Filed under: Mizzou, Susan L Combs | Tags: AFROTC, Class of 2020, Mizzou, Mizzou Alumni, Mizzou Law, MizzouMade, University of Missouri
Thinking of all the Mizzou grads this weekend in the class of 2020!
I graduated in 2001 from the Ag School with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management. I’ve always described my degree as a business degree with cooking classes and where all the fun people were. I started out at Mizzou with a full ride in Air Force ROTC for a Chemical Engineering degree and had 4 additional declared Majors (Mechanical Engineering, Atmospheric Science, Elementary Education and double Major in Communications & German) until I found my home with the HRM people….hey, it’s not my fault I have so many different interests.
I even remember when I decided to look into HRM, my father was in town for a military ball that was at the main conference center at the time (Holiday Inn Select) and he said “Suz, I was talking to some kids at the Front Desk and they told me their Major was Hospitality, I think you’d really enjoy that and could see you being a meeting planner.” So I went at checked out the program, talked to Professor Michael Keene and Dr. Jim Groves, switched to the program, started showing up on the Dean’s List and served as a TA for Hospitality Accounting and Professional Bar & Beverage Management. I also went back and worked at that same hotel at the Front Desk and in Corporate Sales before landing at the Hearnes Center to work in Events where I got to help plan concerts and sporting events.
I still hold dear the friendships I made my Freshman year and beyond. The past 4 years I was lucky enough to be asked to “come back home” and serve on the University of Missouri Alumni Board, work with the Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic and excited to announce that I will be a part of The Jefferson Club Board of Trustees this coming Fall. Every time I think of my professional journey, Mizzou has been in the background as my foundation for my career, my business and my connections. So to the Mizzou grads that have a case of the Ho Hums since they won’t get to cross the stage this weekend, know that you are honored by this Alum and so many others. When I look back, I don’t remember the ceremony, I remember the people that helped make me Mizzou Made.
Filed under: Combs & Company, Feature Friday, Insurance Women, Mizzou, Motivational, Susan L Combs, WIFS, Women in Insurance | Tags: Combs & Company, Feature Friday, Find Your Tribe, Mizzou, Susan L Combs, University of Missouri, WIFS, Women in Insurance
Growing up in a town of fewer than 1,000 people in the northwest corner of Missouri I always had a sense of who I was and where I was from. Yet, when I moved to New York City, fresh-faced and fancy free right out of college, the realization that there were more people on my subway train each morning on my way to work than in King City, Missouri was a little daunting at times.
My father encouraged me to “find my tribe” and look up the University of Missouri Alumni Chapter in NYC after getting settled. He explained to me that I would have an instant connection with these people as we had a common bond of the University, and that we would just “get” each other without having to explain a whole lot. And they would also know that Missouri is in the center of the US, something that New Yorkers still seem to have trouble locating when I tell them where I’m from.
Fast forward about five years when I became fully immersed in the insurance and financial services industry, one that I feel has incredible opportunities for women, yet we still hover around 14 percent of the industry. It was very apparent that I needed to find a new “tribe,” one that would just “get” me in this aspect of my life. I found this with WIFS.
Click Here to read the rest of the story!
Filed under: BenefitsPro, Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Exciting News, Feature Friday, Motivational, NAHU, Susan L Combs, What's the Good News, Ladies?, WIFS, Women in Insurance | Tags: BenefitsPro, Broker of the Year, Capacity Coverage, Combs & Company, EPIC, King City, Mizzou, NAHU, Savoy Associates, Susan L Combs, WIFS
What a whirlwind the past few days have been! I traveled to Indianapolis to attend the BrokerExpo put on by BenefitsPro Magazine. In true traveling fashion, I hit a Diner’s Drive-Ins & Dives place for dinner called Tamale Place that was awesome! The next morning I hit Orangetheory with my good friend David Contorno and then headed to the session where I was a part of the panel of the 5 finalist for the Broker of the Year! At the end of the session they announced the winner and I was excited, shocked, humbled and in awe that I was selected as the 2017 Broker of the Year.
The outpouring of love I’ve received has been overwhelming, to say the least, I truly appreciate all that have reached out. There is no possible way for me to thank everyone personally for the texts, calls, emails, comments on social media, re-posts, shout outs and shares that have been given on my behalf but I will always be eternally grateful. To my family, my friends, my work family (Combs & Co, Capacity / EPIC and Savoy), my association family (WIFS, NAHU, NAIFA and Mizzou), my clients, my mentees, my mentors, my King City Crew, my industry peers and most of all my incredible husband – you have helped me to become the person I am today, thank you for believing in me more than I believe in myself sometimes.
Over the past couple of days, a JFK quote kept popping into my head, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” I hope I continue to live my life so that you all know how truly grateful I am for the love and support that you all have shown me and continue to pay it forward for others.
— Susan
combsandco 