BUCHANAN — For the past 20 years, Redbud Insurance Services has done more than help customers have access to various forms of insurance — the business has also been a pillar to the downtown community.   

Alice Kring, the owner of the business, said providing a customer oriented model helped her to reach this major anniversary milestone.

To celebrate, Redbud Insurance hosted an open house June 19. More than 200 customers and fellow business owners crowded inside the building to express their gratitude for Redbud and celebrate the accomplishment.

“[It feels] pretty good,” Kring said. “I’m just happy that the community has given me as much support as I have given them.”

Kring has worked in the insurance business for 36 years. She got her start in the industry when some family connections encouraged her to take a job with an insurance company called the Beach Agency. Through that first job, Kring felt she had found her calling.

“I found I liked it,” Kring said. “It was a challenge. Insurance [can] change week to week.”

In 1998, Kring bought the branch office from Countryside Insurance and formed Redbud Insurance. From there, the business continued to bud, serving customers by providing access to a variety of insurance, including health and property causality insurance.

When Kring first started Redbud, she had only one other employee and served between 600 to 700 customers. Many of those customers had followed Kring from her former insurance gig.

Today, Kring has grown her business and is now, serving about 1,200 customers across Niles, Buchanan and Galien. She added two full-time and part-time workers to add to her team as the business grew.

In addition, she has also received some accolades. In the spring, she was enlisted in the “Circle of Champions” by the Affordable Care Act for enrolling more than 20 people in the health care program, following open enrollment. 

But a major goal has been helping clients to find an individualized insurance policy, despite changes or challenges that a client might have finding a provider.  When issues arise for clients, Kring said Redbud agents are there for their customers.

“The internet is fine and an 800 number is fine, but when you [have] got a problem — you don’t have a face you can talk to,” Kring said. “I think that is what sets a dependent agent apart.”

As a business owner, Kring has also emphasized to her employees the importance of giving back to their community. Kring is an avid volunteer and when she is not at work, she can be found volunteering at the Tin Shop community theatre. Her employees have helped her to volunteer at Meals on Wheels, with reading mentoring efforts or taking part in other events like the downtown’s annual chili cook off.

“Our community kind of expects the businesses to be involved,” Kring said. “[Being involved] makes a successful partnership in this community.”

Within the next three to five years, Kring said she plans to retire and find another business leader to take over Redbud. Until then, Kring said she looks forward to continue serving her local community.