Poppell Insurance Inc., a Plant City family-owned business, celebrated its 50th anniversary Oct. 4.
Tom Poppell entered the insurance world in 1964 when he started up a business with Red Harrell.
“My husband was a people-person,” Eleanor Poppell, Tom’s wife, said. “He really enjoyed people. It’s kind of just like working with your friends and serving your friends, and that was one of the things I think he enjoyed so much. He knew everybody in town.”
When the company began, Tom and Harrell worked from Harrell’s mother’s living room.
“But, Mr. Harrell was older … he wanted to retire,” Eleanor said. “So then, my husband bought him out.”
The Poppells moved the business to a building across the street from the house. It’s where they still operate today.
Tom’s sons, Mark Poppell and Jon Poppell, began working with their father after they graduated from college in the 1980s. Tom died in 1998, leaving the responsibility and leadership to them.
Mark said the company’s biggest change over the decades has been computers and other technological advancements.
“Back in the day, it was long distance to call Tampa,” he said. “Some years later, it became a toll-free call. That was a big deal in Plant City.”
Another big event was the devastating Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which changed the insurance industry throughout the state of Florida, Mark said. It became more difficult to write property insurance after the disaster.
In 1996, Poppell Insurance bought Moody and Moody Group, another local insurance business. Poppell has one employee who began working with Moody and Moody when she was in high school and then stayed after the merge. She celebrated her 50th year with the two companies last month. Two additional current employees have stayed with Poppell for more than 30 years.
Colleen Bennett has worked with Poppell for 13 years, but she knew Tom Poppell before he died.
“He always wanted me to work for him back then, and I was, of course, working in Tampa. It just so happened that I ended up here,” she said.
Bennett said she has stayed with Poppell because of her clients and staff.
“Everybody makes you feel like part of the family here,” she said. “Our bosses are great people to work for.”
Poppell also has a number of clients who started with the company 50 years ago and haven’t left.
Mark Poppell attributes the company’s success to the community of Plant City.
“Plant City, I think, is one of the greatest places in the world to live,” Mark said. “We are only here as a result of their support and could not be more appreciative of it. Literally without this community, and their support, and their business, and their friendship, we don’t exist.”
Mark said, with the help of the community, the company will continue to do business as usual and hope to see more milestone anniversaries in the future.
“My father established the agency in ’64,” Mark said. “He tried to do the best job that he could for people. That’s what he used to tell me, what he told everybody here: If we take care of our clientele, all the other things will take care of themselves.”
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.