to know a little bit more about you and your role within Rancho Mesa. So, Jay, thanks for joining me today.

JH: Thanks for having me, Dave. It was great.

DG: Well, that'll do it for today. Thank you for joining me and getting to know the Rancho Mesa family and for tuning into StudioOne™, our Safety and Risk Management Network. Until next time. Stay well

Alyssa Burley: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. For more information visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.