Written By: Jay Stahl
Everybody has heard the echoes of the famous TV commercial tagline: “like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” Mark Courter, a native of northwest Iowa, has been a good neighbor serving the Urbandale community as a licensed insurance agent since 1985.
The Mark Courter Agency sits on Hickman Rd. in a building adorned with State Farm’s signature red and white signage. The company employs two people and provides insurance coverage to over 1,200 households and businesses. The insurance agency offers a number of insurance coverage options: residential like apartments and homes, commercial coverage for area businesses, and auto insurance including boats, cars, trucks and jet skis.
Courter said his family chose to move to Urbandale because it reminded them of the rural roots of Carroll, the small Iowa town they lived in before the family moved to the Des Moines metro area.
“The schools, all of that, had this small town community feel and we wanted that but we liked the idea of moving to the Des Moines area because of all the opportunities,” Courter said.
The husband and father of two sons credited the Urbandale Chamber with moving the community forward and consistently serving in a key advisory role for the city’s business community.
The insurance agent said lobbying by the chamber, like working alongside city government to improve business signage ordinances, helped increase revenue and improve business opportunities. The chamber means business, but the organization has helped define friendship in Mark Courter’s life.
“I had a client that came to me that I had known ever since we had been in Urbandale because of the chamber,” Courter said. “It’s been the networking – I have known so many people through the chamber and a lot are acquaintances but a lot are really good friends too.”
Courter said networking events hosted by the chamber provide opportunities for owners and employees of local Urbandale businesses to connect with each other and create meaningful partnerships.
“I do business with them, they do business with me,” Courter said. “A great way to make connections with people.”
To connect with members of the Mark Courter Agency, visit markcourterinsurance.com.