Forty years later, heâs running the place.
OâRourke took over his motherâs St. Helena office when she retired on June 1. With major help from his wife, Tracy, he also runs the Farmers office in Middletown.
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At the advice of her then-mother-in-law, Brooks got a job working for Farmers agent Richard Devita, who proved to be a tough boss but a valuable mentor as Brooks embarked on her own 45-year career as an agent.
When Brooks gave birth to her son in 1981 she didnât have anyone to take care of him, so Devita â eager to get her back in the office â invited her to bring the baby to work at the Farmers office, which had recently moved to the Galleron building.
The notice came to Green and Red Vineyard in early spring: its insurer had declined to renew the wineryâs property insurance policy, citing the high risk of wildfire.
âIt flipped us out, not having insurance â especially going into harvest this year,â Ray Hannigan, the wineryâs general counsel and husband of owner Tobin Heminway, told California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara at Castello di Amorosa on Monday. Hannigan and his wife had subsequently cobbled together âa patchworkâ of insurance, he told Lara, but the winery and its tanks remain uninsured.
âThe question is whether anything can be done to expedite (help) for us as weâre awaiting harvest, about to fill our tanks with wine,â Hannigan said.