By By JOHN EBY / Edwardsburg Argus
CASSOPOLIS – Kemner-Iott Agency of Cass County broke ground last week Wednesday morning for its new offices on Century Drive across M-62 from the Law and Courts Building.
For veteran employee Lucy Hoffman it will be her fourth location since she joined John and Polly Stickle at the Guy Eby Insurance Agency across State Street from the 1899 courthouse in the 1970s.
That office was torn down for bank parking. Kemner-Iott also folded Dowagiac's Dixon-Livingston Agency into its operation.
Adjacent parcels will be marketed to other commercial concerns, Dan Iott said.
Keith Kemner, vice president of operations, said the new office is expected to be completed in early 2009.
Ancon Construction of Goshen, Ind., was selected as general contractor.
Forum Architects of South Bend, Ind., designed the facility.
Kemner-Iott is an employee-owned, independent agency providing a full range of personal and commercial insurance options and financial services in Lenawee and Washtenaw counties as well as Cass.
"We bought Guy Eby in '97," Iott said. "We've got great employees. Four of them have been with us since day one 11 years ago – Donna (Hartsell), Lucy (Hoffman), Mandy (Resanovich) and Dan (Herman). Vicki (Brossman) came in a month later. Bob Powers said I had to get to Cassopolis to meet a lady he wanted me to hire."
Also taking part in the shovel ceremony wearing hard hats were construction manager Gene Decker, Amy Kelley, Jamie First, Crystal Haefner, Trisha Hunt, Stan Przybysz, Dean Johnson, Charlie Retherford, Patti Badner, Andy Frech and Rick Derringer of Ancon and William Hentschel and Andy Grontkowski of Forum Architects as Sheriff Joe Underwood, County Commissioner Cathy Goodenough, R-Marcellus and Darren Williamson representing the Chamber of Commerce looked on.
"We have offices in Ann Arbor, Adrian and Cassopolis," Iott said. "We had one over by Coldwater we no longer own as of December. We sold that so we could build this new building. This is an exciting day for us. We have been working on this for a long, long time."
The groundbreaking ceremony was organized by Joy Smith, vice president of business development.
"We hope to continue to grow, prosper and be active in this great community," she said.