Barb Kennell is retiring from an illustrious 43 year insurance career. Barb graduated from Rock Port High School with the class of 1978, then attended the Nebraska College of Business in Omaha. She worked for Roger Livengood Accounting after college until she started her insurance career with Midland Insurance Agency, Inc. in Rock Port in 1981 as a CSR. She received her insurance license in 1983.
In 1986, Barb moved to Iowa and started working for Steve Gottsche at the Gottsche Insurance Agency in Hamburg. Barb worked with Steve from 1986 until he sold the agency to the Fender-Harmes Agency in 1991. She then worked for the Fender Harmes Agency from 1991 to December 1992. Barb was then employed with Dean and Pat Moody when they started Ideal Insurance Agency, Inc. in January of 1993. The Ideal Insurance Agency was sold to Oswald Crow Agency on January 1, 2012.
During her course of employment with Oswald Crow Agency, Barb wrote and serviced the insurance needs of the company’s current and new customers. She has managed the Hamburg office and took on the task of making sure the licensed agents were appointed with each insurance company they wrote for, and the agents’ licenses were renewed for all of Oswald Crow’s nine locations. She has held insurance licenses in the states of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
In those 40 plus years, Barb has seen so many changes in the way insurance is sold, including customers once having to mail in applications to the companies to now completing all applications online. Barb’s future plans are to spend more time with family and enjoy her retirement.