Employee Spotlight: Rancho Mesa’s Christina Haake Elected President of PWI

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Friday, December, 13, 2024 Senior Client Manager Christina Haake was elected President of Professionals within Insurance (PWI) San Diego.

PWI is an organization that brings together local insurance professionals in San Diego County and provides opportunities for networking, career development, education and connection through events that give back to the community.

The inauguration took place at PWI’s Winter Wonderland Holiday Breakfast at the Admiral Baker Golf Course. Haake was joined by her Rancho Mesa team members who attended to support and celebrate her achievement.

“My first year at RMI I went to a PWI event to meet others in the insurance industry. It was exactly what I was looking for in a group,” Haake said. “I got to talk with members that were in different stages in their careers and roles in the industry, and also be social and do fun things around San Diego, all while raising money for some amazing charities.”

Haake has over a decade of experience in the insurance industry. She previously held the position of Secretary on the PWI board, and has personally coordinated many events for the organization.

“I'm super excited and honored to be the President of PWI in 2025.  PWI has and always will have a special place in my heart,” Haake said. “These members have not only become my friends but my mentors and have always been there to support me throughout my career and other milestones in my life.”

Rancho Mesa commends Haake on her leadership accomplishment, making a positive impact within the insurance industry.

Rancho Mesa and Sentry Insurance Enjoy Night at Aztecs Football Game

On Friday, November 8, 2024, Rancho Mesa employees were joined by the Sentry Insurance leadership team to watch the SDSU Aztecs football game at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA.

Rancho Mesa was honored to host our Sentry guests, John & Lynne Fischl, Nic Hernandez, Joanne Rodriquez and Gabe Mendez in Rancho Mesa’s suite box.

“It was fun to have many of our talented service team members, including two of our newest members Joyce Flores and Olivia Velasco. Thank you to everyone for taking time, on a Friday night no less, to help make the night so fun,” Rancho Mesa President David Garcia said.

Although the outcome of the game was not in the Aztec’s favor, our team had a fantastic time building upon an already strong partnership and friendship with Sentry Insurance.

Client Spotlight: Stay Green, Inc. Hosts Grow Summit 2024

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Pictured Sentry Insurance Senior Safety Services Consultant Capreece Serna, Stay Green, Inc. Owner Chris Angelo, and Rancho Mesa Account Executive Rory Anderson at Grow Summit 2024.

Stay Green, Inc. recently hosted Grow Summit 2024, a training event focused on enhancing employee development within the landscape industry.

The summit featured Capreece Serna, a Senior Safety Services Consultant from Sentry Insurance. Serna delivered a talk on Safe Driver Training and the Effects of Distracted Driving, educating Stay Green’s employees on crucial safety practices.

The summit covered additional topics such as client relationships, operational best practices, and leadership. The event also included a vendor showcase and awards dinner.

Grow Summit 2024 is a testament to Stay Green’s commitment to building a culture of safety and quality. Rancho Mesa is honored to support its clients' success by sponsoring events like these.

For a detailed insight into the event, including advice for other companies wanting to host a similar internal training event, please visit the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) featured article, where they interview Stay Green’s director of people operations.

Behind the Scenes: Sentry Insurance Sets Up Video Production at Rancho Mesa Office

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications & Client Services Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Sentry Insurance, a renowned name in the insurance industry, recently made a captivating visit to the Rancho Mesa office for an exciting promotional venture. Over the course of two days, the Sentry Insurance video production team made home at Rancho Mesa’s San Diego office to produce a video showcasing the thriving partnership between the two entities. The video featured exclusive interviews with key figures, including Rancho Mesa's President Dave Garcia, Sentry’s Regional Executive John Fischl, and one of their esteemed clients, Greenbrier Lawn & Tree Expert Co.

The video serves as a testament to the relationship between Sentry Insurance and Rancho Mesa, highlighting the companies’ commitment to providing top-notch insurance solutions to their shared clients across various sectors. This collaboration exemplifies the spirit of partnership and dedication that drives both organizations in their pursuit of providing OneofOne™ excellence. Stay tuned for the release of this engaging promotional video.

Sentry® and Rancho Mesa Build Relationships Through Golf

Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Personal relationships often mean the difference between earning the client’s business or losing out on a deal. That’s why many organizations use golf as a backdrop to develop personal relationships with those in which they choose to do business.

“Personal relationships are the cornerstone of success,” according to Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. President Dave Garcia in a recent article distributed within the Sentry® insurance company’s intranet.

Sentry’s article outlines reasons why the company uses golf to connect with their prospects, customers and partners.

“We’ve learned that golf—whether playing a round or attending a top-tier event—provides the perfect backdrop for business conversations and helps us get to know our customers in a way we couldn’t in an office,” the article explains.

Greg and Dave Garcia pictured at 2021 U.S. Open.

Rancho Mesa’s father and son duo Dave Garcia and Account Executive Greg Garcia were invited by Sentry to the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pine in San Diego. They spent the day building upon their relationships with the carrier.

“In my view, Sentry not only understands [relationships], but lives [relationships]. We see that day-to-day with our business interactions. Then, at an event like the U.S. Open we get the opportunity to meet the executive team and see that this is a belief not just talked about but held in esteem from the top down,” Dave said.

Events like these provide “the chance to meet with the decision makers of those we serve,” Scott Miller, President of National Accounts with Sentry was quoted in the article.

Both Rancho Mesa and Sentry understand the importance of building long-lasting partnerships that are based on relationships with people.

Whether you’re playing a round or spectating, golf provides a relaxed venue to get to know people, their personalities and the organization.

Sentry Achieves Impressive A+ Rating for 30 Years

Author, Megan Lockhart, Surety and Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa congratulates Sentry Insurance in achieving an A+ rating by AM Best for the 30th year straight.

AM Best is the world-wide leading credit rating authority specializing in the insurance industry. Less than 15% of property and casualty insurance companies in the U.S. receive the A+ status. According to AM Best, this rating is assigned only to companies who have “a superior ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations.”

“Being assigned this rating for 30 years running is a truly remarkable achievement,” Pete McPartland, Sentry chairman of the board, president, and CEO said.

Sentry and its subsidiaries offer property, casualty, and life insurance, as well as annuities and retirement programs for their business and individual clients throughout the nation. 

“It’s a testament to the dedication, industry experience, and high level of customer service our associates and retirees have brought to the table day in and day out,” McPartland said.

The achievement is especially exciting for the company considering the challenging year COVID-19 caused for businesses in the country.

“Despite the challenges of a nationwide pandemic, our sound business practices allowed us to achieve positive results this past year,” Todd Schroeder, Sentry chief financial officer and president of life and annuities, said.

Sentry maintains high standards for its broker partners, thus maintaining a limited number of appointments. Rancho Mesa is honored to work with a financially superior insurance company.

“We at Rancho Mesa are very proud to have been chosen to be a part of that exclusive group and represent one of the top rated insurance carriers in the nation,” David Garcia, president of Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, said.

Sentry plans to continue its impressive success as the company moves on from the pandemic and into a bright future.

“Through the development and use of industry-leading technology, we’ve provided our customers a better overall experience [which] has been invaluable to our success. We’re poised to exit the pandemic as an even stronger company and provide our customers the protection and services they rely on.”

Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ Podcast Publishes 100th Episode

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

StudioOne™, Rancho Mesa’s media productions team, is very excited to announce the publishing of the Safety and Risk Management podcast network’s 100th episode!

In January 2020, the podcast originally launched as a way for industry professionals to share safety and risk management knowledge with their peers. What started out as the release of one to two episodes a month, soon became two episodes a week. StudioOne broadened their audience and began recording weekly industry news insights, law updates, and episodes to get to know the Rancho Mesa team and industry partners.

The 100th episode is close to Rancho Mesa’s hearts because it discusses how the podcast came to life, the motivation to start interviewing guests, how we are able to record, edit, and release content, and even includes some fun behind the scenes content.

Rancho Mesa could not do this podcast without our team, carrier partners, and listeners like you. We want to thank our sponsors Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, CNA, CompWest, ICW Group, Nationwide, Sentry, and Zenith for believing in Rancho Mesa and supporting our efforts to educate our clients and community.

Subscribe to the StudioOne™ Safety and Risk Management Network podcast on your favorite platform to never miss an episode. Episodes can also be listened to from your computer by visiting the StudioOne webpage.

Rancho Mesa Attends Annual NAWIC Golf Event

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance, Services Inc.

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) San Diego Chapter held their annual golf tournament on August 27th, 2020 at the Twin Oaks Golf Course in San Marcos, California. This year’s event was conducted a little bit different to ensure safe social distancing between attendees. 

Rather than their traditional golf tournament where players can mingle before and after the round of golf,  they were all given specific tee times throughout the day. 

To reduce the size of attendees and to say “thank you” to past event sponsors, the event was by invitation only. Rancho Mesa’s Sam Clayton, Vice President of the Construction Group and Kevin Howard, Account Executive, showed their support alongside John Fischl from Sentry Insurance, and Mike Weimann from 24 Hour Express Plumbing & Services.

Players enjoyed individually packaged hand-crafted lunches prepared by the golf course’s snack bar and plenty of refreshments.

To participate in the event, each team donated an opportunity prize for this year’s drawing. Participants purchased drawing tickets to raise money for Rady’s Children’s Hospital and the NAWIC Education Foundation (NEF). 

Founded in Fort Worth, Texas by sixteen women, NAWIC’s core purpose is to “Strengthen and amplify the success of women in the construction industry.” For over 65 years they have been providing education, professional development, networking and more to their members.  Learn more at www.nawicsd.org.

Employee Spotlight: Sam Clayton and Jeremy Hoolihan Visit Lambeau Field with Sentry Insurance Company

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa’s Sam Clayton, Vice President of the Construction Group, and Jeremy Hoolihan, Account Executive of the Construction Group, were the guests of Sentry Insurance Company at the Green Bay Packers vs. the Oakland Raiders game played on October 20, 2019. Sam and Jeremy were two of the four brokers selected from California for this amazing experience, based on Rancho Mesa’s relationship with Sentry.

Sam and Jeremy are pictured with Nic Hernandez, West Coast Underwriting Manager for Sentry, outside the historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About Sentry
Sentry Insurance started in 1904 and has grown to become one of the largest, and financially secure mutual insurance companies in the nation. They have recently opened their West Coast Regional office in Irvine, CA. At Sentry, because they are a mutual insurance company, their business is built on a foundation of service to their policyholders. Although they’ve grown and changed a lot over the past 110 years, one thing hasn’t changed. They still work to serve policyholders, and to help their clients’ businesses thrive. For more information, visit www.sentry.com.

Rancho Mesa Attends Farmers Insurance Open With Sentry Insurance

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa’s Sam Clayton, Jeremy Hoolihan, Kevin Howard, and Chase Hixson were the guest of Sentry Insurance company at the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament played at Torrey Pines Golf Course on Friday January 25, 2019. 

Pictured from left to right: Sam Clayton; John Fischel, West Coast Regional Executive; Chase Hixson; Jeremy Hoolihan; Kevin Howard; and Nic Hernandez, West Coast Underwriting Manager for Sentry.

The unbelievable field of PGA Tour Professionals included Tiger Woods, Rory McIIroy, Ricky Fowler, Jason Day, and 2018 Fed Ex champion Justin Rose. Rose went on to win shooting -21 for the weekend!

“The golf, weather, fans, and spending time with one of our premier carrier partners was an amazing experience” said Sam Clayton, Vice President, Construction Group at Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. is proud to partner with Sentry Insurance. They hand-picked Rancho Mesa as a business partner to grow their market share, due to Rancho Mesa’s expertise in the construction area.

About Sentry

Sentry Insurance started in 1904 and has grown to become one of the largest, and financially secure mutual insurance companies in the nation. They have recently opened their West Coast Regional office in Irvine, CA. At Sentry—because they are a mutual insurance company—their business is built on a foundation of service to their policyholders. Although they’ve grown and changed a lot over the past 110 years, one thing hasn’t changed. They still work to serve policyholders, and to help their clients’ businesses thrive. For more information, visit www.sentry.com.