Retired insurance agent supports youth, community through the decades
Aug. 23—Growing up in Cut Bank playing several sports, Tim Murphy noticed something. He saw the businesses around town as sponsors on his jerseys and felt overwhelming support from the local community.
He played everything from basketball to football to baseball and each sports season there was the same support. That left a lasting impression on Murphy.
Fast forward several years. Murphy was able to pay it forward in a similar way through the business he built as a State Farm Insurance agent in Whitefish. Supporting the youth in sports and other activities became a priority for Murphy and his involvement in the community never went unnoticed.
An annual Whitefish High School track meet — the Whitefish ARM — is named after Murphy and two of his friends, Lin Akey and Ron Rosenberg, after they helped fundraise and build the high school's first-ever rubberized track.
"I'm honored for that, but the kids needed it, and they deserved it," he said. "That was one of the pretty amazing things that we did to start off, but there's so many things that the kids deserve and so I always wanted to be there for them."
Murphy started his agency in Whitefish in 1985 and increasingly became involved in several aspects of the town. Earlier this year Murphy retired from State Farm after 38 years, leaving a legacy not only in business but also through his community involvement.
AFTER COLLEGE, Murphy returned to Cut Bank to work on the Blackfeet Reservation where he grew up. Murphy is proudly Blackfeet and Irish.
He managed the state's Job Service for a couple years and thought he would become a parole and probation officer. But as fate would have it, the state of Montana didn't have the budget at the time and he had to look elsewhere for work.
A job with the Flathead National Forest brought him to Kalispell and later he had the opportunity to open a State Farm Insurance agency in Whitefish. He says he knew nothing about selling insurance and the learning curve was steep. After a brief training from the company, he was left on his own to grow his agency all the while learning each step of the way.
"They helped train you, but they just kind of throw you to the wolves and you have to earn it," Murphy recalled.
He started his office in a small one-bedroom apartment on Spokane Avenue and moved a couple of times before he and his friend, optometrist Kurt Blades, built the building that houses State Farm's current location on Central Avenue. He hired staff one person at a time as his budget would allow. He says his staff helped him tremendously and credits much of his success to them.
"I think any business is successful because of their staff, and I credit that a lot," he said.
He also credits his wife Joyce, who was a special education teacher in Whitefish, for supporting his career change and sticking it out through the tough early years.
"With her support, we didn't have a lot, but at least then she had a guaranteed check as a teacher," he said. "I was on commission and it took a while but we worked hard."
As his clientele grew, Murphy found out success in business comes from taking care of the people, and in turn, they will also take care of you through their continued business.
"Insurance is so important. I was very fortunate to be in a business where people needed the product and you wanted to be there for them when they really did need it..." he said. "What's pretty cool with my career was being able to take care of the families. And now, what you find out when you're in that business that long, is its generations."
THROUGH THE YEARS of building his agency, Murphy says he prioritized getting out into the community and volunteering where he could. This allowed him to get to know many people and get exposure for his business while serving the community.
At various times, Murphy was president of the Whitefish Rotary Club, president of the Whitefish Booster Club, on the board for North Valley Hospital and the board for Mountain Bank. He served as the Whitefish Winter Carnival prime minister in the early 90s and was inducted into the Whitefish High School Hall of Fame for all the support he gave the kids over the years.
Of all his volunteering, his work with the Booster Club was among his favorites because he was able to be involved in youth sports. To this day he still volunteers for football games as one of the people moving the chains throughout the game — best seat in the house, he says.
"I believe in giving back to my families and to youth... Anything I could do to support them with sponsoring athletic teams, buying uniforms, doing bike rodeos to teach them safety — that's what I really believed in was giving back."
Murphy decided to retire this year in part because it was time for him to enjoy more leisure activities and travel, but also because he felt confident in Joe Akey's ability to take over the agency. Akey had worked alongside Murphy for 12 years and Murphy says he earned it.
"I was never going to give up the agency unless I found the right person," Murphy said. "They had to be a hometown person, they had to be supportive of our clientele and Joe worked for it."
"I felt good to be able to walk away and know that it was in good hands," he added.
This summer Murphy has been able to enjoy much more time on the golf course and boating on the lake as well as visiting his daughter and new granddaughter in Oregon. He hopes to continue to volunteer in hands-on settings in the community and will continue to be a big Bulldog supporter.
As he reflected on retirement, Murphy expressed nothing but gratitude.
"I'm a very lucky person and State Farm gave me a life I could only dream of and for my family," he said. "To be able to be successful here in Whitefish with a business is pretty amazing."
