May 22—TUPELO — Insurance company Ross and Yerger has been named among the 100 best insurance companies by not just one, but three leading industry publications.

The Jackson-based agency has offices in Tupelo, Hattiesburg, Memphis and New Orleans, and is a full-service insurance company specializing in a broad range of business needs, including health care, energy, manufacturing, property management, business, personal insurance and several other areas of interest.

Ross & Yerger was named to the Hales Top 100 Commercial Focused Agents at No 100; the Business Insurance Top 100 Brokers of US Business at No. 91; and the Insurance Journal Top 100 Property / Casualty Agencies at No. 99.

Those are significant feats, considering the thousands of insurance agencies across the country.

"That's a big deal, and it's been a team effort," said Joey Hutto, who is a senior vice president in the Tupelo office, which has played major part of the agency's growth over the years.

Hutto actually started his own agency in Tupelo in 1980.

"I started the company from scratch and didn't have any customers," Hutto said. "Buzzy Mize came on board in November of that year and became a major stockholder. Over the next 10 years, we built the agency into one of the largest in North Mississippi. We had a good time, and we had a great group of associates."

They were joined by David Carlisle, who joined the agency in 1988. Carlisle was working in retail when Hutto asked him to join his agency.

"We go to the same church, and he gave me an application," Carlisle said of this recruitment.

It was a fruitful partnership from the beginning. Together, the trio helped develop the insurance agencies to into a dominant force in the area.

Ross & Yerger took notice of the upstart agency in 1990 and offered to merge with them.

It has been a marriage that has paid handsome dividends to everyone involved, as the recent national rankings attest.

"We've had the pleasure of working with many loyal customers over the years," said Mize, who also is a senior vice president with Ross & Yerger. "When we merged with Ross & Yerger, it was family-owned at the time."

In 2002, the Yerger family sold the agency to its employees, a move that has helped power the company to its hefty status in the industry.

Hutto, Mize and Carlisle were among several principles who formed the structure to buy the agency, which has grown to some 120 associates company-wide.

"Every employee has stock in the company," Hutto said. "And it's been since 2002, that the company has seen its biggest growth."

Tupelo's contribution has been a significant part of that, Hutto said.

"We handle some of the most successful businesses in north Mississippi, and we've done it for many years, whether it's manufacturing, nonprofits, schools, etc.," he said. "The capabilities of the company are all within the top 100 of what anybody can do. The organization is just incredible."

Carlisle said being an employee-owned company is significant.

"It's a big deal," he said. "Everybody from the mail opener to the CEO all have a piece of the action, and we're all going to do what's good for the agency. It's almost like an extended family — everyone takes care of each other. "

Hutto said hiring bright, young and even more mature employees who become stockholders and producers for the company is the key to Ross & Yerger's success companywide. And all employees have the chance to become stockholders as well.

Among those talents is Bailey Menetre, joined in 2008 after the regional bonding and insurance agency in Jackson, where he had worked since graduation from college in 2004 sold to a bank. He helped start the construction division at Ross & Yerger

"Building anything from the ground up is always a challenge; however, Ross & Yerger provided me with the necessary support and resources to accomplish our ultimate goal," he said. "Fourteen years later, we've grown the Construction Division to 18 team members with a heavy focus on surety program development, captive insurance programs and customized risk management mechanisms for the commercial and industrial construction sectors."

Menetre and his family moved to Tupelo in May 2008. His advice for those looking to enter the insurance industry as a career: Don't be afraid to fail.

"The insurance industry can be very rewarding, but it also takes a tremendous amount of determination and perseverance," he said. "I am also strong proponent of identifying a niche that excites you, and then learning everything you can about that given niche."

dennis.seid@djournal.com