Mr. Farm Bureau Jerry Rohde Celebrates 50 Years of Helping Here

Not many people have been in the insurance business as long as Jerry Rohde. He celebrated his 50th anniversary with Farm Bureau on May 1. And he doesn’t plan to retire quite yet.

“It’s a great career,” Rohde said in an interview with the Record last week. “Somebody totals their car out, you give them a check. Somebody passes away, you give the wife a check. Everybody does these donations, fundraisers, and things like that. That’s fine, but we’re making sure the husband or wife is taken care of. That’s our job.”

Rohde began his career at Farm Bureau in the company’s La Grange office on May 1, 1976.

“The manager here, Billy Seale, called me up and wanted to talk to me about insurance,” Rohde said. “He came to my house with my wife and family. We talked insurance, and then he offered me a job.”

Rohde was working for Gindler’s Department Store at the time.

“I was a local guy,” Rohde said. “I didn’t go to college, but I graduated from high school here. I knew a lot of people, evidently, and I guess I was a salesman at heart. I could just talk to everybody and everybody was my friend. So that’s how I got into the insurance business.”

By 1979, Farm Bureau appointed him agency manager for Goliad County. He worked there until 1982, when he returned to Fayette County as an agent. In 2002, Rohde became the agency manager for Fayette County and held that position until 2022. That year he stepped down as manager and once again became an agent.

Rohde said the thing he likes most about the insurance business is his relationship with clients.

“I don’t even know how many clients I have, but it’s a bunch,” he said. “I have parents, kids, and grandkids – three generations of clients.

“You think about car insurance – people have a little wreck, or house insurance – a little windstorm or something like that,” he said. “But life insurance is the most important thing. I guess that’s what I get the most out of it – selling life insurance to people. You build relationships with people.”

He mentioned a life insurance claim he paid out to a client’s survivor about a month ago. A few tears trickled down his face as he spoke about it.

“I’m glad I was there for her to do that,” he said.

Rohde credits his long successful career to working for a strong organization like Farm Bureau.

“It’s so well known everywhere,” he said. “We have our own adjusters. We have an office in every county. It’s not a 1-800 number. Most of the time we’re not the cheapest, but every client of mine has my cell phone number. You’re not going to get put on hold. People call me on Saturdays and Sundays, and I’m happy to talk to them. I’m a 24-hour agent. Farm Bureau is strong. No hassles.”

Rohde said the insurance business has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. Farm Bureau used to only write policies for farmers and ranchers.

“In the old days, we used to write nothing but farmers and ranchers,” Rohde said. “If somebody lived in town and didn’t have a place in the country, we couldn’t write them. Now we write insurance all over the state.

“I still have a lot of big farmers insured,” he added. “But a lot of people coming from Houston put wildlife exemption on their property. They don’t want anything to do with crops or anything.”

However, Rohde said the organization is still focused on supporting farmers and ranchers.

“Farm Bureau is a big advocate for no sales tax on farm equipment and things like that,” he said. “They’ve helped a lot of people.”

Above his desk in his office in La Grange hangs a sign that says “Mr. Farm Bureau.” That pretty much sums up Jerry Rohde. In 2022, Rohde stepped down as agency manager in La Grange. Marcus Zarosky took his place.

“I came from coaching,” Zarosky said. “If you got a head coach job and the previous head coach stayed on staff, that was a huge red flag. When it was looking like I was coming here, Jerry called me and said, ‘I’m excited for you to come.’ We knew some different people. We had mutual friends. I knew who Jerry was because he’s a legend. He didn’t know who I was. But he called me and we talked on the phone for probably 20 or 30 minutes one day, and he goes, ‘Man, I’m looking forward to working with you.’And that is rare. A lot of times, you’ve got somebody who’s been here 50 years, he could have all the ego in the world. He could dig in and make my life pretty hard. And he doesn’t. He’s the best.”

Only four other Texas Farm Bureau agents have more seniority than Rohde. Even more impressive, according to Zarosky, Farm Bureau has hired more than 26,000 agents since Rohde came on board in 1976.

“You can see it on the wall,” Zarosky said, pointing to Rohde’s numerous awards hanging in his office. “He doesn’t even have enough room for all the awards and stuff that he’s got. But the thing that I admire most about Jerry is this guy has been through a bunch of adversity in his life.”

Rohde did not mention it in the interview, but he has experienced two great losses in his life, a wife and son who both died too soon.

“I don’t know if I’ve met anybody that’s been through what he’s been through,” Zarosky said “He’s got the best attitude.”

Even after 50 years in the insurance business, Rohde said he’s not ready to retire just yet.

“Have you ever seen that movie Shawshank Redemption? That guy says he’s institutionalized. I think I have that, too,” he joked.

“I’ve been in the cattle business, and I’ve enjoyed it,” Rohde said. “I could see myself as a gentleman farmer. But right now, everybody I’ve talked to who’s retired has said it ain’t what it’s supposed to be. I haven’t had any big health issues. So I’m hanging in there for a while.”