BROWNSTOWN

Each morning, Todd Brown loads his three children into his vehicle and drops them off at Brownstown Elementary School.

In the past, he would park in the area designated for teachers, walk into the school with his children and begin his day as a third-grade teacher.

But now, dropping off his children each morning is more nostalgic. A recent career change put the 16-year educator into a new industry and has him leaving the school after dropping them off.

The educator-turned-insurance agent began working at Self Insurance Services LLC in June and opened the company’s office on Walnut Street in Brownstown.

Brown received a call about an opportunity to work in the insurance industry from fellow Brownstown native Charles Self, who owns the Newburgh-based company.

Self thought opening a branch in Brownstown would be a good idea and offered Brown the agent position.

“I thought it sounded like a good change for me, and I want to push myself and bring myself out of my comfort zone,” he said.

The change carried a lot of weight at first, too, as Brown had to make a financial decision for his family, but education was sort of the family business.

His wife, Jaime, is a teacher at Seymour High School, and both of Brown’s parents were teachers.

“My parents both taught, and two of my aunts were teachers and both of my brothers-in-law,” he said with a laugh. “I was always surrounded by teachers, and when you’re graduating high school and don’t really know what to do, you look to your parents, and education was always something we did.”

But at 40 years old, the opportunity came up, and Brown was faced with the decision on whether he should take the risk.

“The opportunity was there, and it was sort of scary, but I figured this had to be the time to do it,” he said. “You think about the financial stability as you go through this, but I think it’s really going to pay off in the end. And at the time, I thought it was good for my family, and I still do.”

So far, there are lots of things he misses about teaching, but being around the students and the family-like bond he built with the other teachers at the school are what he misses most.

“I loved working with the kids, and every day was a little bit different because the kids always bring a different vibe with the way they are and the stories they tell,” he said.

“And my colleagues and I were really close there because we got along well, and everyone has the same goal there when it comes to children and education,” he said. “Being there for children when they need you and providing that support when they need pushed was our priority.”

Brown said his days educating are not over. He just feels his audience has changed.

Instead of teaching students about math, English, science and other subjects, he’s teaching clients about insurance policies, coverage for assets and liability limits.

Instead of teaching from a classroom in a school, he is educating his clients from the common area in his office.

In addition to returning to the school where he taught his entire education career each morning, Brown recently had the unique experience many educators don’t get.

“It was interesting when I attended my first parent-teacher conference,” he said with a laugh. “It was the first time I was on the other side, and I know how much stress the teachers are under at that time, so knowing all of that made it weird. I was skipping on my way there.”

Things are much different than being in a classroom now, as Brown is the only staff in the office.

“It’s a lot more quiet here,” he said with a laugh. “There aren’t 20 children that are trying to get my attention at once.”

The days are less planned now, too. As a teacher, Brown had an hour-by-hour structure in a classroom. He’s no longer at the mercy of a strict schedule.

“You know, when you’re in a classroom, every moment is planned out. You know every day what time you will go to lunch, go to the bathroom, work on this and work on that,” he said. “Now, I can work at my own pace, and I’m not in such a hurry after I have lunch because there aren’t 25 (students) waiting on me and relying on me to finish out their day, and that’s been the biggest change.

“These are things I didn’t know about before I started working in insurance, so I can relate to people that have a lot of questions about how their insurance works,” he said. “A lot of people think everything is covered when it’s not, and I’m able to help educate them about their policies and needs.”

One theme that is similar between the two careers is the ability to help, which is important to him no matter what job he has.

“When I was teaching at school, I was helping kids with their education, and now, I’m providing a service that helps people,” he said. “I’m still helping, and that’s something important for me.”

One thing that has and will remain the same is his plan to remain in Brownstown.

“My family and I are always going to live here and be here,” he said. “I love the people here, and there’s a certain level of comfort knowing everybody and having that support system because I think this community works together.”

After only a few months on the job, he said he doesn’t have any regrets and is happy with his decision even though he and his family have so much invested in education.

“I taught for 16 years, and I spent four and a half years getting my degree, so to do this was difficult in a sense, but I’m in the right place,” he said

When Brown misses his former students, all he has to do is wait for the next morning considering so many of them greet him when he drops off Isabella, Sawyer and Symon.

“They tell me they miss me and they wish I was still there,” he said. “So that makes me feel pretty good.”

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Self Insurance Services LLC, an independent insurance agency, opened for business in the summer at 118 W. Walnut St., Brownstown.

The agency provides sales and service for auto, homeowners, business commercial, renters, life, health and employee benefits represented by national insurers, such as Erie Insurance, Nationwide, Travelers and Progressive, among others.

The company, founded by principal agent and owner Charles E. Self, life underwriter training council fellow, is based out of Newburgh.

Todd Brown is the managing agent/producer for the new office.

Information: 812-358-4663; [email protected]; selfinsuranceservices.com

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