State Farm Insurance agent Valerie Tichy-Drummer poses for a photo outside her Hemet business which she started 35 years ago and has been at the same location for 34 years. She was asked to remove her face covering for the photograph, and the photographer was more than 6 feet away. Valley News/Diane A. Rhodes photo
When State Farm Insurance agent Valerie Tichy-Drummer opened her office in Hemet Feb. 1, 1986, she was hopeful for a long and successful career, she said. Thirty-five years later, a look back at the journey showed her just that.Tichy-Drummer said she was attracted to the insurance industry because of her desire to help people, make a good living and have independence. Although she worked her way through college at Mt. San Jacinto College and the University of Redlands as a secretary for Skyline Homes, she said State Farm Insurance was her first and only career job.“When I started, there were very few women insurance agency owners,” she said. “I think any business owner has to be risk tolerant; my checks to this day vary, unlike an employee who has guaranteed income.”Tic
