This year, The J. Morey Company celebrated its 37th year of serving the community’s insurance needs. In reflecting on our recent anniversary, we thought we’d talk to our first client, Roy Minami, who supported our agency from the very beginning.
We were able to get to know Roy and how he became JMC’s first client during a personal interview with him.
Tell us about yourself.
I am originally from Los Angeles but moved to Sacramento in 1976 to further my career with the State of California. I worked at the State Department of Finance and later served my last 17 years as the Executive Director and Deputy Director for the State Horse Racing Commission. I retired in 2007 and now enjoy spending my time golfing and hanging out with my five grandchildren. My wife Christine and I have three children and five grandchildren.
How do you know John Morey and the Morey family?
Growing up in Los Angeles, I attended Manual Arts High School where I met and got to know John Morey and two of his brothers, Jack and Jim. John was one semester ahead of me and Jack and Jim were a semester or two behind so I was in between them and got to know them as excellent swimmers on the Varsity swim team.
Tell us the story of how you became The J. Morey Company’s first client.
When John Morey was first getting into the insurance industry, he worked as an insurance agent at Funakoshi Insurance Agency. Initially, John was not my agent, but he eventually took over my account and became my insurance representative, handling all of my service needs. A few years later, John and his family decided to branch off and start their own insurance agency. John asked if he could keep my account as they formed The J. Morey Company. Unbeknownst to me I became their first client and he has taken care of all of our insurance needs to this day. Back in the day John used to drive to Sacramento at least once a year to pay us a personal visit, have dinner with us, and go over our policies.
Tell us how you’ve seen the company change over the years.
The biggest change I realized is how much the Company has expanded over the years. I am pleased and have enjoyed seeing the overall growth of the company.
[JMC: We started from a single office in Cerritos and now have four locations in Anaheim, Downtown Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), San Jose, and Torrance!]
Anything else you’d like to comment on?
I’ve worked with a number of people on the staff and everyone has always provided excellent service. I’ve always been impressed by the great service from the company and that’s why I’ve stuck with John over the past 45+ years and JMC since its inception. He has taken care of everything I need and the company has always been very responsive and professional. I just call and whatever issues I have are promptly taken care of.
Thank you Roy for taking the time to speak with us and for believing in The J. Morey Company from the very beginning! We are so grateful for your support and friendship throughout these years.