10/06/2026
Yesterday was my birthday — and this photo has me thinking about just how much of my life has been tied to Countryside Insurance. ❤️
That little girl is me with my dad, Charles C. Wathen.
A few years after this photo was taken, in 1976, Dad started Countryside Insurance Agency. I was six years old.
By the time I was eight, I was already spending time at the office, answering phones, filing paperwork and doing whatever little jobs Dad could find for me.
I grew up there.
I worked there through school and summers. I earned my insurance license at 18. And when life changed much sooner than I ever expected, I eventually found myself responsible for carrying forward what my dad had started.
At 27 years old, I became the owner of Countryside Insurance Agency.
And somehow, here we are.
50 years.
What started with my dad in 1976 has grown into an agency with an incredible team, thousands of families we’ve had the privilege to serve, and generations of clients who have trusted us with their homes, cars, businesses and lives.
Insurance has changed tremendously in those 50 years.
But the part that matters most to me never has:
People trusting us to help take care of them.
I’m incredibly proud to be a second-generation insurance agent, and even more proud that the little agency my dad started all those years ago is still here — local, independent and serving this community half a century later.
Dad, I hope I’ve made you proud. ❤️
Here’s to 50 years of Countryside Insurance — and to whatever comes next.
Guidance You Can Trust. Coverage You Can Count On.
