By FRED KRONER
Why things happen is one of life’s greatest unresolved mysteries.
How they happen is another story.
This is Tricia Schell’s story.
It traces how a person with a bachelor’s degree in education wound up not teaching, but instead found a professional career in a field where she had no expertise 3 ½ years ago.
The story for the former Tricia Leahy starts when she was living in Ottawa (Illinois).
Because she signed up with the dating website Christian Mingle, she met someone who lived in Mahomet;
Because she met someone who lived in Mahomet, she ultimately decided to move to the community;
Because she moved to Mahomet, she met friends of Wes Schell, whom she was dating at the time and is now married to;
Because she met some of those friends, she was invited to the high school graduation party for Isaac Trotter;
Because she attended the graduation party for Isaac Trotter, she was introduced to Dwight Unzicker;
Because she met Dwight Unzicker, she learned he was looking for another employee;
Because she learned about the job opening, she started working at American Family Insurance;
Because she started working for Unzicker at American Family Insurance, she learned all about the operation;
Because she learned all about the operation, when Unzicker decided to retire at the end of August, she was his recommendation to take over the agency;
Because she accepted that challenge, Tricia Schell is now in charge of the agency located at 501 E. Oak, Mahomet.
Her first day at the controls was on Tuesday (Sept. 1).
***
Being the person in charge wasn’t even a remote consideration in the spring of 2017, when Schell began working at American Family Insurance.
“At that time, I wanted to have a part-time job and bring in some income,” Schell said.
She worked half days, five days a week.
Schell wouldn’t even have been in that position had her original plans come to fruition.
“Initially, I wanted to work for the school,” Schell said. “I applied three times (after relocating to Mahomet in the summer of 2016), but there were no openings at the elementary school.
“In the end, it’s a good thing nothing came about.”
Unzicker quickly developed a favorable impression of Schell when they first met at Trotter’s graduation party in Farmer City.
“I was so impressed with how professional she was, what a loving mother she was and what amazing people skills she had,” Unzicker said. “I thought she would make a wonderful staff member.”
She hit the ground running and Unzicker said he never second-guessed the decision to hire Schell.
“It didn’t take long before I knew she would be a wonderful agent,” Unzicker said. “She’s a self-starter, has good communication skills and learned the system so rapidly.
“I could see the potential, and her dedication and commitment to doing the job well.”
After 31 years with the agency he started from scratch – “My first policy, I sold to myself,” Unzicker said – thoughts of retiring began to gain a prominent place in his mind more than a year ago.
“I’ll be 67 in October, and it’s time to pass the baton to another generation,” Unzicker said. “I felt very fortunate to have had that many years working, but there comes a time you need to slow it down a little bit.
“Now is a good time for Tricia to take it to another level.”
***
Schell, who grew up in Joliet, started with American Family Insurance at a basic entry-level position in customer service.
“Secretary work,” she said, “but I worked my way up responsibility-wise.”
She got licensed and was able to expand her duties.
When Unzicker mentioned in 2019 he’d like her to step up as the Mahomet agent, Schell made sure she wouldn’t be moving forward blindly.
“I told him if that was the direction we were going, I’d need a lot of help from him,” Schell said.
In addition to taking numerous classes, she went through a series of interviews with the corporate office and also did a power-point presentation via Zoom, because the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has limited in-person gatherings.
“She worked on (the requirements) for six months,” Unzicker said. “It’s quite the process to get approved.
“They check people out. They want to make sure they have people who are ethical. It’s a big commitment because you are working harder and longer than someone who punches the clock.”
Unzicker knew she would be a good fit and was pleased that the corporate office shared those feelings.
“After her power point, the state director said it was the best he had heard from any potential agent,” Unzicker said. “Two days later, they offered her the position.”
As each checkpoint approached, Schell felt prepared.
“He (Unzicker) was invaluable training and coaching me,” she said. “I was balancing taking on more responsibility, still being a wife and mom, and taking care of our home.”
The timing was important for Unzicker. He didn’t want anything to be rushed or for Schell to not feel totally prepared on her first day as the agent.
“I started about a year ago because I wanted to plan a smooth transition for my wonderful clients,” he said. “There have been so many nice families who have put their trust in us. I am humbled and grateful that the people of Mahomet, and the surrounding communities, allowed me to be their agent.”
That made it imperative, he said, that the quality of service provided not be diminished or disrupted after his departure.
“I wanted to make sure they had a good agent,” Unzicker said.
It was a hands-on transition.
“I’ve been servicing all of the policies the last couple years,” Schell said, “reviewing them with Dwight.
“He expanded my role as we moved through this process.”
It wasn’t always smooth sailing.
“When we started, I felt ahead of the game,” Schell said. “As we got into the interviews and the legality of getting it registered, I had a few days being overwhelmed.”
She is confident in her abilities and is now conveying that to the customer base.
“Right now, my biggest challenge is reassuring customers, some who have been with Dwight over 20 years, that I can continue to give them the customer service they expect,” Schell said.
“I want them to know I can continue to provide that service.”
Making contact is not always as simple as picking up the phone and making a call.
“A lot of businesses still have limited hours,” Schell said, “which means we have to adapt to their schedule and work around that to reach them.”
***
Schell and Unzicker reached their employment with American Family Insurance from opposite ends of the spectrum.
Schell wanted to teach, but couldn’t get established in the classroom.
However, she hasn’t been totally removed from the educational aspect, especially in 2020 as the coronavirus has limited in-person school attendance.
“Home-schooling kind of counts,” she said. “Quite a bit of learning has been done at home.”
Schell and her husband, Wes, are raising a combined total of four children, one in sixth-grade, two in fifth-grade and one in third-grade.
Unzicker spent his first 13 years after graduating from the University of Illinois in 1975 in education.
He can relate to Schell’s woes about getting her foot in the door of a school system.
The Fisher native had to look out-of-state for his first classroom assignment.
“My first three years out of college were in Arkansas,” he said. “I had to go there to get a job. I was 21 when I started.”
He was hired as the head football coach and also taught biology, earth and physical science.
He was then able to work closer to home, spending six years at Chatsworth and four years at El Paso.
Unzicker has no regrets about the time he spent teaching and coaching.
“I still get emails, calls and messages from former students and players,” he said.
After getting established with his local insurance agency, Unzicker devoted 12 more years to coaching girls’ basketball at the junior high level in the Mahomet-Seymour district.
Part of that time was extra special. The eighth-grade coach he was working with was his daughter, Jacque.
Seven years ago, Unzicker made the decision to step aside as a coach.
“I had my 25th year coaching when I was 60,” he said, “and thought that was a good number to quit on.
“I had a new granddaughter – my first grandchild – and didn’t want to miss opportunities with her.”
Sports actually brought Unzicker to Mahomet long before he established a business in the village.
He played on the Fisher football team that visited Mahomet his senior year (1970) and left town with a 30-6 victory on the night of the Bulldogs’ homecoming.
“We had a good rivalry,” Unzicker said. “I remember a lot of Mahomet residents that I competed against.”
***
American Family Insurance has been a fixture in Mahomet for 31 years, all the time located along Oak Street. The three locations have been little more than a block apart.
Unzicker’s first office was at 307 E. Oak (the current location of the Pet Pro).
“I had a closet,” he said. “My rent was $350 a month.”
Three years later, he relocated a block to the east, and to the north side of IL-Rt. 150, at 406 E. Oak (now a duplex).
“Then the opportunity came (two years later) to buy the building where we currently are at (501 E. Oak),” Unzicker said.
That final office shift, in 1994, was a prudent financial move.
“It helped to stabilize the overhead,” Unzicker said. “I was paying more for rent than I was for the mortgage on my house.”
During the final weeks that Unzicker worked at his building, Schell and her husband, Wes, gave the office a much-needed facelift.
“It needed a fresh look,” Unzicker said. “They’ve done a beautiful job remodeling.
“They’ve hit it out of the park.”
Schell said much of the credit for the new-look interior goes elsewhere.
“Thanks to my awesome husband, a lot of renovating was done,” she said.
One change Schell has implemented is a refreshment stand with coffee for customers.
The hot beverage choice is an interesting one for Schell.
“I love the smell (of coffee),” she said. “I don’t consume it, but that’s a service I can provide.”
***
Tuesday (Sept. 1) was the official date of the changeover.
Unzicker’s last day at the office was on Monday (Aug. 31).
The next morning, when Schell entered, she smiled at the greeting on her computer screen.
“It was really exciting to log in and see it say ‘agent,’” she said. “It’s a different feeling to walk into the office and think, ‘I own this.’”
Her first day was not remarkable in terms of the workload.
“Two walk-ins – and they were both shocked by the look of the office – and 11 phone calls,” Schell said. “It was an average day.”
Unzicker said it will take some time for him to get adjusted to a new routine.
“I’m an early-riser,” he said. “When I got up (on Tuesday), I thought I ought to be someplace.”
It didn’t take long for him to find places to go and things to do.
“It was my granddaughter’s (Addy) last day before she started third grade,” he said. “I spent time with her, went bike riding, fishing and made home-made salsa. We entertained my parents Tuesday evening.”
One of the best parts of his job, Unzicker said, was the people he worked with. Staff member Cindy Melton has worked with Unzicker for more than a quarter of a century.
“We had a wonderful office atmosphere, we worked well together and it was enjoyable to come to work,” he said. “It’s unusual to have a good staff member with you that long.”
Melton will stay on, which pleases Schell.
“She is a wealth of knowledge,” said Schell, who plans to hire one additional employee.
She has no difficulty in advocating for the company.
“I love American Family and what they stand for,” she said. “I wouldn’t work for them otherwise.
“I am a customer here, too.”
Unzicker sees some road trips in the future for himself and his wife, Connie, a retired nurse.
Daughter Jacque lives in Texas and has a foster child she hopes to adopt. Son Shane, and his family, will soon be moving to Tennessee.
“I’ve been thinking about the time I would have a freer schedule,” Unzicker said. “I want to be a part of the grandchildren’s lives.”
Unzicker may not have seen his last days of working at the building which he still owns.
“I’ve renewed my license for two more years, and Tricia has requested I be a part-time sales associate and generate sales for her agency,” Unzicker said.
It won’t happen immediately, however.
“I want her to establish rapport with all of the clients,” he said, “but I may help on a part-time basis. I like networking with loan officers and realtors.”
Schell is also looking to the future.
“I want this to become the Schell family business,” she said. “I hope the kids will work here as they determine their career paths.”
