Florida Association of Insurance Agents

Bryan Ball

Like many kids, I went through various stages of "knowing" what I wanted to be when I grew up. The list is long and included various professions that now seem unrealistic for me such as: playing professional football, driving race cars, and, of course, being a cowboy! As I matured (still working on that one), I began to hone in on one field in particular—architecture. My love of building design, and the convenience of living next door to an architect, drove that interest. In high school, I came to realize that the math involved in being an architect was not nearly as fun as I once thought, and I moved on.

When I started at Florida State in 1999, I knew that my path would lead me to the Rovetta Business Building, but I was not quite sure what specific field I was passionate about. At that time one thing was for certain, I did NOT want to go into insurance!

I had seen the long hours that my father Kirk Ball, vice president of Fisher-Brown in Pensacola, put in on a constant basis. I even had first-hand experience as a high school intern at his agency. The stock market was going "gang-busters" then, and my excitement for that industry began to grow. By the end of my sophomore year I had declared myself a Finance major.

Over the next 12 months, the stock market took a big hit, and the volatility of that business concerned me. I had just had a meeting with my guidance counselor who informed me that I would finish my finance degree before the anticipated date, as I had accumulated enough credit hours to graduate. I just happened to be in an introductory risk management/ insurance course at the time, and was really enjoying it. Due to my family background and renewed interest in insurance by Dr. McCullough, I decided to double major in finance and risk management/ insurance, as opposed to picking up several useless minors like under-water basket weaving. I quickly began to realize that I had a knack for the insurance curriculum being taught. It was at that time that I had to come to grips with the fact that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," and my future would be in the insurance industry.

As graduation loomed in 2003, I focused all my interview time with various insurance agencies around Florida. I chose to work for a firm other than my father's. The main reason for this decision was to attempt to accomplish something on my own terms, in an area where I did not have any roots.

My dad has become a great resource for me when I run into all sorts of situations regarding our industry. We go back and forth on topics ranging from market availability to sales techniques, and even discuss the treacherous waters of proper management methods to create an organizational structure that allows all employees to work as productively as possible. I feel that I have not only chosen a career, but the career has also chosen me. I look forward to being your FAIA YAC Chairman this year. Please contact me if you have any ideas about how to better the YAC.