Tell us about yourself.
I was born in Woodland Hills, California and lived there until I was seven. My family relocated to Boise, Idaho, where I stayed until I was 24. I was brought to Pocatello by a scholarship opportunity to attend Idaho State University. I enrolled at ISU in the Web Design program at the College of Technology. Shortly before the start of my first semester, ISU canceled that program with no alternative offered. I was crushed. I worked with my advisors to enroll in the College of Business and major in Computer Information Systems. 

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After a couple of short semesters, (and one failed JavaScript course) I switched my major to Marketing. I have had a love for marketing since high school where I completed college level courses for marketing through BSU. 

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Tell us a little bit about your family.
I have been married to my husband Eric since August of 2014. My husband works as a civil engineer. We are opposites in just about every way imaginable (except for our mutual dislike of camping) which makes us a great team. Typically, if I don’t know what to do, he does and vice versa. We have one son together, Dexter. He will be three in July. He is the light of my life. Our family also includes two dogs, Link (a three-legged chocolate lab) and Zelda (a Border Collie/Bernese Mountain dog), and our cat Han.

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I also must mention my mom, who many of you may know. Denise Baune in the IS Department here at the home office. If you know her, you know what a wonderful woman she is. She has been very empowering for me in my life and has always been a great example of what an independent, hard-working family woman is like. Love you, ma!

What was your most interesting job before Farm Bureau?
My most interesting job before I came to Farm Bureau was at a pawn shop in Boise. I worked there from the ages of 18-22. I learned many things from how to install car stereo systems to how to spot fake diamonds. 

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I started out as a pawnbroker and worked my way up to a co-manager. During the end of my pawn shop career, I ran the eBay department at the shop. Not to date myself too much, but during my training, my boss told me it was important to check pricing on Amazon as well as eBay. My reply was, “What’s Amazon?”

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If I had to sum up that job with one memory, it would be the time someone came in to pawn a gold tooth. I was a tad disgusted that someone would hand over a human tooth. But, my boss accepted the tooth and taught me how to determine the value. First step, only pay for the gold. To do this, he showed me how to get the tooth out by wrapping it in a towel, hitting it with a hammer, and dumping the broken tooth out of it. Second step, weigh the gold and check the KITCO value for the day. When it was all said and done, the value of the gold was about $5.

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What is your role at Farm Bureau and what aspect do you enjoy most?
My role at Farm Bureau is Agent Marketing Lead. It is my job to help each and every agent be successful in their marketing efforts. There are so many aspects of my job that I enjoy. Each day is something new. I love hearing all the ideas that agents come to me with and then I get to help turn those ideas into realities. I get to be creative in my job and learn new things every day.  

 

I also maintain our corporate Facebook page which means I get paid to be on Facebook! Dream job!

 

Do you have any hobbies? What do you do for fun outside of work?

I have an odd range of hobbies. One thing I love is writing horror fiction. I’ve always been a fan of anything scary. While I was a stay at home mom, I discovered a subreddit called NoSleep. I’m telling you, if you love scary, and you want to be impressed by some serious writing talent, read some stories on that sub. I took a crack at writing my own stories and published them to NoSleep. I wrote five total. The very first story I wrote made it into the finals for the Story of the Month Contest.

 

My other hobby that I picked up when I was a stay-at-home mom was making vinyl decals and home décor. I started my own little business from home and had so much fun creating anything from car decals to clothes for people. Not going to lie, some days my house looked like a giant Pinterest fail, and the kitchen counters still have spots of Super Glue and glitter. But it was fun, and I still enjoy decorating with vinyl.

 

What is your favorite vacation spot and why?

My favorite vacation spot is the Oregon Coast. It is a perfect combination of my love for the ocean, and my distaste for heat and sunlight. I love the atmosphere on the coast. My ideal weather is overcast so I found the Oregon Coast to be the perfect place for me. If you have never had the pleasure of taking a drive along the coast and seeing the beauty of the forest intertwined with the ocean and beach, you really must put this on your bucket list!

 

Plus, there are many attractions to see. I enjoy visiting various lighthouses, the Devil’s Punchbowl, Agate Beach, and riding dune buggies in Lincoln City. There are tons of fun markets to visit and, of course, amazing restaurants.

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EMPLOYEE PROFILES

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