During the Christmas season at Henderson Brothers, each employee gets $100 — $50 to spend on themselves and $50 to spend on a needy child. The company sponsors a gift-wrapping party, and the presents are distributed to kids through the YMCA and Hill House.
That’s just one way Dan Grealish, president of Henderson Brothers, not only encourages his employees to get involved in the community but demonstrates his and his company’s commitment to civic responsibility.
Grealish was committed to the notion that everyone who works at Henderson Brothers should have a hand in creating its new identity and sought opinions and suggestions from all of the employees when the Downtown insurance agency decided to undertake a branding effort last year. Grealish’s rationale? “People support what they help to create.”
Beyond the walls of Henderson Brothers, Grealish is an avid supporter of charitable causes. In the mid-1990s, he launched the Insurance Day of Caring, a takeoff on the United Way’s annual event. The event marshals his insurance industry colleagues, as well as a number of Henderson Brothers employees, to donate their time and talents at a variety of tasks, from painting senior citizen centers to building homes through Habitat for Humanity.
Grealish was named YMCA Volunteer of the Year in 2000 and received the Community Champion/Jefferson Award in 1998.
Grealish and Henderson Brothers have been just as innovative and energetic when it comes to the business. Last year, Henderson Brothers launched a series of programs that bring in presidents of major insurance companies to speak with its clients and share industry trends and information.
The agency has embraced technology to give clients 24-hour access to information through offerings like My Wave and Employease, both proprietary software programs that provide insurance and benefits information to clients and their employees. It is testing the use of PDAs for its entire sales staff, so they have immediate access to current insurance rates and other information when they are in the field with clients. How to reach: Henderson Brothers, www.hendersonbrothers.com
