Get to Know Jeff Odom

I was the administrator of the education section at the Department of Financial Service and had worked with FAIA’s former Education Director, Lisa Harrington, on many issues and had formed a friendship with both her and Jay Williams, former director of FAIA Member Services. While watching a Florida State baseball game with Lisa, the conversation turned to me interviewing at FAIA and here I am nearly 18 years later, still very pleased with that decision.  

 

My favorite part of my job is coming up with ways to make the subject of insurance a very entertaining and interactive class for our members, especially when I teach the 4-Hour P&C Update class. I get so much satisfaction when a member has taken my class and they tell me that was the best four hours they have ever spent in an insurance class and tell me that they have learned so much. That is when I know the many hours spent making that class enjoyable has paid off.

  

One of my specialties has been licensing and education. The questions that I get most from our members range from, “How do I get licensed?” to “What are the duties of an Agent-in-Charge?”

  

I think a lot of members do know this, but I wish more members knew the value of being a member of FAIA. From the advocacy to the education classes to the products of member services, there is no one better. Period.  

 

I believe it’s communication and listening. We work in a very technical industry and to be able to communicate what our products do and to be able to listen to our clients to understand their needs is top priority. For a lot of people, those two skills don’t come naturally. We may think we are good listeners, but I read a stat one day that says we can block out 75 percent of what is being said to us. You turn that stat around and what that says is we only listen to about 25 percent of what is being said to us. That is why I think the soft skill classes I teach are just as important as the technical classes.  

 

My family and I love to take road trips. Last year we did a road trip and went all the way to Mount Rushmore. Then we got a wild hair and drove over to Chicago. When I turned in the rental, we had traveled something like 9,000 miles. I’m trying to see all 50 states, and I only have 12 more to go. 

 

What is the last book you read? 

I love reading, but I also get bored very quickly so I have six books on my nightstand and three in my briefcase that I’m currently reading. The topics range from the Appalachian Trail to President Grant to how to make homemade apple cider. Now, I know that is a lot of books, but I will finish all nine and move on to more, as I try to be a well-read Renaissance man. 

 

My biggest pet peeve is people driving slow in the passing lane on the interstate. I know that sounds like I'm a grumpy old man trying to find something to be grumpy about but, since I drive all over Florida, that has become my biggest pet peeve.  

 

I am definitely a dog person and not a fan of cats. I don’t hate cats, just have never directly owned one. We have had one or two stray cats hang around our property and I never once gave them an eviction notice. I even found an owner for a stray cat. See … I don’t hate cats.