 Rick was born in Peoria and attended Peoria High School. He then
attended Illinois Central College. Hamm was able to get into the Air
National Guard when he was drafted in 1969, completing his military
obligation as a staff sergeant.
Although being a State Farm agent is in Rick's genetics, he
didn't start out as one. Rick was working for the highway department
when his father, Ken, who ran a State Farm office, asked him to come
to work for him.
Rick smiled when he said his father told him he couldn't afford
Rick's $10,000-a-year salary so he would have to make up for his pay
with commissions.
Rick earned his pay. "I don't think my dad thought I could do
it," he said. But Hamm did, and that first year as a State Farm
agent led to a highly successful career with the insurance giant.
Hamm has been married almost 40 years to Betty, and it is obvious
they are a very close couple. Rick remembers their first meeting
without a moment's thought. "I met Betty the first day of
registration at ICC," he said. "She sat across from me at the table.
The day was July 3, 1968. Our first date was July 4 and we have been
together ever since."
Rick and Betty have two children: Stacey, who works for State
Farm in Bloomington, and Adam, who works in St. Louis for the National Geospatial
Agency, handling satellite information and imagery.
From a start in his father's agency, Rick became manager of a
Bloomington State Farm agency in 1993. In 2002, he became the owner
of the State Farm agency at 628 N. Chicago in Lincoln.
Realizing they were outsiders in a smaller community, he and
Betty immersed themselves into being involved. Now, eight years
later, Rick and his business's resume of becoming an integral part
of Lincoln is impressive by anyone's standards, transplant or
native.
He is a Paul Harris Fellow with the Lincoln Rotary. He has served
on the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce board for six years
and is currently on their marketing committee.
He is on the ALMH board as well as the Timberpointe Foundation,
an organization that helps build and maintain cabins on Lake
Bloomington for the Easter Seals camp.
He is a member of the Lincoln & Logan County Partnership
Development board, and director Joel Smiley calls Hamm's
participation central to the partnership's goals. "Rick is on our
board of directors, and he is a real visionary who likes to see the
big picture," Smiley said.
Hamm also likes to consider himself somewhat of a visionary, but
understands his boundaries. "I have good ideas with no limitations,
but someone else has to take them forward," he said. Rick likes to
joke that his frequent talks with another local visionary and
activist, Patrick Doolin, cause his wife to refer to him and Patrick
as "Pinky and the brain."
Besides thinking big for Lincoln, Hamm also includes personal
passions into bettering the community. Hamm has been co-chair with
Marty Ahrends on the annual art fest, and Ahrends talked about how
the Rick and Betty are always thinking Lincoln.
"Rick visits other communities, learns about their successful
programs and events, and then comes back to Lincoln and asks, 'Why
can't we do this here?'" she said. "That kind of vision is so
important to improving what we have to offer here in Lincoln. Rick
and Betty love going to art fairs in other communities. He talks to
those artists and asks them to consider applying for the Lincoln Art
Fair. That is how we keep the art fair fresh for local patrons."
[to top of second column] |
If all this isn't enough to officially consider Rick busy, his State
Farm business is a contributor to the Lincoln Public Library's
Summer Reading Program. Library director Richard Sumrall, himself a
Personality of the Week, was delighted to talk about Hamm's help
with the reading program.
"Rick Hamm and his business has been a big-time supporter of the
Summer Reading Program," Sumrall said. "He is one of the earliest
business people to support that program and has done it year after
year. Rick is a real friend to the library and the kids in this
community and is a great choice to be honored."
And just in case he has any free time left, Hamm can be found
doing something at the Harvest of Talents. This year Rick teamed up
with his good friend Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder to be a ring man for
the auction. "I really like being involved with the Harvest. It's an
amazing thing," he added.
The mayor wanted to add his praise of the Hamms. "Rick Hamm is a
great friend, and he and Betty are wonderful assets for Lincoln,"
Snyder said. "He runs a terrific business that meets the needs of a
tremendous number of people. He has a huge heart, not only for his
customers, but for the city of Lincoln. He wants to see us move
forward to be the best that we can be in every aspect of our
community life. He dreams great dreams and has big ideas, but
they're all for the betterment of this place we call home. We're
blessed to have Rick and Betty here in Lincoln."
Rick, besides being an integral part of the community, also takes
great pride in his business. He says that one of his most satisfying
accomplishments is when he is able to meet the needs of his clients,
especially with their life insurance needs. "Meeting the life
insurance needs of someone is one of the most creative things we
do," he said. "Finding a client's needs and desires: to listen and
help them."
Whether in business, with his family or church, or in the
community, Hamm believes in the servant-leader philosophy,
especially with his life's career. "I believe if a person is going
to lead, he has to also be a servant, a slave to what he does. I
should make life better for people who work for me as well as my
clients," he said.
Hamm places his order of importance as God, family, clients and
community. Considering how much he does for the community, there can
be little doubt he takes care well of those he lists above
community.
In describing himself, Hamm never used the word "busy," although
his sense of community involvement obviously makes him that. "I'm an
extreme optimist," he said. "I like to see the best about everything
and everyone."
Hamm says that at this point in time, with current community
leadership, he is the most optimistic he has ever been about the
future of Lincoln.
It is this optimism and community dedication displayed by Rick
Hamm that make us pleased to optimistically and with great
confidence add Rick Hamm to the roll of Personality of the Week.
[By
MIKE FAK] |
