Category: Public

Article from the Wichita Eagle.

By Gabriella Dunn

Officials have not yet said what caused this week’s wildfires that have now burned about 405 square miles and several homes in Kansas.

But nationally, 95 percent of all wildfires start because of human activity.

Here are tips from the National Fire Protection Association to help you protect your property, particularly if you live in a rural area, on the edge of town or on a several acre lot.

Areas within 30 feet of the home, including decks and fences

▪ Carefully space plants that are low-growing and free of resins, oils and waxes that burn easily.

▪ Mow the lawn regularly.

▪ Prune trees so the branches are 6 to 10 feet from the ground.

▪ Space conifer trees – such as cedars, firs, larches and pines – 30 feet between crowns. Crowns include the entire tree – limbs and leaves.

▪ Trim trees limbs so they don’t hang over the house.

▪ Don’t use flammable landscaping materials or high-moisture annual and perennial plants within five feet of the house.

▪ Remove dead vegetation from under decks

▪ Buy fire-resistant patio furniture, swing sets and outdoor materials.

▪ Do not place firewood stacks and propane tanks within 30 feet from the home.

▪ Regularly water plants, trees and mulch.

Areas between 30 and 100 feet from the home

▪ Leave 30 feet between clusters of two to three trees, or 20 feet between individual trees.

▪ Mix trees that shed leaves with those that don’t.

▪ Create “fuel breaks,” also called fire roads or fire lines. A driveway, gravel or a walkway creates a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that can slow or stop a fire’s progress.

▪ Prune trees 6 to 10 feet from the ground.

Areas between 100 and 200 feet from the home

▪ Remove smaller conifers – such as cedars, firs, larches and pines – that grow between taller trees.

▪ Remove woody debris.

▪ Cut or trim trees so canopies don’t touch.

Maintenance tips

▪ Prune trees and shrubs 6 to 10 feet from the ground. 

▪ Remove leaf clutter and dead and overhung branches.

▪ Mow the lawn regularly and promptly throw away cutting and debris.

▪ Store firewood more than 30 feet from the house.

▪ Maintain the irrigation system regularly.

Other tips

▪ When disposing of coal or ash outside, drown the charcoal and ash with water, stir and soak again.

▪ Check power equipment and use with caution on hot, dry days.

▪ Remove chains and other metal parts that drag from your vehicle. The sparks can start a fire.

▪ Check tire pressure. Driving on an exposed wheel rim can cause sparks.

▪ Avoid driving or parking on dry grass. Hot exhaust pipes can start the grass on fire.

▪ Never let your brake pads wear too thin. Metal on metal makes sparks.

▪ Smokers should grind cigarettes, cigars, or pipe tobacco in dirt. Never grind them on a stump or log. Never throw it away into the brush or leaves. Use an ashtray while in your car.

Checklist before burning

▪ Check the weather forecast: High winds on days after a burn can reignite ashes left behind.

▪ Have water nearby: Keep a hose or water tank close to the fire.

▪ Create a boundary: Cut a perimeter of short grass and rake the clippings.

▪ Don’t leave: Have enough people around to watch each edge of the fire.

Don Byrns (Facilities) takes care of the grounds and other handyman jobs here at Farmers Alliance. When he’s not making sure Farmers Alliance’s grounds are looking spectacular, he is involved with his church, First Baptist Church in McPherson.

He recently completed a mission trip with a group of eight others to Kansas City, Kansas, to volunteer their time at the Bethel Neighborhood Center, July 23rd-25th.

Bethel Neighborhood Center opened its doors on April 1, 1911, as a mission center of The Women’s Baptist Home Mission Society, which is now known as the American Baptist Women’s Ministries. The primary mission was to serve needy families living near or working in the meat-packing plants of the West Bottoms of Kansas City.

At the Center, lunch is served for people of all ages. There are also activities for children through senior citizens.

Don and the group painted picnic shelters and a basement floor, patched potholes around the Center, and mowed the extra lots that belong to the Center.

“I just love helping others, this wasn’t the first trip I’ve gone on. Last year I went to Joplin, three times, to help with the tornado relief. One of my favorite things I’ve helped with, was going to Colorado to help deliver presents for Operation Christmas Child.”

Don said that the Sunday School classes at his church, decorated about one hundred shoe boxes. Inside are a variety of things ranging from: school supplies, candy, small toys, dental hygiene products, as well as soap and a washcloth.

“Sometime this is the only gift that children receive for Christmas. I’ve seen videos of these children opening these presents, and their face just glows. I believe it’s something everyone should participate in.” Don added.

For more information on the Bethel Neighborhood Center, click here to view their website.

We just got done wrapping up the 2015 Food Drive, in which we had a tremendous turnout!

The food drive ran for five weeks beginning November 2nd-December 4th. We collected food for the Kiwanis Holiday Food Baskets and the McPherson County Food Bank, which goes to hundreds of families in the McPherson Community.

Each week we had a goal to get 500 items in a specific category. We had a special reward for meeting our 5 week goal of 2500 items. Mondays would be “Jean Days” for the whole month of December. Cash donations were accepted as well. Each dollar donated that week counted as one item toward our goal of 500 items.

Week 1 – Canned Vegetables
Week 2 – Canned Fruit & Canned Meat
Week 3 – Peanut Butter
Week 4 – Canned Soup, Canned Sauces, Pasta, & Beans
Week 5 – Boxed Goods (Potatoes, Meals, Bread & Cake Mixes)

In five weeks we have collected 3,383 QUALITY food items for the hungry in our community. The Kiwanis volunteers will came the Morning of December 4th to pick up the food items and prepare for their holiday food baskets, with the remaining food helping to re-stock the McPherson County Food Bank shelves.

We also had several employees donate time outside of work doing some “personal shopping” with the money that was donated. They were able to really take advantage of the holiday food sales and stretch the dollar!

Thank you everyone for all the support and food donations!

Farmers Alliance is proud to announce that Randy Kemper is the new Marketing Representative for Nebraska. Randy trained with us at the Home Office
for a short time, and is now hard at work in Nebraska!

Randy has many years of experience in the insurance industry. He has been an agency partner & producer, as well as a marketing representative. As a native of Nebraska, Randy has tremendous knowledge of the insurance markets in Nebraska, as well as many Nebraska agents.

Randy is married to Barb and they have three grown daughters. Randy keeps busy with work, but in his spare time, he enjoys exercising.

We know you will enjoy working with Randy. His insurance knowledge and marketing
background will certainly be a benefit to you.

Article Provided by IIASD

“Our 2015 Company Rep of the Year has been working in the independent insurance agency system since 1972 when he took his first job as a claims adjuster with Tri-State Insurance Company in Luverne, MN.  He grew up in the Luverne community and went on to Southwest State in Marshall, MN.

In 1982, he married Jan – the love of his life and they were blessed with two sons, Ryan and Andy.

They moved to Spencer, Iowa, where he managed Clay County Mutual for several years before going to work for Heritage Insurance Company. It was here that he met fellow Heritage employee, Jerry Diamond, who – by the way claims he taught him everything he knows.

He worked for Milwaukee Insurance before settling down in his 17-year career with Farmers Alliance Insurance Company. A great promoter of the independent insurance agency system, you know he loved his job, as you never saw him without a smile on his face. Now the smile has even grown bigger as he is enjoying retirement. He won’t completely lose touch with the insurance industry as his son, Andy was hired to take his place with Farmers Alliance.

Better known to most of us here as the “Ice Cream Man”, join us in congratulating our 2016 Company Representative of the Year, Al Schmuck.”

Congratulations Al Schmuck! What a way to go out!

by Mark Wash, Farmers Alliance Claims Adjuster and proud son

I recently had the chance to join my father for his  Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Here’s a little bit about our experience.

Mark and Roy Wash

The Honor Flight program is done all over the United States. Each program is a little different but the basic premise is that they honor the military veterans for their service by taking them, free of charge, to visit the war memorials in Washington, D.C. They also visit a variety of other sites, depending on the length of the trip.

Of the applications submitted, the veterans chosen for the Honor Flight are based on seniority. The oldest will go first unless there is a younger veteran who has a terminal illness, then they would get to go ahead of an older veteran. Due to the advanced age of most veterans, each veteran is required to have a guardian go along with them. The program does not pay for the guardian’s trip but it is arranged by the organization and is a very reasonable amount for all that is provided. My father, Roy Wash, is a navy veteran who served in the Korean War and I was fortunate enough to accompany him on this trip this past June.

There were 28 veterans on our 3 day trip; three World War II veterans and twenty five Korean veterans. Mike VanCampen, his wife and a few others served as the group leaders for the Kansas Honor Flight program.

The first day is for travel, getting settled in to the hotel and going over the trips itinerary. We flew from Wichita to Chicago and then on to Washington D.C. We were greeted at a couple airports with Fire trucks showering our plane with a water salute as we taxied to the gate. It was very emotional walking through airports with this group of veterans and watching the people stop what they are doing and applaud the heroes as they pass by.

The second day is when all the activities happen and it was packed full from before sunrise to after sunset. Some veterans are more mobile than others but even for the healthier ones, there is a lot of ground to cover and wheelchairs made it easier to get around in a timelier manner to be able to see more things. To encourage the more stubborn veterans that thought they could walk, Mr. VanCampen advised that if a pretty girl sees a veteran walking she will often stop to shake his hand, but if she sees a veteran in a wheelchair, she will most likely give them a hug. By the way, it takes a quite a while to unload and reload a bus with 28 veterans and 28 wheelchairs at each stop.

Our first stop included the WW II memorial, the Reflecting pool, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial and the Vietnam memorial which are all within walking distance of each other. We then loaded back up on the bus and went to Arlington National Cemetery and watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That was a very moving experience that I would recommend for anyone to see. We then went to the Iwa Jima memorial (soldiers raising the American Flag on the beach), which used to be the WWII memorial but many felt that only reflected the Pacific war and not the entirety of WWII. That is why they built a new WWII memorial by the Reflecting Pool that honors the veterans of European war as well and changed the name of this to the Iwa Jima memorial. Between stops we drove past the Whitehouse, Pentagon and various other significant places but didn’t have time to stop. We ended the day by touring Fort McHenry which is famous for our battle with the British in the war of 1812. It was that battle where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner.

It was an amazing trip and an honor to travel with that group of war heroes. If you know of a veteran here in Kansas that would like to go on this trip, you can contact Mike VanCampen at 620-960-6733 for details.

Brian Lee, Farmers Alliance’s Montana Marketing Representative, was recently named Company Person of the Year by the Professional Insurance Agents Western Alliance at their Montana Producer Seminar in Helena. The award was a surprise to Brian, whose acceptance remarks — in true Brian Lee fashion — included the story of the proverbial “turtle sitting on the top of a post. You can be assured that he did not get there by himself — he needed help from others!”

According to Jack Rader, Chief Marketing Officer, “We were notified of this a few weeks ago, so it’s been hard to keep the secret! Brian is very deserving of this recognition, as he works very hard for Farmers Alliance, and for our agents in Montana.”

Brian, we are all proud of you! Congratulations!

Remember, as a Farmers Alliance policyholder, you can receive identity theft resolution services from IDT911 at no charge to you! IDT911 is the country’s leader in identity theft resolution, and provides testimonials on their website of those who have been victims of identity theft — just another reminder of how important it is to protect your identity.

Mark’s Testimonial:
An Ohio schoolteacher learned about identity fraud the hard way, after he was arrested and jailed for crimes committed by an identity thief. His family turned to IDT911 for help. Find out how we restored his good name.

Click the image to view the video.

For more information on how to protect your identity, visit our IDT911 FAMI site.

Not all severe weather is alike, which is why your reactions to different storms also shouldn’t be alike. Both hailstorms and tornadoes are damaging in their own way. In order to reduce your risks during each kind of storm, you should react to whether hail or a tornado is present. Use the following information from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to find out how you should react during a hailstorm and tornado. For additional guidance, please use IBHS hail and tornado resources available at DisasterSafety.org.

During a Tornado

Outside (No Shelter):

• Tune in to your radio to stay informed of approaching storms.
• Immediately try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter. However, never try to outrun a tornado. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter.
• If your vehicle is hit by flying debris while you are driving, pull over and park. Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows; cover your head with your hands and a blanket, coat or other cushion if possible.
• If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, leave your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.
• Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location.
• Approach intersections with caution. Treat traffic lights at intersections as stop signs both during and after a storm.

Inside:

• Go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck.
• In a high-rise building, go to a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor possible.
• Do not open windows.

During a Hailstorm

• Tune in to your radio to stay informed of approaching storms.
• Do not drive unless necessary.
• Pull safely onto the shoulder of the road away from any trees that could fall on the vehicle.
• If at all possible, pull into a sturdy garage, parking garage, or under a shelter to minimize hail damage.
• Stay in the car and turn on the emergency flashers until the heavy rains subside.
• Avoid downed power lines.
• Approach intersections with caution. Treat traffic lights at intersections as stop signs both during and after a storm.
• After the storm, thoroughly evaluate your vehicle for damage.
• If you find glass damage, carefully remove any glass from the interior of your vehicle, and cover the damaged area to prevent further water damage to your interior.

Article Provided by Disaster Safety.  Find more information here.

Umbrella Liability

Just because you don’t have a million dollars in assets doesn’t mean someone won’t try to sue you for a million dollars.

Protect yourself against the unexpected

Umbrella liability policies offer coverage beyond your Homeowners and Auto insurance. Coverage is available up to $1 million or $2 million or even more. Even better … it’s very affordable. Actually, you can’t afford NOT to purchase this great coverage.

Don’t get caught unprotected — higher limits of coverage are available for:

• Personal injury or damage if you are legally liable
• Protection against libel, slander and defamation of character
• Defense and attorney costs
• Interest on unpaid judgments and premiums on appeal bonds
• Loss of earnings

There are LOTS of situations where an Umbrella policy might help; here are a few …

… a MULTI-CAR ACCIDENT, it doesn’t take very many fancy SUVs to exhaust your regular auto limits
… PETS, your dog bites someone
… POOLS, you have a pool and a visitor is hurt
… LAWSUITS, many times the litigation fees cost more than the actual event

This coverage is very important. Talk with your Farmers Alliance agent today to learn how you can protect your most important assets.  Don’t wait!

IMPORTANT: Refer to the policy for coverages provided and pricing. If there is any conflict between the policy and this information, the provisions of the policy shall prevail.