Larry Cook elected to Grinnell Mutual Board of Directors

[July 08, 2017]  Grinnell Mutual’s 109th Annual Meeting for its affiliated members convened in Grinnell, Iowa, on June 28.

On Wednesday, Grinnell Mutual President and CEO Larry Jansen presented the State of the Company address, followed by the annual business meeting to elect directors and review the company’s financial statements.

Three directors were unanimously re-elected to seats on the Grinnell Mutual Board of Directors. They are: Mark Knouse, White Pigeon Mutual, Wilton, Iowa; Bill Lampe, Heritage Mutual, Preston, Iowa; and Steve Underwood, United Mutual, Washington, Mo. They each will serve a three-year term, ending in June of 2020.

Members also elected Larry Cook, Frontier-Mt. Carroll Mutual Insurance, Lincoln, Ill., as a new board member. Cook replaces Dale Bartelt, the current chair, who is retiring. Bartelt has served 33 years on the Grinnell Mutual board of directors, six of those as chair.

Tom Jones of Black Hawk Mutual (Hudson, Iowa), was elected as the new chairman of the board; Steve Smith (Marcus, Iowa), was elected first vice chair and Wayne Roush, was elected second vice chair (Palo, Iowa).

The meeting also included two keynote speakers. Karen McCullough, motivational speaker and “Millennial evangelist,” presented “Change is good. You go first,” which acknowledged the company’s year-long rebranding and other transformational, company-wide initiatives and the attendant challenges of dealing with change.

Larry Cook - third from left

Kevin Brown, a former sales and marketing executive, presented “The HERO Effect™,” about creating a culture of service and going above and beyond, and how that can affect the bottom line.

About Grinnell Mutual

Grinnell Mutual, in business since 1909, is the 114th-largest property casualty insurance company in the United States and the largest primary reinsurer of farm mutual companies in North America. The company provides reinsurance for farm mutual insurance companies as well as property and casualty insurance. Its products are available in 15 states.

[PEGGY TIERNEY
Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co.]