COVERED
KAIA ’ s President
DOUG SMART
By : Dave Hulcher
“ Do what you ought to do when you ought to do , whether you want to or not , no debate .” This is incoming KAIA President , Doug Smart ’ s favorite quote . Fitting for a man with seemingly endless energy . When asked about it , he shares he has two gears , ninety miles per hour and stop . As he takes over the reins of leading the association , he will focus his energy on getting more members involved so they can experience the abundant benefits he has throughout his involvement . We sat down to learn more about KAIA ’ s FY21 President , Doug Smart , with Smart Insurance in Abilene .
Dave Hulcher : Why don ’ t we start by learning a little about the Smart family ?
Doug Smart : My lovely wife , Deb , works with me part-time in the agency as our comptroller . We have three daughters and six grandchildren . Our oldest lives in Hays and recently joined the financial services department of a KAIA member , Insurance Planning . Our middle daughter is a veterinarian in Abilene and is married with three kids . Both my daughters married “ mini-Dougs ,” as we love to say . I have great fun with my sons-in-law , hunting , fishing , and playing golf . My youngest daughter is a student getting her Ph . D . in Celtic and Scottish studies at Edinburgh University in Edinburgh , Scotland . Hopefully , she ’ ll have her Ph . D . completed this December . She will likely stay in Scotland and teach at the college level . She loves to read and write , and academia makes her happy .
Dave Hulcher : Where did you grow up ?
Doug Smart : I grew up in Washington , Kansas , which is North Central Kansas , about an hour north of Abilene . My mom worked at an Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service office , and my dad was a veterinarian . I grew up spending lots of time at the vet clinic and riding around with my dad working with farmers . Hence , my degree is in Animal Science , as I originally planned to become a vet . However , after four years of school , I realized I didn ’ t have a desire to go through four more .
Dave Hulcher : Instead of being a veterinarian , you decided on insurance . How did you manage that ?
Doug Smart : I got into the insurance business when I was in college . After a couple of summers of working for a bridge crew , I started working with my grandfather , a retired schoolteacher and semi-retired insurance agent who adjusted crop insurance losses . At that time , we didn ’ t have a federal crop insurance program like we have today . At the time , the only insurable peril was hail , so my grandfather taught me to become a hail adjuster for American Agrisurance . As a college student in the summer , I had the flexibility to travel where the company needed me to go with little advanced notice , and off I ’ d go with per diem and mileage paid by the company . I did that for the last two summers of college and then went to work for
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