bob fee
National Committee Member
W hen Bob Fee returned to Hutchinson after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1987 , he thought he was simply joining the family business , the one his grandfather started years before .
Little did he know the Fee Insurance Agency would not only expand so dramatically during the next three decades , but that the young man from a town in Kansas would eventually become an industry leader and advocate at the state and national levels .
In October , Fee was inducted as the newest member of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America ’ s national executive committee . He is only the fourth Kansas agent to serve as part of the association ’ s top leadership team .
Fee currently serves as president and chief operations officer of Fee Insurance Group in Hutchinson - a family business dating back several decades , although the agency ’ s roots run deeper , tracing back to 1883 . Fee and his brother , Allen , chief executive officer , lead a team of 34 employees , and an agency offering nearly all forms of insurance and bonds , as well as an employee benefit and individual life insurance and retirement programs . Today , the agency boasts more than 2,000 accounts and five additional locations , including Wichita , Dodge City , McPherson , Salina and Overland Park .
Simpler beginnings Fee ’ s grandfather , Frank Fee , was a schoolteacher , who also dabbled in real estate to supplement his meager income . One day , Fee was approached by his friend and his insurance agent , who asked if he wanted to buy his agency . Eventually , Frank quit his teaching job to operate the insurance agency and the real estate office .
Shortly after graduating from KU in 1953 , Frank ’ s son , Franklin , joined his father as he continued building his insurance business . Franklin operated the insurance side , while Frank ran the real estate business . By 1956 , Bob ’ s father , James , who graduated from KU and served two years in the U . S . Navy , also joined the business , eventually taking over for his father to operate the insurance side .
But by the mid-1970s , Frank had died , and Franklin wanted out . In turn , the older brother sold his half of the business to James , who decided to solely operate an insurance agency . And just as their dad did , Allen joined the company in 1984 , followed by Bob three years later . When he started , Fee remembers the agency having only three employees : a bookkeeper as well as personal lines and commercial lines representatives .
“ Allen and I have worked hard over the last almost 30 years and have grown the business ,” he said . “… It ’ s fun having people who have been around a long time with you . It ’ s family . We have a great staff . We really do have a great staff .”
Comptroller Belinda Fellows started with the Fees in 1984 . Back then , Fellows handled accounting duties , claims and anything else that was needed . Eventually , as Fellows family grew , she left the agency , only to be asked to remain as a part-time employee , handling payroll duties from home . Once her children were back in school , she rejoined the agency as a full-time accountant / comptroller . When she decided to move to Manhattan , Kan ., seven years ago , the Fees offered her the opportunity to still work full-time and telecommute .
“ If you would be able to define a great boss , it would be the two of these people , ( Allen and Bob Fee ),” Fellows said . “ I mean it . It really is . It just doesn ’ t get any better . They care for you not only at work , but outside of work . There ’ s that family feeling . Their ( belief ) has always been family ’ s first . They ’ re great . I feel like I ’ m truly blessed since the first day I walked in and got a job .”
“ We ’ ve got a great team , and it ’ s all based around great employers we have . Most of the people that are here , I ’ d say the majority have been here 10-plus years … I ’ m glad to go to work , and I ’ m so thankful for what I ’ ve been provided .”
An advertisement from October 1987 announcing Fee ’ s return to Hutchinson to join the Fee Insurance Agency .
| MARCH - APRIL 2016 | KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER
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