HOME
GROWN
Meet the folks from
Nationwide who are helping
to make their communities
great places to live
Mike Tomes • Nationwide Agent • Bridgeport
Above, Master Certified Farm Agent Mike Tomes
(center) shares a chuckle with customer Ray Blake
(left), and Nationwide Agent Kyle Johnson on Blake’s
farm outside of Bridgeport, WV.
Tell us about the place where you live: Bridgeport,
West Virginia is my mailing address; however, we live
outside of town (about 10 minutes) on a 180-acre beef
cattle farm in the community of Brushy Fork.
What values do the people in your community
share? Bridgeport is a community of givers. No
matter the cause, we seem to always have the resources
(whether they be financial, necessary tools and/or
equipment, man and/or woman power) to do what’s
needed. Whether it is to re-work a youth baseball field
or come together to support one of the members of our
town who has been diagnosed with an illness, the town
of Bridgeport always comes together. Another prime
example is the “Light Up” night that our city and local
businesses put together to begin the celebration of the
Christmas season. It is truly remarkable the amount of
people that come out for this event and the sense of town
spirit and pride one feels as they walk down Main Street
and hear the holiday music and see everyone conversing
with each other.
How important is community involvement to your
agency? It is of the utmost importance! You want to
give back and support those who support you and your
business.
How do you continually provide the On Your Side
experience to customers? Through customer service!
We aren’t an internet business; we are in our community
with an open door, ready to be there if needed. No
automated answering machine – it is personal service.
When buying insurance through our agency you are
paying for a service and we differentiate ourselves from
everyone else by the “ON YOUR SIDE” experience. I
like to think that we still offer that old-school, small town
feel to the business, even in today’s hustle and bustle.
Our policyholders come in our office and we discuss
their families, their business and what is going on in their
lives....they are not just a number. If we see something
when their policy crosses our desk and we feel it needs to
be addressed, we get on the phone and let them know. It
see Home Grown, page 23
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 11