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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X X V I O C T O B E R 3 1 , 2 0 2 2 18 FA M I LY OW N E D B U S I N E S S F O C U S at all changed a few years ago, when she returned to Bridgton to take a job as vice president of sales and marketing at the National Accident Health General Agency, or NAHGA, a third-party administrator special- izing in secondary accident insurance. e company, founded by her father, Bill Chalmers, in 1991, processes claims for 11 of the premier underwriters of health and accident insurance for col- leges and universities, sports leagues, day care centers and others. "Nationally, there's only a couple of companies that do what we do, which is incredibly niche and specialized," Marney Chalmers says of NAHGA. She joined the firm in 2016 after a decade at West Elm, a Brooklyn, N.Y.- based division of Williams-Sonoma Inc. that sells furniture and home décor. She loved that job, where she was a sourc- ing manager and spent a lot of time on international travel. One day, she got a call from her father asking if she had any interest in return- ing to Maine and to work for NAHGA. While her first reaction was "No way," she was eventually persuaded. e reason she accepted: "I was at a pivotal point in my life," she recalls. "I knew I wanted to have a fam- ily someday, and I knew I needed to focus on me and my family and on my relationship with my father, who had a lot of health issues." Initially overseeing sales and mar- keting, Chalmers succeeded her father as president and CEO in January 2022. Her father, 72, also passed the torch to the next generation at Chalmers Insurance Group, also based in Bridgton, but still serves as chairman of that company. At National Accident Health General Agency, Marney Chalmers leads 50 employees and says she has no regrets about making the move. "We have definitely grown since I've joined, and I'm proud of it," she says. "I'm excited to see where the company is going." Asked what she's learned from her father along the way, she says: "He's a man of his word and integrity is everything for him." One example of that is when an employee asked for financial help to pay a heating bill, and her father went out and personally filled the employ- ee's fuel tank. "We're a family-owned business, and we treat everybody like family," she says. Her sister, Dottie Chalmers Cutter, is an owner and vice president of opera- tions at Chalmers Insurance Group. Happy to have her sister who's also her best friend back in Maine, Dottie says. "We've always been each other's cheerleaders — and I didn't realize how much I was missing my cheerleader, until she moved back to Maine." From mowing lawns to running Cross Insurance From mowing lawns for Cross Insurance when he was a teenager to running the company as president and CEO, Jonathan Cross has spent his whole career at one firm. But the 46-year-old insists he had to prove himself like any other employee at the Bangor-based insurer, which has grown from a one- man, home-based operation started by his grandfather in 1954. Today, Cross Insurance is one of the largest independent insurance providers in the Northeast, with 1,105 employees on the payroll, including more than 400 in Maine. "It wasn't a given that I would automatically get a job at the family business," says Cross, who suc- ceeded his father as president in 2020 and as CEO in September. "I had to apply and take whatever work was available." at meant stints in different departments during his studies at Husson University, then becoming a full-time account manager after graduating with a degree in business administration. "I wanted to move into sales, but I had to work my way into that as well," he recalls. "at was the same » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2 0 » We are a family-owned business, and we treat everybody like family. — Marney Chalmers NAHGA YOU HAVE GREAT IDEAS. TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD IT We have the advice and financing tools to make them a reality. Together, we can grow good jobs, livelihoods and diverse small business ownership in Maine. 207.504.5900 www.ceimaine.org Business Property and Liability Insurance Products Cyber and Data Breach Liability Insurance Employment Practices Liability Insurance, EPLI & Equipment and Mechanical Breakdown INSURING MAINE BUSINESS — INSURING MAINE PEOPLE We've been in business more than 140 years, and continue to innovate by providing you a portfolio that offers the kind of protection your business needs — today. Visit Patrons.com to find an independent agent near you. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR TODAY'S BUSINESS CHALLENGES.

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