The INDEPENDENT, November 1, 2007
Page 5
Business Notes
Insurance is her business, helping others is a major part of her life
When Bunny Girt started the
Cornelius office of State Farm
Insurance in April of 1984,
there were a lot of things miss-
ing. Among the missing ele-
ments were a desk, filing cabi-
net, employees and clients.
Technically, she didn’t even
have a business. A little history
will explain that situation.
Girt has worked for State
Farm for 39 years and was their
office manager in Beaverton,
when she was asked to open a
new office in Cornelius. While
she wanted to do something
different, taking on the job of
establishing an insurance office
in a community where she was
unknown would be a daunting
task for most people. Before
she could even hang a sign for
the office, she had to have the
names of at least 1,000 people
who would let her give them a
quote on an insurance policy.
Bunny Girt’s laugh is as in-
fectious as her smile.
In rented space, with nothing
but phones and folding tables,
Girt, assisted by family and
friends, started cold calling – by
phone in the evening and door-
to-door on weekends. About
ten weeks later, she had 1,000
potential clients and the office
was officially open.
Continuing that same work
ethic, Girt saw clients in the
evening or on weekends, and
not just in Cornelius. She drove
to Banks or Buxton or Vernon-
ia, wherever and whenever
was convenient for her clients.
Today, she has two full-time
and two part-time employees.
From 1984 until this year,
she stayed in the same rented
office, then moved across the
street and down the block to
1229 N. Adair, into a nicely re-
modeled, 2-story building that
was once a residence. Having
her own office building is the
fulfillment of “a dream” for Girt.
Now, in addition to bright, spa-
cious offices, the second floor
includes a large conference
room that she opens for a
Thursday morning Bible study
group, or for other community
gatherings.
Outstanding work honored at 9-1-1 awards event
Columbia 9-1-1 celebrated
outstanding contributions of
public safety partners and staff
at their annual recognition cer-
emony at the District facility on
September 18, and on October
10, at a District staff meeting,
for those staff members who
could not attend the recognition
reception due to illness.
Operations Manager Lee
Knowlton was recognized for
20 years of service to the 9-1-1
District, and Communications
Specialists Deb Franklin and
Nathan McCallum were pre-
sented 5-year service certifi-
cates.
Outstanding communica-
tions support during a multi-
agency response to a knife
fight at a bar, a K9 track that re-
sulted in a suspect being taken
into custody, a residential struc-
ture fire in which all residents
and the family dog were safely
rescued and relocated to shel-
ter provided by the Red Cross,
a multi-agency response to a
shooting, and a successful mul-
ti-agency search and rescue of
two children garnered 2006-7
Critical Incident Awards for
Communications Specialists
Trish Hilsinger, Deb Franklin,
Nathan McCallum and Supervi-
sors Terri Levie and Tracy
Edinger. Two incidents in which
the 9-1-1 call taker provided
CPR instruction to revive a
baby who had stopped breath-
ing due to an obstructed airway
earned two Lifesaver Awards
for Communications Specialist
Trish Hilsinger.
Public
Safety
Partner
awards were given in apprecia-
tion for assistance provided in
the selection of a new commu-
nity outcall notification system
to Mike Cave from Dyno-Nobel
in Columbia City, Diane Dillard
from Boise in St. Helens, Ver-
nonia Police Chief Mathew
Workman and Columbia River
Fire and Rescue Chief Jay Tap-
pan. Special recognition was
given to Alicia Little of Dyno-
Nobel who also maintains the
contract for the system in part-
nership with Columbia 9-1-1
and the Columbia Emergency
Planning Association.
Herb Schroeder and Scott
Miller, service technicians with
Qwest, were presented Public
Safety Partner awards in ap-
preciation for their expertise
and good humor under pres-
sure during technical conver-
sions, upgrades and repairs to
the emergency call reporting
system.
Columbia County Deputy
Sheriff Scotty Davidson earned
the Public Safety Partner
award in appreciation for his
supportive good nature and
professional approach in spite
of extreme pressure of many
calls and callouts from home.
Employees of the Year, se-
lected by Columbia 9-1-1 staff
and presented as a surprise at
the end of the ceremony, were
Communications Specialist Tr-
ish Hilsinger, Operations Man-
ager Lee Knowlton and Admin-
istrator Sally Jones. Hilsinger
was recognized for her ability
as a new employee trainer, is
quick to help others, is highly
competent, shows a great deal
of compassion with callers and
makes a complex job look
much easier than it is. Knowl-
ton was recognized for setting
a standard of integrity for all
employees, for his sound ad-
vice, patient coaching, meticu-
lous record keeping and fair-
ness.
The event was followed by a
chicken, ribs and salmon bar-
becue prepared by Board
Members Henry Heimuller, Dee
Wooley and Wes McMahan.
On the personal side, Girt
grew up in Cedar Hills and at-
tended Linfield College on a
music scholarship. After gradu-
ating from Linfield, she moved
to Los Angeles where she lived
with an aunt who was a vocalist
and voice teacher. But Girt de-
cided that the performing life
was not for her. She went to
work for a large insurance
agency and found that insurance
was a perfect field for someone
who loved people and math.
Along the way, she returned to
Oregon, married, divorced and
raised two daughters.
She still enjoys music, es-
pecially playing piano in retire-
ment homes. She has also
been an active volunteer in ef-
forts to promote her adopted
home of Cornelius. That ac-
tivism was recognized when
Girt was named Cornelius
Chamber of Commerce volun-
teer of the year in 1997 and cit-
izen of the year in 1998.
If you are looking for insur-
ance - life, auto, health, fire,
business, liability - and don’t
like a high pressure approach,
you’ll be comfortable with the
people in Bunny Girt’s State
Farm office. The phone number
is 503-357-3131, or see their
ad in The Independent .