I was born in Burbank, California and lived in the San Fernando Valley until I moved to Idaho in 1993.  

 

I attended Pepperdine University as a biology major for two years. I was 17 when I started college and so it was required that I live on campus. Oh, the dorm days were great!  

 

When my mother became ill I moved back home to care for her. Now forced into the workplace with no degree, I decided I might as well work somewhere fun. Which I did at:

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• Capitol Records as an Artist Tour and Travel Coordinator

• Universal Pictures as the Talent Coordinator for the VP of Talent Relations and Television Post Production Coordinator to the VP of Television Post Production

• Columbia Pictures as the Assistant to the VP of Advertising and Marketing and Assistant to producer Buddy Bregman

 

I was also a member of the Local 174 Motion Picture Industry union for 13 years.

California was becoming a more dangerous place to raise children... so off we go to Idaho. My sister moved also. No jobs, no friends, just my sister. After arriving in Idaho I worked at:

 

• Idaho State Police as an Evidence Technician for five years

• Micron Electronics as an Investigator for two years

• GST Telecom as the Assistant to the VP of Information Services Operations for two years

• Farm Bureau Insurance as a Data Control Analyst for 20 years! 

 

The culture at Farm Bureau at the time I was hired was this comfy, cozy, warm family feeling, and just the smallness of it made me happy. The production environment was fast paced and never a dull moment.

 

I have made many friends at Farm Bureau over the years and truly value those friendships. I loved working here so much, I convinced my daughter Ashley and granddaughter Tylie to apply. They both work here now so I will still feel connected.

  
I met my husband Ron when he did my background check and polygraph to work at the Idaho State Police. Since he knew more about me than anyone and still stuck around, we got married. We have three daughters - Angela, Ashley and Jennifer; one son - Marcus; and eight grandchildren - Tylie, Jordon, Dexter, Quinton, Skye, Mia, Karly, and Jameson. I am sure this will keep us busy!

I’ve had a few fun trips to the Farm Bureau golf tournaments in Jackpot and trips to the hospitality suite (thank you Phil Zemaitis). I especially loved the murder mystery trip where I played a professional golfer “Birdie”. Fun times with - well, you know who you are!

I am a water baby. I miss the ocean and plan to visit it often. I love to swim, waterski, bodyboard, and wakeboard, and now I plan to try kayaking and paddle boarding. 

 

I also love working in my yard.

 

And I look forward to spending time with my husband who has been retired and waiting for me for over five years after a 38-year career in law enforcement.

 

After catching up on many home projects we plan to motorhome across the US. We may skip a few. Sorry Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa and maybe a few more.

 

And there are a couple of cruises in our future.

I want to thank all of the people I’ve worked with over the years, but I think Josh would lose his mind reading them. But...

 

A special thanks to Dan Davids for your leadership and friendship for 20 years. I would not still be here if you had not talked me through the tough times.

 

Thank you to HR for always inventing events that bring us all closer together.

 

Thank you to Bonnie Nipper, Sandy Richardson, and Sheri Hokanson for all of the teaching, support, and patience with me when I was new.

 

Thanks to Vicky Carney for making work fun and all of your support.

 

Accounting - it’s been a pleasure working with you, even Brandon.

 

Lance - well what can you say about Lance! He has good people working for him. Kidding, Lance. Thank you for always helping me when I need it.

 

Amy Lemmon and Karen McBride - keeping the cash balanced and the laughs have been fun.

 

Peggy Sorensen and Linell Kingsford - thank you, you will be right behind me.

 

Ash, Sierra, Kira, Mike, Alisa - so much fun working with you. You make me feel like I have friends in high places! Sales is the Farm Bureau heartbeat.

 

Danika - thank you for keeping my timecard mostly accurate and all that you do to make so many people happy!

 

So many good people.  

 

I will miss you all.  

 

Denise (mic drop)

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Please join us in thanking Denise for her dedicated service and congratulating her on her well-deserved retirement. An open house for Denise will be held on Thursday, August 4, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM in the Home Office's lunchroom.

 

COMMENTS FROM DENISE'S COWORKERS

I met Denise a couple of years before she started working at Farm Bureau.  I knew then that she was a motivated and intelligence individual. Denise is a highly organized, is skilled at developing, maintaining, and following procedures that require attention to detail. Denise was primarily responsible for Data Control, she took the data control for ledger paper to excel spreadsheets that made these procedures efficient and accurate.

 

Denise also has a desire to learn new skills. She studied and acquired her CPCU designation and was active in the local CPCU chapter. Denise is a kind, understanding and fair person. She thinks things through and has a lot of patience as she problem solves.

 

Denise loves her family and is glad that they are near her so she can support them. She is looking forward to providing more support and spending more time with her family and husband Ron. I hope they get to put a lot of miles on the RV traveling and relaxing.

-Dan Davids, Computer Operations, Home Office

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When I started in the Information Services department in 2016, Denise was the first person to come to me and say, "let me know if you need anything."

Every week forward she has continued to show me that level of support.

 

Denise would just get things done, no matter the tasks. Her attention to detail and efficient manner of work are going to be missed!

Denise really did exemplify our mission and values. An example that comes to mind is, for many years, Denise and her team worked the New Year's holiday to get year-end completed for Farm Bureau without complaint.

She worked many long hours to ensure the data was right. I am so excited for Denise and her husband to finally get to go out and celebrate New Year's without interruption.

 

I wish Denise nothing but good health, fun and relaxation for her retirement. She has earned it. Congratulations, Denise!

-Danika DeGiulio, Project Manager, Home Office

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Denise is one of my favorite people to work with. She knows the job and always has a smile to share. She has helped me on too many occasions to count! She has trained me to take over a few of her things and has shown tons of patience in the process.

 

I hope she is able to leave without stressing too much about her old jobs (she’s a worrier).

 

I will deeply miss her kind heart and generous spirit. Love you Denise!

-Tina Nelson, Bookkeeper, Home Office

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Denise has always been an awesome coworker and friend. I’ve had the privilege of working with her from the accounting to IT relations side, as well as served with her on the Idaho CPCU board. This is what I’ve learned from those experiences.

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• Denise always has a smile on her face. She may be one of the happiest people I know, which is infectious!

• She never turns down an opportunity to help if she can.

• Denise always figures it out, even if it’s not in her wheelhouse. Her knowledge of Farm Bureau far exceeds what is necessary for her position, and that tells you what type of person she is.

• She's always organized, ready to roll, with a smile on her face.

 

Individuals like Denise don’t come around very often, so I cannot express how happy I am to say I was able to hang out with her for the last eleven years, and how lucky Farm Bureau is to have had her on the team for several years more.

 

Enjoy doing whatever you want, whenever you want, Denise! You deserve it!

-Brandon Peterson, Director of Accounting, Home Office

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What can I say about my mom that those who have worked with her for years or even months don’t know already?

 

She’s always been one of the most reliable, hardest working people in my life. She taught me to always “Suit up and show up!” and “If you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late.”

 

I’ve been so fortunate to work alongside her for the past 5+ years and I will miss seeing her at work every day.

 

But if there is one person I can think of that has earned their retirement, it’s my mom.

 

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend asking her to tell you any story from her “Hollywood” days.

 

My mom is a woman who has lived life to the fullest, raised two children, made a successful career, and is now ready to take on retirement (and some grandchild babysitting services).

 

I’ll end this with the most practical advice my mom has given me, “When you find something you love, buy two of them.”

-Ashley Pope, Sales and Agent Operations Manager, Home Office

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Denise has always been a pleasure to work with. She is always very reliable and completes her assignments timely and accurately. Whenever you ask Denise for something you never hear a complaint.

 

I will miss her can-do attitude but wish her the best in retirement.

-Jason Williams, Treasurer, Home Office

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EMPLOYEE NEWS

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