Date: January 13, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact: Christopher S. Ickes, 814-629-5607
Ickes Insurance & Financial Services was started in 1906 by Chauncey Semler Ickes. This year the organization celebrated 90 years of serving their customers. In order to celebrate 90 years of progress the employees worked together to hold a celebration commemorating such a milestone. All of their customers were invited to attend this event which was held on September 7, 1996. The day of the celebration began with rain, however, the skies cleared as the time for the festivities arrived. The remainder of the day was a comfortable 70 degrees and it was a beautiful day.
About 300 people attended this celebration and all received a complete tour of the offices. Behind the business were several tents which held a variety of activities. Plenty of food was available as WVSC did several live broadcasts from the location. Each child received several helium balloons and was entertained by a clown doing face painting, a magician, McGruff the Crime Dog, and the Crash Dummies. A barber shop quartet sang twice during the day. There was a sketch artist that drew pictures of those attending. All those involved did an excellent job and a good time was had by all.
Near the exit of the building free blood pressure and blood screening tests were performed by Medical Associates of Boswell who donated their services.
All those attended received a gift package and had their name placed in various drawings throughout the day where prizes were given away. Smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, Sear World tickets, Pirate tickets, bowling alley tickets, were some of the prizes. At the end of the day a three night stay to Seven Springs Mountain Resort and a color television were given away.
There are four major areas of specialization at Ickes Insurance & Financial Services. They include: personal insurance, commercial insurance, life and disability insurance, accounting and tax consulting.
The insurance agents at the Ickes Agency represent a variety of different companies. The staff includes Phyllis Trent, Kay Knisely, Barbara Taylor, Christopher Ickes and C. S. "Squire" Ickes, Jr. Cathy Niemiec is the Administrative Assistant and Executive Secretary.
The staff chooses the best suited company and coverages for each client. They provide a variety of insurance coverages available to them including auto, homeowners, tenants, personal umbrella and fire insurance policies.
Commercial insurance division also has a variety of companies as their resource. Here, again, the agents match the customer up with the appropriate coverages and companies. They assist anyone from the small business owner to the large corporate, municipal, or nonprofit organization. They offer: commercial property, commercial liability, commercial auto, commercial umbrella coverage, bonds, workers compensation, businessowners, public officials liability and garage liability.
The life insurance division is made up of several agents of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Squire Ickes has been with Northwestern for more than 35 years. Ray Lehman, Mark Shockey and Diana Bretz, along with Squire offer a variety of services including: estate planning, term insurance, permanent life
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insurance, executive retirement plans, deferred compensation plans, buy-sell agreements, group life plans, wage continuation plans, disability insurance, key man insurance and annuities.
The accounting and tax consulting division was started in the early 1950's. Today the staff has grown to include Keith Yoder, Mary Barndt, Rose Sustersich, Lori Baird and Phyllis Ickes. Some of the services include payroll preparation, bookkeeping, tax return preparation and tax planning.
Neil J. Ickes, CPA, ChFC, CLU, CFP operates a Certified Public Accounting practice in the same building as the Ickes Agency. Neil has been a member of the AICPA and other associations since 1983. Neil specializes in all aspects of Certified Public Accounting and Certified Financial Planning, including: audits, financial planning, income tax planning, investments, estate tax planning, financial statements, and tax return preparation.
Everyone at Ickes Insurance & Financial Services was delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate 90 years of service to customers in the community. All look forward to many more years of serving the community. After planning the 90th year celebration one thing is for certain, they will be ready to celebrate 100 years in business.
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