WLB Advertiser Vickie Bergquist Insurance Agency wants Readers to know that they have been busy helping renters and homeowners with Flood Insurance.

Regardless of where you live, you can purchase flood insurance.

For most people Flood Insurance is affordable. Many people do not know that Flood insurance also covers mudslide and back up of sewer and drain coverage.

Vickie recommends going to FLOODSMART.GOV for more information on flood coverage.

Vickie’s office stays current on the flood risk and just received this update:

The Army Corps of Engineers reported last Thursday that the repairs at the Howard Hanson Damn have helped, but the risk of flooding is still high.

A new grout curtain constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to slow a leak through a damaged abutment at the Hanson Dam will reduce the risk of flooding this winter in the valley to a 1 in 25 chance.

Thousands of giant sandbags along the Green River levees reduces the chance of flooding even more: to 1 in 32 chance.

A heavy rainstorm similar to what struck the Green River Valley last January would overtop the levees and cause flooding in the cities of Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila because the corps will not be able to store as much water as normal at the Eagle Gorge reservoir, the pool of stormwater the corps retains behind the dam.

The corps pumped more than 400,000 gallons of cement to form a grout curtain in the abutment as part of its $8.9 million temporary fix to reduce the risk of flooding. The curtain is about 20 feet wide, 450 feet long and between 90 to 160 feet deep, depending on the location along the abutment.

The corps plans to construct a concrete cutoff wall as a permanent fix within the next three to five years. Crews have started the design process for the concrete wall but the design isn’t expected to be completed until next year.

Wright, from the Corps of Engineers,  praised the work of the cities of Kent, Auburn and Tukwila to place giant sandbags along the levees. The thousands of 3,200-pound sandbags increased the height of the levees to handle a river flow of 13,900 cubic feet per second compared to 12,000 cubic feet per second without the bags.

Wright said that extra height could keep the levees from overtopping if he has to release more water than normal from behind the dam during a storm.

If the corps does have to release water that would cause flooding, Wright said a minimum warning of at least eight hours would be given to local emergency officials who might have to order evacuations. It takes eight hours for water released from the dam to reach Auburn.

For more information, visit Vickie’s website here.

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Thirty years ago today, on October 1st, State Farm agent Char Schulz opened her first State Farm insurance office in Des Moines.  A few years later, she moved to her current location in the light grey house on the corner of 7th and 222nd.

Char says of working in her State Farm Insurance Agency: “I love working with my customers. I enjoy doing reviews to help them manage their risks of everyday life.”

Many of her customers started with Char when she began as an agent nearly 30 years ago. They now have kids and grandkids who have turned to Char to help with their insurance needs. Her State Farm agency handles all aspects of the insurance business, including:

• Homeowners
• Life
• Business
• Flood
• Health, which includes:
  • Temporary Health Insurance
  • Long-Term Care
  • Disability
  • Hospital Income

Helping Char celebrate this special day, are her new associates AJ Minerich and Niki Guilford.

Niki started with Char “to help her out for a few days”. That was on June 18. She knew after a few hours, this is where she belonged. She was formerly a State Farm agent in Idaho. Looking for a change of scenery, Niki loaded her sports-loving daughter, Averie, into the car and ended up in Des Moines.

Before she became a State Farm agent, Niki was a teacher. She taught gymnastics to little kids, and ballet, jazz and hip-hop to bigger kids. She claims to not do hip-hop anymore, but does miss the little kids.

As a self described ‘people pleaser’, Niki loves working with customers. You’ve got to be compassionate, have patience and an understanding of people.

The second addition to Chars’ new team, is, well, sort of a record breaker. He is the first guy to work in Chars’ office in 30 years. His name’s AJ.

AJ is also a licensed experienced State Farm agent, moving over from Puyallup just a few months ago. Sort of a quiet guy, AJ says he loves working with Char and Niki, and like Char and Niki, loves the people. He also loves lunching on a bench down at the marina. “Des Moines is a nice, close community that has a small town feeling,” adds AJ.

When he’s not working in Des Moines, AJ’s a weekend server at Outback in his home town of Tacoma.

“I trust both of them a lot,” said Char.

So, if you happen to be in Char’s neighborhood today, stop by 22206 7^th Ave. and say happy anniversary, or call with your well wishes 206-878-2520.

A big Waterlandblog welcome goes out to our latest Advertiser: Char Schulz and her State Farm Insurance agency in Des Moines!

Char’s the Agent in the light grey house on the corner of 7th and 222nd. She’s been in this location since 1987, and will celebrate her 30th anniversary as a State Farm agent–all in the Des Moines area–on October 1st.

Char’s been part of the Des Moines community for so long it’s hard to imagine life here without her. She grew up in the Bay Area, where she fondly remembers riding her bike or walking across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco to Sausalito as a kid, or hanging out in the Haight listing to Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead and other famous bands from the ‘60s–for free! Her mom has lived in the city of San Francisco all her life. Char returns often to visit her or attend reunions of her schools and Girl Scouts.

That’s right, Girl Scouts! One little known fact is that Char has been a Girl Scout for 55 years. Char refers to the Girl Scouts as the ‘sisterhood.’ She originally moved to the area to work professionally for the Girl Scouts in Tacoma. She organized volunteers and camps before she went into the insurance business. She continues to volunteer for the organization. She moved to the area so long ago that THERE WAS NO ESPRESSO COFFEE IN SEATTLE!

That was 1972, and we’ve come a long way since then.

It is her lifelong experience with the Girl Scouts that led to her community involvement and giving back. Years ago she was on the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce board where she had such honors as hosting the Waterland Festival’s 25th Anniversary luncheon and has marched in the Waterland parade as a clown. She had clown training that she still remembers. She was also a Waterland Commodore.

In the mid-80s when the Des Moines Rotary opened its doors to women members, she was recruited by Bob “Coach” Roach to be among the first women members. She continues as a long-time active member of Rotary (Char is the person who tipped WLB on the couple we reported on who met at the Poverty Bay Wine Festival last year who got married last week).

As a community activist, Char was a founding member and is Vice President of the Des Moines Legacy Foundation. The Foundation provides funding for Parks, Recreation and Senior Services. This year she will serve as Chairman for the Legacy Foundation’s 10th annual Bayside Brunch fundraiser at Anthony’s.

Char says of working in her State Farm Insurance Agency: “I love working with my customers. I enjoy doing reviews to help them manage their risks of everyday life.” Many of her customers started with Char when she began as an agent nearly 30 years ago. They now have kids and grandkids who have turned to Char to help with their insurance needs. Her State Farm agency handles all aspects of the insurance business, including:

• Auto
• Homeowners
• Life
• Business
• Health, which includes:
  • Temporary Health Insurance
  • Long-Term Care
  • Disability
  • Hospital Income

What’s next for Char Schulz besides helping people with their insurance needs? As an avid gardener, she’d like to take courses to become a master gardener and buy a motor home to travel with her black standard poodle Raven just for fun.

Char is “proud to be part of the Waterland Community serving insurance needs of the Des Moines area.”

You can find Char and her other agents Dawna Rhodes and Molly Gibson at 22206 7th Ave South, call her at 206-878-2520, or click on her Ad to check out her website.

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Welcome to The Waterland Blog’s first Advertiser: Vickie Bergquist Insurance Agency, Inc.!

Vickie’s a State Farm agent in Des Moines.

Unlike many west coast agents, Vickie started her State Farm career in the home office in Bloomington, Ill., after high school graduation.

She’s spent a total of 28 years with State Farm. When she married her husband Rich 32 years ago they began a professional road trip that took them from southern Illinois to Texas, Arizona, Colorado and 16 years later Washington. It was then that Vickie went back to State Farm. The office she occupies at 22760 Marine View Drive S. has been a State Farm office for over 30 years.

Vickie recalls her first year as an agent when she delivered her first life insurance check to a widow who was very appreciative. This experience validated the impact of what we (as insurance agents) do and the impact they have on peoples’ lives.

She views her job as “helping people deal with the unexpected. The good news is because they plan, they’ll be okay. One great thing about State Farm, is that we really are neighbors to those we serve” she added.

And being neighborly to Vickie means helping her clients make wise use of their insurance dollars. “It takes a professional agent to help people plan for the risks in their lives. We help our clients plan for an entire life, and tweak it as their lives change.”

In Vickie’s opinion, ‘if you want to save money on insurance, go see your insurance agent. If you have proper coverage, it will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

Vickie Bergquist Insurance is a full-service State Farm office, selling auto, life, health and fire insurance, plus mutual funds and investment products. State Farm Bank products are FDIC insured. Vickie is joined in her office by Melissa Pallanes, who’s been with her for over eight years. Melissa is a licensed Insurance Agent and is a registered representative with a license to sell mutual funds and assist people in planning for their financial future. Teresa Asphy has 12 years experience as a licensed agent.

WLB thinks it’s important for our readers to know that Vickie’s agency sells Short Term Health Insurance. For our readers who may be between jobs, it’s less expensive than COBRA. It’s also good for college students no longer on their parents plan, and fills an insurance gap if the family member with the health insurance retires.

Vickie and her husband live, work and shop in Des Moines. She’s President of the Southwest Chapter of Business and Professional Women, on the board for Des Moines Dollars for Scholars, President of the Kent Breakfast Club, and is an ex-officio board member of the Southwest King County Chamber.

So, click on her Ad on the upper right sidebar, check out her website, or better yet – give her a call at (206) 878-4050 and tell her The Waterland Blog sent ya!

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