A Seymour business has received an award for making a difference in the community.

Shepherd Insurance at 320 S. Airport Road was recognized by one of its carrier partners, Acuity Insurance, and received the Acuity Agents Have Heart Award in a presentation Wednesday.

Jason Bukowski, a partner at Shepherd Insurance, said every year, Acuity Insurance gives national recognition to an agency that displays charity and community investment.

“After an essay process, we won the Acuity Agents Have Heart Award,” Bukowski said. “I’m very proud of our team and the culture Shepherd has encouraging volunteerism.”

He said Acuity Insurance recognizes a handful of agencies a year for the charitable work and community service projects they conduct.

“An essay and application was submitted by Laverne Carr in our office,” Bukowski said. “Laverne has worked in our office for over 35 years.”

He said Carr nominated Shepherd Insurance, highlighting the culture of community service Shepherd promotes within its agency communities.

“Particularly in Seymour, we participate in several ways throughout the year,” Bukowski said. “Each year, as part of Operation Shepherding, we support charitable projects around Christmastime.”

He said in years past, their local school clients have identified families or students who may not be able to have a traditional Christmas with the same experiences of gifts or holiday meals we all may enjoy.

“We buy and wrap Christmas presents that can be opened Christmas morning,” Bukowski said. “These gifts include coats, shoes, warm clothing and always some toys. Food is also given so that a traditional Christmas meal can be prepared.”

This past year, the Shepherd staff also volunteered to paint and assemble toy trains, which are donated to local orphanages.

“This project was spearheaded by our local friend, Rodney Willman, and we were happy to help with Rodney’s project this year,” he said. “In addition, our office has closed for United Way Day of Caring, which we have supported for almost 10 years. Participating as a team on these days is a highlight of the year.”

In Carr’s essay, she wrote how these activities don’t just happen in the Seymour office, and similar activities happen at their Shepherd offices over several states, including more than 500 employees.

“This is very near and dear to the heart of our company president, Quinn Shepherd,” Carr wrote. “He promotes and encourages every employee to give back to their community, and employees are given two paid volunteer days to be used at their discretion in addition to the team volunteer activities.”

Erica Held, Acuity Insurance territory director for Indiana, made a trip to Seymour on Wednesday to bring the award to the Seymour office. Held works in the Indianapolis area.

She donned a pair of white gloves before carrying the award — a miniature Ferris wheel — into the Seymour office.

“The story behind why this award is a Ferris wheel is because we have this beautiful building in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Acuity once had a fundraiser,” Held said. “A Ferris wheel was brought to the fundraiser, and that’s when Ben, our president at the time, said we should have a Ferris wheel inside of our building.”

She said the reason Agents Have Heart is called the charity wheel is because it was originally at Acuity to raise money for charity.

“So it sort of speaks to the playful and giving heart that Acuity has, so they found someone who would handmake the award, which takes about seven man hours,” Held said. “The Seymour office gets to keep this at their office.”

She also brought a large planter and several boxes of candy for the office staff.

“This is just my third award to give out in a year and a half, so it’s not the kind of award that everybody gets,” Held said. “I hope the Seymour staff enjoy it and uses it as a reminder that they matter in the community and are making an impact.”