Meet Shawn Reynolds, owner of Signature Insurance Group and lifelong resident of Barrow County.
Shawn’s family has been in the insurance business for six generations and he is proud to carry on that tradition of service. We’d like to thank Shawn very much for sitting down with us to discuss his experience living and working in Barrow County.
Enjoy our interview with Shawn
What’s your connection to Barrow County?
Got to go back about 41 years on that one. I have lived here my entire life. Went to elementary school, middle school, and high school here.
Graduated from Winder Barrow High School in ’96. Left for college and shortly after college, came right back here. And have lived in Barrow County ever since.
What led you to your current career?
I guess I would have to say what led me to the industry was family. I am the sixth straight generation in the insurance business.
My grandfather played a big part in getting me into the industry. At a young age, we’d be running in and out of his insurance office when we were kids. And when I came home from college I decided that I already knew what I was doing. I decided that I could do this in my hometown.
What’s something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I’m pretty passionate about winning. That’s probably not a very well kept secret though. I can, on occasion, be obnoxiously competitive.
What advice would you give a crowd of people?
Listen to yourself. There are lots of voices in our ears today with social media and pundit-driven TV.
If you could pick one person alive to have lunch with, who would you pick? Not a family member.
Marcus Lemonis. Love his show The Profit on CNBC. I think I’ve seen every episode.
Where in Barrow County would you take him for lunch?
I’d have to go with Casey’s.
They have a simple menu. And I love everything on it.
Excellent, friendly service. Fantastic food.
I think any great entrepreneur would respect what Chris and Suzy Humble is doing over there.
What’s something unique about Barrow County that you’d say is your favorite thing?
There’s still an element in Barrow County where there is a real community, it’s a real town, and that’s something so many other places have started losing.
There’s a hometown feel left here in Barrow. Community matters.
Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met from Barrow County?
Mike Strickland. Mike has been a face of Barrow County for many, many years. A lot of people look to him as just a good person who has never forgotten where he came from. He has a law firm in town and is married to Mace who was a Principal.
Mike semi-famously drove around Barrow County in a little Honda Accord for over 30 years. We all knew he had the ability to be driving anything he wanted to. But he never forget where he came from.
So if you could nominate somebody for this project, who would it be?
The easy answer is Mike, but I’d also recommend his wife Mace Strickland. They’ve been pillars of the community for as long as I can remember.
What words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word family?
Peace and happiness.
My wife, Holly, and I have three boys. We have plenty of happiness. The peace is harder to come by. But we love the chaos.
Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
No huge changes. Same industry. Growth, development, but still right here calling Winder and Barrow County my home and hub.
We hope you enjoyed learning about Shawn and his story.
p.s. If you enjoyed this post, there are 3 things you can do to help us tell more stories of The Faces of Barrow County:
1) Nominate someone.
If you know of someone whose story needs to be told, let us know! — Click here.
2) Share this story on Facebook.
The more we share, the more we can share. — Click here.
3) Like our Facebook Page
Click here to Like our page. Invite friends as well!
BONUS: Make sure Notifications are set to On so you never miss a post.
