State Farm Insurance, Blaine Carragher

Blaine went to college at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for a degree in journalism. If you speak with her, you will quickly see that she has a sense of both presence and command of language.  She did TV news reporting in West Virginia, and could easily have had a career doing that. But over time, interviewing people facing various accidents and troubles, she had a constant thought of “I couldn’t help them.” She knew she wanted to help people. That desire to help people is what brought Blaine back to Illinois and connected with State Farm. She was initially a consultant to agents to help them with systems and business processes. But then, after learning by teaching, she became an agency intern.

State Farm is fairly unique in that each agent is an independent contractor. Each agent is initially placed in an area with a number of clients based upon geography. Blaine was fortunate enough to be placed here in Westchester. State Farm Insurance has had a presence in Westchester since roughly 1940. Many of you will remember either Ted or Bruce Horek, both great examples of being part of our community and helping with our local Chamber of Commerce. Blaine started at State Farm in Westchester on April 1, 2022, taking over for Bruce Horek upon his retirement. This was a bust and exciting time for Blaine as she was planning her own wedding that summer with her spouse Sean, who she had met while in journalism school, and starting her own insurance agency. When first establishing herself, Blaine was fortunate enough to be able to use the same location Bruce had been at, with her own clients, and also had some of Bruce’s staff stay on. Since then, Blaine has been able to grow her business and she now has five employees that she loves to work with.

Blaine loves serving her clients, both new and old – with some of them being third and fourth generation State Farm families. They come from all walks of life and face small to large crises. Crises ranging from the obvious steps of beginning a family, buying a first car or house, to the interesting challenges of car accidents and illnesses, and all the way to the “I’ve never faced this issue before” such as what happens if your client hits another person with a stray golf ball.  Blaine is even there for those in the hardest times such as the very difficult moments of what happens when someone dies. Blaine’s compassion is evident and she wants to be that person who makes a difference so that someone can move through a difficult time with some help.  Blaine takes pride in those moments when someone tells her, “You made this time so much easier for me”, and moreso when she hears that her employees have been that person that did something amazing for a client.

Every day has been a new moment for Blaine. Every day brings its own joys and its own challenges. Blaine has learned that being deliberate about how to use time and how to delegate is an important skill. No one can do everything and be everywhere at once. And yet, by doing the above, she has been able to do much more than when she started.

Blaine makes it clear that she loves Westchester. She sees our community as so central to the Chicago area, and that it is so accessible to everywhere. She is thankful that Bruce Horek invited her to the Chamber of Commerce Christmas luncheon back in 2021, and planted a seed that being part of the Chamber allows you to know that you are never alone in business. You always have someone else to listen, to give support, to network and sometimes make very helpful suggestions. And being together helps create community. Blaine loves the community of Westchester and continues to help in anyway she can. In fact, Blaine not only joined the local Westchester Chamber of Commerce, but then the Board of Directors, and was just elected President this last month!

We want to celebrate Blaine being part of our Westchester community, and the fact that she has taken so much interest in Westchester. Get to know Blaine and her staff Daisy, Susy, Deyanira, Jessica, and Corinne.

And as always, the Westchester Economic Development Committee encourages everyone continue to support our local businesses!