As a college student, Amanda Gossett didn’t picture herself as a salesperson. Instead she envisioned herself as an adult staying busy in public relations and community service. After a year as a State Farm independent contractor in Russellville, she is deeply involved in all three roles and more.
In the summer of 2012, Logan Countians saw mystery signs on most major thoroughfares announcing “Amanda Gossett is Coming.” For months, who Amanda Gossett was and why she was coming were mysteries. Most of us wondered what the significance of her arrival would be.
Then on Jan. 1, 2013, Amanda Gossett arrived. She turned out to be State Farm agent Amanda Gossett. She had taken over the agency operated for many years by David Tharpe, who had retired. Her office was in his old one on a corner on East Fourth Street next to The Harvest.
Exactly a year later, on Jan. 1, 2014, Amanda Gossett opened the doors to her new, much larger office, up the street from the former one. She and those who work with her are now in the remodeled building which was for many years the medical offices of doctors Charles Mathis and the late Lewis Martin. Most recently, it was headquarters for a home health firm. It’s across the street from Dr. Bill Webb’s office.
“This building is triple the size of the other one,” she said while sitting at her new desk. “We grew so much last year that we had one person working out of the kitchen/break room. We had to move to serve our clients properly.”
Working with her are Gene Vincent, Chris Dugger, Amanda McCullom, Jennifer Potts, Danielle Wilson and Paige Orlando.
In addition to a variety of insurance packages, Gossett also offers mortgages, retirement plans, college savings, vehicle loans, life insurance and virtual banking. “I’m involved in much more than taking insurance orders,” she says. “We want to help people be better educated and better off financially. We want to help our customers be able to retire without worrying.”
The daughter of two parents in the military, she moved around often as a child before the family moved to Hopkins County, not far from Logan County. She graduated from Hopkins County Central High School in 2001, attended Murray State University for a year, and then transferred to Western Kentucky University where she double majored in creative writing and psychology.
She has been in the State Farm management training program since 2010 under the tutelage of Kirk Gammons of Bowling Green. Her opportunity came with Gossett’s retirement.
Amanda has made the transition to being a Logan Countian. She and her 9-year-old daughter Rileigh live in the Auburn area where Rileigh is a student at Auburn Elementary School. Amanda is involved in Rotary, Junior Achievement and Leadership Logan. She has helped out with the College Preparedness program in conjunction with Daymar College, Auburn Autumn Days, and fire department training. She is co-coordinator of this year’s Ag Safety Day at the extension office.
Her business continues to grow. She was first assigned half of Tharpe’s clients while the accounts of the other half were being serviced by the office staff of Russellville’s other State Farm agent, John Mardis, at a different location from his office. Now those clients have been reassigned to the Gossett agency.
This adds to Gossett’s work, but she is pleased to help more people. That’s what she wants to do. “I like to meet all our clients and find out what’s important to them,” she says.
Amanda Gossett can be reached at 270-725-FARM.