Rita Lawlis
Agent

Rita has over 25 years experience in employee benefits. Rita began her career in employee benefits with Aetna. She spent 18 years with ICON Benefit Administrators, Third Party Administrators as Regional Assistant Vice-President of Sales. Rita joined Ashmore & Associates as broker July 2006. Rita’s area of responsibility is large group business, which consists of self-funding and fully-insured groups.

Jamie Baack
Large Group Account Executive

As of 2007 Jamie has 13 years of experience in employee benefits. She is a licensed life and health agent and worked for eleven years for a Third Party Administrator starting out as the Reimbursement Coordinator and moving into the Director of Customer Service position. In June of 2000 she was promoted to the position of Account Executive for the Regional Vice President of Sales allowing her to service client needs as well as assisting employers to try and provide the best coverage possible for their employees and also help control employee health care costs. Prior to joining Ashmore & Associates in July of 2006, she worked for BlueCross BlueShield of Texas as New Business Coordinator.

David Brenholtz
Agency Manager
Property & Casualty Division

Since 1980, David has been helping people with all of their insurance needs. He attended the University of Texas and Texas Tech University majoring in Real Estate Finance. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army serving from 1971 through 1974. He is a long time member of the Lubbock Area Association of Health Underwriters and was the 2004-05 president of Independent Insurance Agents of Lubbock. David served on the advisory councils of Reliance Insurance and United Fire Group. In addition to his insurance work David served as President of Lubbock Monterey AMBUCS. He was Chief of his daughters Indian Campers Tribe and earned his Wood Badge while in the Boy Scouts of America with his son. Prior to joining Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, LLC, David was owner of David Brenholtz Insurance Agency, Inc.

Ladonna McKinley
Commercial Lines Marketing Manager
Commercial Lines CSR

Ladonna began her insurance career in 1970 with Gulf Insurance Company as a file clerk, but quickly advanced to assistant premium auditor and commercial rater. She spent the next 2 years at St. Paul Insurance Company as an assistant Commercial Casualty Underwriter. She then spent the next 21 years with a local independent agency, currently known as Wells Fargo-Acordia West Texas Agency. Ladonna then joined an international brokerage firm, Heath Insurance Brokers. After 5 years and with the closing of their local office she found a new home with David Brenholtz Insurance Agency, Inc., in 2001. When Ashmore and Brenholtz combined forces in 2004, Ladonna now functions as the Commercial Lines Marketing Manager for Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, LLC, P&C Division. Among the educational success during her insurance career, she can include IIA, CIC, Management/Supervision, Contract Law, Agent’s E&O/Risk Management and various underwriting courses.

Dee Dee Brinker
Agent – Bond Manager

Dee Dee began her insurance career as a student clerk for a local independent agency in 1981 while attending Texas Tech University. After graduation she began a full time career specializing in contract bonds. Six years ago she joined David Brenholtz Insurance, Inc. as their bond specialist. She continues in this capacity today at Ashmore Agency & Associates assisting everyone else in the agency with all of their customer’s bond needs as well as producing her own commercial contracting accounts.

Bill R. Grisham, CIC
Agent

Bill began his insurance career in 1973 as a claims manager with a national company. He has been in the agency business since 1980. Bill received the Certified Insurance Counselor designation in 1989 and in 1994 served as president of the Independent Agents Association of Lubbock. He served on the merger committee for the Independent Agents of Texas in 1995 to consolidate the Independent Agents Association with the Professional Agents Association. He has served in various capacities in the Lubbock community for the United Way, Board of Directors of the Lubbock Rotary Club and the American Wind Power Center. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas.

Joe W. Stephenson
Agent

Joe started his insurance career in 2004 as a licensed General Lines Agent for Property & Casualty and Life & Health. For the previous 35 years, Joe has been active in the Lubbock community as an independent business owner coupled with business experience in wholesale, sales management and manufacturing. He has been active in many civic activities, including serving on the board of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, the board of the Better Business Bureau, and president of the board of governors of LakeRidge Country Club. He served as president of the local chapter of PIA and on the state board of PIA of Texas. Joe is presently serving on the board of the Independent Insurance Agents of Lubbock. Joe is a graduate of Odessa Junior College and attended Texas Tech University.

Tami Lara
Agency Operations Manager
Property & Casualty Division

Tami Lara joined David Brenholtz Inurance Agency, Inc. May 2001. She has 19 years of insurance and banking accounting experience. In August of 2005 she earned her Accredited Customer Service Representative designation from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Inc.

Terry Rawls
CSR / Personal Lines
Account Executive

Terry began his career in sales and service in the auto and wire & cable industries. He brings 15 years of insurance experience in the sale and service side of the industry. Terry began his insurance career by going door to door selling and servicing Life Insurance. Since 1997, Terry has focused on Property & Casualty sales and service. Terry is Ashmore & Associates CSR for personal lines, responsible for personal home, auto and umbrella products.

Evelyn Warwick
Commercial Lines CSR

Evelyn has been active in all aspects of the Property & Casualty agency business since 1951 and brings invaluable experience to any agency. She currently is a processor for both personal and commercial lines.

Bryan S. Garvin
Agent (Midland)

Bryan has been in the employee benefit field since 1994 where he managed the benefits for a local company that had 3,000 employees. Bryan was involved in the ground floor marketing efforts of the managed care to West Texas where he served as a sales representative for FirstCare HMO until 1997. At that time, Bryan joined The Ashmore Agency where he continued to work with employers across West Texas implementing employee benefit strategies, In 1999, Bryan moved to Midland and became co-owner of The Ashmore Agency Midland office which is now Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, LLC. Bryan has served on the board for Juvenile Diabetics Research Foundation and is a graduate of Texas Tech University.

Jacqueline M. George
Agent (Midland)

In 1999, Jacqui was introduced to the agency after a prior occupation in marketing with an advertising firm in Odessa, Texas, following her attendance at Texas Tech University. As a licensed agent, she wears hats in sales, marketing group structuring and implementation, and services clients as their account manager. She contributes numerous volunteer hours to her community through the Midland Chapter of Junior League International, including leadership and chairperson positions. Jacqui is also a 2006 graduate of the Leadership Midland Program of the Midland Chamber of Commerce, and a 2004 graduate of the Business Networking International’s Certified Net Worker Program.

Erika Lara
Commercial Lines CSR& Property Lines (Midland)

As a licensed Property & Casualty and Life & Health agent. Erika began her insurance career with Titan Auto Insurance, January of 2001 in Midland, Texas as a Senior CSR. Upon relocating to Lubbock, Texas in February of 2004, she joined Ashmore & Associates. In July, Erika moved back to Midland, Texas and worked for a local agent until August of 2006. When Ashmore & Associates opened the Property & Casualty operation in their Midland Office, Erika rejoined the team. She is currently working on her Commercial Lines ACSR designation and has been servicing commercial and personal accounts for over 6 years.

Kelli Grisham
Receptionist

Kelli has recently joined Ashmore & Associates with plans of pursuing an insurance career.  Her background consists of five years experience in health care billing, claims issues and verifying benefits for a local physician’s billing company, as well as an out patient healthcare provider system.  She is a graduate of Monterey High School and attended South Plains College.  Kelli looks forward to building her knowledge in the insurance industry.