Obenland & Low opens agency in Dayton

DAYTON–An insurance agency with a long legacy in Pomeroy and Garfield County has branched out with an office here.

Obenland & Low Insurance Agency, Inc. opened its second office at 303 E. Main Street on January 4, and it has primarily been staffed by Tara Hodges, who with husband Adam, own and operate the agency, which was established in 1981.

"In Dayton, our big push, what we bring to the table is another option for crops, farms, home and auto insurance," Hodges said. "We had a lot of insured in Dayton before we opened.

"It's a great little town," she continued. "It's been super fun and they've been good to me over the last month and a half."

Hodges says folks dropping by the office, adjacent to Christy's Realty at the corner of Second and Main, will likely meet her, about 90 percent of the time. "The original goal was to have someone in the office one day a week," Hodges said. "Dayton has turned into my baby and it's something I take a lot of pride in." If Hodges isn't at the desk, one might see Adam from time to time, or Vonni Mulroney. The staff includes Stephanie Newberg and Rochelle Williams.

The independent agency offers crop, farm, home, equine and commercial insurance from a number of national insurers, and Obenland & Low has appointments to companies such as Nationwide, Grange, Travelers, Progressive and others.

In 2013, the Hodges bought the 41-year-old agency, which came into being when two agents in Pomeroy, Bert Obenland and Butch Low, merged in 1981.

Adam has always been a "small-town guy," Tara says, and was born and raised in Mabton, Wash., and Grangeville, Idaho. Tara's family was in Everett, Wash., when she was born, and moved to Kamiah, Idaho, when she was in eighth grade.

After high school, Adam attended Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Tara attended the Clarkston Campus of Walla Walla Community College, earning a degree in general studies. They met while working at the Lewiston Albertsons supermarket.

Adam had taken a position as manager of the US Bank in Pomeroy, which was next door to the Obenland & Low Agency on Pomeroy's Main Street, Hodges said. At that time, Bert Obenland had retired and one day Butch Low asked the young, up-and-coming bank manager, if he'd like to work in insurance.

The rest, as they say, is history. Low and Hodges worked together three years before the change of ownership.

Tara had graduated from Albertson's to the P1FCU credit union, where she started as a teller and advanced to loan officer and home banking.

The couple bought the agency and got married, all in the same year, 2013. She continued at the credit union until joining her husband at the agency in 2015.

They have four children: Kolby, 19, attending LCSC; Kendall, 17, a senior at Lewiston High School; McKenna, 4, and Skylar, 2.