Ep. 486 Getting to Know Your Rancho Mesa Family with Brittney Thompson

President of Rancho Mesa Insurance David Garcia, interviews Surety Client Coordinator Brittney Thompson, on her upbringing, personal life, and professional career.

Show Notes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠David Garcia

Guest: Brittney Thompson

Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jadyn Brandt

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence, “Elevators Need Rock Too” by Spence

© Copyright 2025. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcript

Dave Garcia: Hi everyone, this is Dave Garcia president of Rancho Mesa and today we'll be taping a getting to know the Rancho Mesa Family. So my guest today will be Brittany Thompson. She's a client coordinator in our Rancho Mesa Surety Group.

So Brittney welcome to the show.

Brittney Thompson: Thanks for having me.

DG: Sure. So bring we want to just find out a little bit about you So tell me a little bit about where did you grow up?

BT: I was born and raised in the desert in Indio. Most people know it for Coachella Music Festival. But when I was younger, people would say “India?”, because it wasn't really as well-known back then. But I typically just say I'm a desert rat, Palm Springs area.

DG: Okay, so then did you go to high school out there?

BT: I did, I went to La Quinta High School and it was really fun growing up there. Both my parents were in the service industry, because there's a ton of hotels and I found myself kind of falling into that as well. But I went to La Quinta High School and then moved here right after I graduated.

DG: Okay, and back in high school, did you participate in anything while you were in high school?

BT: Yes, I was a competitive cheerleader.

DG: Really?

BT: Yes. So I was part of a traveling baseball team, but we cheered, mostly sitting on a lot of gymnastics and crazy stunts. And then I was also a cheerleader on the varsity high school team.

DG: Okay, so cheerleading has become literally another sport, right?

BT: Yes.

DG: Yeah my granddaughter's in cheer, she's six, seven, eight years old now. And I know a lot of people here cheered and when they were in high school. Some cheered like you say, Friday night football, and others cheered competitively, and then others did both. Sounds like that's what you did.

BT: I did both and I also had a job at the same time so I don't know what I was thinking but my parents said it kept me out of trouble so I just went with that. But it felt like a sport. The high school cheerleading, not so much. I do love sports so I loved that I was involved in that way. But doing the competitive cheerleading, you're not just saying “rah rah,” you know.  You're trying to learn the newest stunts, hire the most prestigious, I guess, choreographer to learn the coolest new dance moves and stuff. And I mean, this was back in the early 2000s that I was doing this, so I know it's progressed immensely, but I was excited to be a part of it and to be a part of a team, which is really fun.

DG: Yeah, it really is. And I think the, you know, it's way more than like you said, cheering like for the outcome of a sporting event. It's more almost kind of a combination of dance and gymnastics, right? Isn't that kind of how that is?

BT: Yeah, that's why my knees and ankles hurt now.

DG: So then it sounds like after high school, you moved to the San Diego area?

BT: Yeah, it was pretty common for us desert rats to move to San Diego because it was so close. So you were close enough to your family if you were feeling homesick and wanted to go home, but far enough away where you could have some fun and feel like you were really starting to blossom into a young adult. So my goal was to go to San Diego State, which I did finally graduate, just much later. So I'm a proud Aztec.

DG: All right.

BT: But yeah, my mom is actually from here. She's from Alpine. So I have a ton of family out in East County. And then my dad is from New York, but his sisters actually have lived here for over 30 years as well. So I did have a lot of family here.

DG: Great. So we're going to jump to your mom for a minute, because, what high school did she go to then?

BT: Okay, so I don't know the exact high school She went to because it was in the in the mid-70s. She went to a school in Del Mar because it was a private Christian school. So her dad would drive her all the way from Alpine to Del Mar and then I think she ended up going to the high school that's, like, still there. I think a bunch of people have graduated from there.

DG: It could be Granite Hills.

BT: Granite Hills, yes. Okay. Yeah, later she went to Granite Hills because I think grandpa was like, "All right, this is too far to drive."

DG: Yeah, okay. Well, I grew up in East County as well. I went to El Cajon. So Granite Hills, in the 70s, I was there, they were our biggest rival.

BT: Oh, okay.

DG: Yeah, that's great. So outside of work and things, what kind of hobbies, if any, do you have?

BT: I do anything active. I love yoga, I love running. I actually enjoy exercise and I think that that comes from my background in athletics and anything guided like a dance class or a yoga class, it really is a form of me to actually turn my brain off and I'm not thinking about anything except the posture or the movement or the weightlifting moment.

I do love to go to concerts. So I typically will map out my concerts for the year based on when they're released. And I'm very serious and strategic about where I'm going to be and how I'm going to get there. And music has just always been really important to me, so.

DG: So do you have any hidden talents? Like can you sing or?

BT: I do a subpar karaoke job.

DG: Oh, really?

BT: Yes, I do like it. But, if I told you what my hidden talent was, it wouldn't be hidden anymore.

DG: Well, that's part of the fun of the show though, to try to uncover those things.

BT: Yes, I do like to karaoke, but yeah, I was trying to think I'm not, I don't really have a hidden talent because I'm not really that secretive. If I had it, you would know about it.

DG: Okay, all right, that's fair.

So when you want to kind of relax and get away from work in the world for a little bit, do you have any vacation areas or spots that you really enjoy?

BT: I love Mexico because it's close. And I just think anything by the water, I think just being a California girl, I just, I really enjoy having a body of water and a cold cocktail in my hand.

DG: Yeah, like the body of water that you used to have in Indio, right?

BT: Yeah, right. Well, that's why we came here. It was so close and easy to get to.

DG: So Mexico is a great area and like you said, it's close. Is there any one area down there that you like to go to in particular?

BT: I love Cabo. I do, I think it's, you can get on a plane and now it's so much easier flying out of TJ and just be in a completely different world in I think less than five hours. And it's just, I don't like spending a lot of time traveling. I kind of want to get there quick to maximize my time. And yeah, I do love Cabo.

DG: Yeah, so beaches, restaurants, go for walks. Runs, get in the water, all those kinds of things. Yeah, that's fantastic. So, you know, we asked about your hidden talents. Is there something about yourself that most people don't know?

BT: Probably that I have six chickens.

DG: Oh, there we go.

BT: I have six chickens, and a tortoise, and two dogs. And we would love to get goats, but I still can't convince my husband to get on board with that. But yeah, we have six chickens right now and started with naming them. Our first round of chicks were R&B female singers, obviously, because you know, chickens are girls. And then the next round we went with country stars. So we've got Dolly, Shania Twain, Wanda Jackson.

DG: Well, with the price of eggs today, I'm sure that you're probably ahead of the game.

BT: I know. I should be hustling these eggs.

DG: Yeah, maybe that's your hobby. It's like, "I sell eggs on the Saturday mornings."

BT: Exactly.

DG: Yeah, so that's great. I've never had chickens, Drew, one of my sons, they've had chickens and they're pretty self-sufficient. I mean, once you've got the hutch going and know how to get it cleaned and feed them. They're self-sufficient and you do, they seem like they lay an egg every day, right?

BT: They do. Yes, we get six eggs a day and so anytime I have people over or I bring people eggs here in the office and people started hearing about it and my husband, Johnny, was like, "Can you please stop giving all of our eggs away?"

DG: Yeah, right, yeah. Start selling these things.

Okay, let's switch gears here and kind of talk about your role here at Rancho Mesa. So you’re a Client Coordinator in our Surety Group, you know, how long have you been with us in that role?

BT: Almost a year.

DG: Really?

BT: And yes, my year, I'll never forget. I was in the elevator with you on my first day. So of course I was super nervous. It was your birthday

DG: Oh, March 4th.

BT: Yeah, March 4th. So it'll be, and you said, “Oh, I'll never forget because it's my birthday.”

DG: There you go.

BT: And you said, it goes by fast.

DG: Did it?

BT: It did. I can't believe it's already been a year.

DG: So when you came here, if I'm remembering correctly, you did not really have any experience in the surety world. Is that correct?

BT: No experience in the surety world.

DG: So then as a Surety Client Coordinator, what are some of your responsibilities here for us?

BT: So today's a perfect example. I never really know what the day is going to hold, but really my main responsibility is kind of using my skills that I've learned being in the bar industry and other areas of insurance, just organizing our workflow, figuring out levels of priority, and then executing the bonds and making sure that the clients get it. If it's a bid bond and they need it quickly, how are we going to get it to them if it's something for a job that's coming up? What producer is going to drop it off? Just to make sure that we're having that connections with our clients, you know, hand delivering I think is very important because you get to see your client right and they get to see you.

DG: Right. And I mean and here at Rancho Mesa we want to keep this a people business. You know It's not just transactional. So I appreciate that about you in particular.

Are there one or two areas of your role that you really enjoy?

BT: Just the job never being the same every day because it's, no one wants to be doing the same exact thing. There are similar tasks each day, but I find myself really constantly learning every single day. And the producers here have been great in just guiding me in this area because even though I've been licensed for almost eight years, surety is a whole different world. So it's been very humbling, but I really do love it. I love the challenge.

DG: Yeah, that's great. Is there areas that you're looking to expand or grow within the surety space?

BT: I'm always looking to grow. I did become a notary this year so I'm excited about that and, yeah, I mean I think there's any time there's classes available or any way I can become more of an expert in the craft to better serve our clients is really what I'm always looking for.

DG: Yeah, I can--just in a year's time--I can see you're a high-energy person you're willing to contribute in a lot of ways even outside of the Surety Department just in Rancho Mesa overall. You're one of the first to volunteer for a committee or to help organize something, your attitude, your energy every day you just bring. What do you think is at the root of that? Is it just who you are or is that just something that you're trying to, how do you do that every day?

BT: Thank you for the compliment. I come from a family of entertainers. I love to throw parties. That's something I really enjoy doing in my free time so we'll usually have one big party every year. But I just really enjoy getting my hands dirty, helping out. I like to have fun. And I feel like there's no reason not to have fun. But yeah, more than anything, I just--I love to help out because I love party planning and being a part of the team. And I think that that's probably, again, just from my upbringing and being involved in a team environment.

DG: Yeah. I think that’s just such, so critical for the success of any organization, you know, we all have a job to do that's an individual role, but then as you can kind of broaden that out to include other people and then bring those other people in to make them feel comfortable. And I, again, like I said, we try to do a lot of things to engage people here from outside activities, parties, events, and book clubs, things like that. And I, every time we have one I just see you saying, “What can I do? How can I help?”

So really really appreciate that about you, Brittany.

BT: Thank you.

DG: So let me ask you this if you're walking down the beach Let's say you're in What's your favorite local beach? La Jolla, Mission Bay, Mission Beach?

BT: Probably Windansea because that's where my husband fishes. So I'm usually on the beach with him and my son.

DG: So he's fishing you're strolling looking for shells or whatever relaxing and you run into a stranger and you start to chat and they say, "Oh, well, what do you do? Who do you work for?”

How would you describe Rancho Mesa to that stranger? Would there be something unique about Rancho Mesa that you'd want to talk to that stranger about to try to get them to feel what you feel about Rancho Mesa?

BT: If I could use one word, I would say family. And I still don't have my elevator speech down to tell people what a bond is. So I'm really working on that. But I try to keep it short and sweet, believe it or not. But I think when I'm describing this place, I usually do say it feels like a family. It feels like a team. We spend so much time away from our family, a lot of time here. So knowing that I can go into work and feel like I'm with a family of sorts is really important to me because it makes me want to do a better job, it makes me want to show up and give my best.

And I think team would be the other word is, it’s kind of like we're one big team.

When I first started, I was like, “Is everybody really this nice? Is it just because I just started?”

But you know, you'll go and walk into the kitchen and you know, like I ran into Rory and I haven't seen him. “How's the baby?”

And he's like, “How's your son? How's it going?”

I was like, “Oh, it's almost going to be a year here.”

“Oh my gosh, that's exciting.”

And that was just a genuine interaction while we were both getting our coffee. So I love that.

DG: I think that that warms my heart because I think when you know, Char and I started the company, that was the feeling that we really wanted, you know. I was on a podcast yesterday and they're asking us asking me about our culture and what was I most proud of in Rancho Mesa's success? And I said, our people, you know, we have, we do surveys annually to find out how are we doing, and we score very high in those areas, and that's really something I'm most proud of.

And so when you say family, I think most people recognize what that means, you know, that you're kind of looking out for one another, not just yourself. And that's not easy to do in today's world sometimes. People have isolated themselves, become very me-oriented, things like that. And when we find people like you, you just add to the family and that's the most important thing that we look for is that energy. There's a lot of people that can do the job, but not people that can do the job and be a family team member. So it's really cool that that's how you would describe us to me. It makes me feel really, really good.

So Britt we're kind of towards the end here. Is there anything else I can ask here you'd like to share before we wrap up?

BT: I don't think so.

DG: You sure? Now we have all these hidden talents that I could just go off script.

BT: Yeah, you could. You could ask anything you want.

DG: Okay, well, all right, here we go, listening to the audience. Britt, as she mentioned, she bartended for a while. So Britt, what's your favorite drink to make.

BT: What season?

DG: Oh, here we go. Summertime.

BT: Mojito. I love mojitos and I think every bartender that’s listening, if they do listen, is going to say, "Why would you say that?"

I think it's so delicious. It's a mix of sweet. It's a mix of tart and the mint. Add some cucumber in there if you want. In the winter, I like old fashions. I think it really warms the heart.

DG: Yeah. Well, I'm not a heavy drinker, but those both sound good. I don't have any idea what's the alcohol in either one of those.

BT: The alcohol in a mojito is rum. Wow, you're testing me, I haven't done it. It's rum, and then in an old-fashioned, it's bourbon.

DG: Okay, all right.

BT: And that's a really strong one. That's not really, I think, that enjoyable in the summertime. Yeah, I do love to enjoy cocktails and find new restaurants. My husband's a chef, so we really enjoy kind of checking new places out, or sometimes just eating at a little hole in the wall taco shop is just as exciting.

DG: Yeah. So, all right, now that you've laid that out for me, kind of put it on a tee; who does the cooking at home?

BT: I do all the cooking. Oh, you know what's so funny? That is a hidden talent, I think.

DG: Okay, here we go.

BT: I would say my hidden talent is that I am a very good cook and I am trained by a chef. My mom was more of a baker so I have a lot of recipes for loaves and brownies and cookies. But learning how to balance salt and fat and acidity and also making things fast when you've got a three-and-a-half-year-old running around. So, I've got a few recipes at my sleeve and knowing that he enjoys it when he comes home from cooking all day is really rewarding for me because I'm like, "Okay, he's the real deal and he likes my cooking."

Either that or he's lying.

DG: Right. Probably he's not lying. You're probably a very good cook, but it is. There's a little bit of pressure, I'm sure, when you're cooking for a chef. I'd be afraid to pour them a glass of water. You know, like, “Did I do that right?”

BT: Yeah, you'd be surprised. I think a lot of chefs; they just want something simple when they're ready to sit down and enjoy a meal.

DG: And not have to prepare it themselves.

BT: Exactly, they're just happy to have a hot plate of food in front of them.

DG: Sure. Well, Britt, I've really enjoyed this today.

BT: Me too, thanks for having me.

DG: Thanks for coming.

And those of you that are listening, if you've enjoyed what you've heard, you know, please share this episode and think about subscribing to our podcast. There's two done a week and we're approaching number 500, it'll be in April. So look, keep on the lookout for that. If you'd like to visit us, you can go to RanchoMesa.com, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

But I just want to thank you all today for the time that you spent with us. I enjoyed Brittney. Brittney, thank you again.

BT: Thank you.

DG: And we'll talk to you next time.

BT: Yes, happy almost birthday.

DG: There we go. Bye.

BT: Bye.