Texarkana life-long independent insurance agent Don Morriss, was named winner of the highest award given by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) at the 111th Annual Conference & Trade Show.
Morriss is president of Offenhauser & Co., an independent insurance agency that has operated continuously under the same name for 126 years.
“The Drex G. Foreman Award is the highest honor an independent insurance agent in Texas can receive. It recognizes exceptional contributions to the association of Trusted Choice agents, the Independent Insurance Agency System, the Texas insurance industry and local community,” said Frank Swingle, IIAT president. “No one deserves it more than Don,” he added.
The award is named for Drex Foreman, who served as executive director of IIAT for 30 years.
Immediate past president Robert Hempkins told attendees at the Wade F. Spilman Political Action Luncheon that Morriss’ unswerving dedication to service and his commitment to excellence not only reflect the long-standing philosophy of his agency, but have become the cornerstones of his own life.
Morriss joined Offenhauser in 1976 following graduation from Southern Methodist University with a degree in business. He became a partner in 1978 and was named president in 1991. As president he follows his father, Josh Morriss, Jr.; grandfather, Josh Morriss, Sr.; and great-grandfather, Fred W. Offenhauser, who founded the agency in 1882.
Morriss is also a fourth-generation president of the state association and Offenhauser was also president of the national association. Morris’ father and grandfather are former winners of the Drex Foreman award.
For more than 30 years Morriss has lived the agency’s “Golden Rule” philosophy of volunteer participation which states that excellence begins with service to others and to the community: In addition to a long history of professional leadership positions with IIAT and the Independent insurance Agents & Brokers of America, the national association, during those years, Morriss has also served on no fewer than 12 boards of civic and community organizations in Texarkana.
Morriss received the IIAT Young Agent of the Year Award in 1987.
Source: Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT), www.iiat.org.
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