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After more than 37 years at Farm Bureau Insurance and 16 years as agency manager of the Coffee County Farm Bureau, Mark McBride will be retiring on Dec. 31, 2023.

A native of Henry County, Tennessee, McBride began his career with Farm Bureau Insurance in 1986 after spending four years working at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture as assistant to the commissioner of agriculture in the area of public affairs.

“I chose to join Farm Bureau Insurance and I was given to the opportunity to work in Lebanon, Tennessee,” he said. “One of the top agencies in the state, working under agency manager Jim Lancaster, who had been there since they opened the doors in 1948.”

During that time McBride learned from the generation that came before him, and nine years later was given an opportunity to serve as agency manager of the Farm Bureau office in Jackson, Tennessee.

“We doubled in size in 12 years,” McBride said. “It was a tremendous opportunity there and I thought it was the place where I would stay and expected to remain.”

After 21 years in Jackson, another opportunity knocked.

In 2007, the agency manager positon at the Coffee County Farm Bureau became available.

“I was aware of Coffee County, because again, in our world we know who our competition is and who wins all the awards,” McBride said. “There was a respect that I had for what was happening here in Coffee County.”

At 46 years-old, McBride and his wife Carol made the decision to move from Jackson to Coffee County. It was no small move for the family. While two of McBride’s sons were away at college at that time, he still had one son at home in eighth grade.

“We were in the cattle business as well,” he said. “This was a project of our son Stephen for his 4H and FFA work, so I didn’t want to uproot him and not let him continue his dreams, so we moved cattle here and leased a farm and really had to start over.”

McBride said that in moving to Coffee County he was able to join a team of experienced agents and an agency with a great board of directors.

“I have been very blessed throughout my career,” McBride said. “I have worked with a lot of talented people. We have set our sights on very high goals to reach.”

As the agency manager of Farm Bureau Insurance, McBride has been able to work directly with all the volunteers associated with the Farm Bureau organization.

“I am an independent contractor that has a contract with Tennessee Farmers Insurance Company which is a service company of the Farm Bureau organization,” he said. “The Farm Bureau organization has as its goal to educate the community about agriculture and to advocate for agricultural issues for rural people and things like that.”

McBride said his work with Farm Bureau has allowed him to fulfill his career goals of working in the agricultural field.

“The thing that is unique about us as insurance agents is our mission is so different than just an insurance company,” McBride said. “Our mission was founded in this agricultural industry that we are a part of. I said I wanted to stay in the industry of agriculture, I have been able to work every day in the industry of agriculture because I work with these farmers in their mission of making agriculture sustainable, and making the local environment conducive to farming.”

“Being able to be a cog in that wheel, to be able to help in that process has been very rewarding for me,” he added.

When it comes to retirement plans, McBride said he is looking forward to being able to spend more time with his family, both in Tennessee and out of state.

“My sons have blessed us with seven amazing grandkids, six of which live within two miles of my house, so we have a lot of fun with those six,” he said. “My youngest grandchild was just born in July and she is in Indiana. We will be able, as Carol and I have talked about, at the drop of a hat now without having to feel pressures, to say you know it is Tuesday, we don’t have any plans, let’s drive to Indiana or let’s go see her dad in Iowa who is still farming at 96.”

McBride will be succeeded as agency manager by Brad Davenport, who started with Farm Bureau Insurance in 2007 in Coffee County and has most recently worked as agency manager in Woodbury.

“As the company looked at who should replace me it was a very easy decision to bring Brad back home,” he said.

McBride said he is also looking forward to helping out some with the family beef business McBride Angus Farms and remaining a part of the Coffee County agricultural community.

“Any way I can continue to hopefully be a minster for the Lord and to interact with people in a positive manner and maybe brighten their day, those are the goals I kind of have,” he said.