George has been in the insurance industry for
over 37 years. He started as a claims trainee
and worked his way to Regional Claims Manager
for a prominent California based insurance
company. George was Sales Manager and then Chief
Operating Officer for a major regional insurance
broker before purchasing Alta Vista Insurance
Agency in 1989. Professionalism is a major part
of George's philosophy about insurance and risk
management. He has been a senior instructor for
the Insurance Educational Association teaching
college level courses in all aspects of
insurance. He is a member of the Society of
Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU).
George has been a member of Kiwanis since 1989
and was the Governor of the California Nevada
Hawaii District for 2006-2007.
Contact George:
Marge Francis
CFO
Marge has over 37 years of insurance experience
having begun her career working for General
Accident Insurance Group in Harrisburg, PA, as
an Assistant Commercial Underwriter. Seven years
later, having worked in both commercial and
personal lines underwriting she moved to
California where she worked as a commercial
underwriter for Leatherby Insurance Company. A
few years later she began her career on the
independent agency side as an account executive
with a regional broker specializing in
construction accounts and bonding. Marge has
expertise in all areas of insurance and agency
management and has been an active owner of Alta
Vista Insurance Agency since 1989.
Contact Marge:
Gloria Black
Personal Lines CSR
Gloria started her insurance career in 1995, as
a file clerk for a small agency in North San Diego
County. She quickly learned the basics of auto
insurance and became a sales/customer service
representative for 7/24 Insurance Agency, which
later became Unistar Insurance. Gloria was a
licensed agent in 9 States. This was followed by
auto insurance sales with Unitrin Direct of
Vista. She was one of the 13 first hired as the
company started to build itself. After 3 years
with Unitrin, she joined the Alta Vista
Insurance family. She now manages our
Personal Lines Department.
Contact Gloria:
Mark Lowe
Commercial Lines CSR
Mark is our Commercial Lines
Account Executive. His
ability to multi-task, his
wit and humor make him a
true character in our little
family. He brings a few
years of experience to the
table, beginning his
insurance career in 1983. He
has worked in every position
of an insurance agency and
has found his niche in
Commercial Lines. In an ever
changing industry Mark
continues to grow and learn
to remain on top of his
game. He is an asset to our
team and we think you will
enjoy working with him.
Contact Mark:
Rick Ferriss
Independent Account Producer
Rick started his insurance
career in 1983 with American
Hardware Mutual Insurance
Company. Emphasis was on
field underwriting, policy
rating and sales. In 1989
Rick moved over to the
Independent Agency side of
the business, getting his
feet wet with Alta Vista
Insurance Agency. In 1990 he
was recruited to run the
commercial department of a
medium sized Insurance
Agency in San Diego. He
stayed in management until
1995, at which time he
decided to get into Agency
sales. That experience led
to Rick starting his own
insurance agency in 1999 and
reestablishing a production
relationship with Alta Vista
Insurance Agency. Rick
earned the professional
designation of Certified
Insurance Counselor in 2001.
He presently is an
independent account producer
for Alta Vista Insurance
Agency.
Contact Rick:
Ashley Bedard
Commercial Account Producer
Ashley joined our Alta Vista
team in 2006 after spending
three years in the Real
Estate Industry. She
obtained her Bachelor’s
Degree in Criminology and
Criminal Justice Systems,
and is working on her
professional designation as
a Certified Insurance
Counselor. She is well
versed within the Vista and
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce
and serves as the Co-Chair
for the North County Young
Professionals. She is also
an active volunteer for Big
Brothers Big Sisters in San
Diego. Ashley is
extremely personable,
ethical, and professional.
Her emphasis on customer
service has led her to
continuously establish and
maintain friendships with
her clients.
Contact Ashley:
Jessica Rosas
Personal Lines Assistant
Jessica is a former student of Eastern
New Mexico University, in
Portales New Mexico, where
she started her
communications degree.
Jessica is currently
finishing up her degree at CSUSM. She started working
at Alta Vista during the
summer of 2004, as of 2006 she
has become full time and is
now assisting in our
personal lines department.
Jessica is also in the
process of becoming a
licensed agent.
Contact Jessica:
Tom Streeter
Account Producer
Tom Streeter started his
insurance career as an agent
with Cal-Farm Insurance
Company in 1975. He quickly
distinguished himself as one
of Cal-Farm's top agents and
was asked to join their
management team in 1980. In
1981 he was assigned as the
Regional Sales Manager for
San Diego County and quickly
expanded his territory to
include Orange and Imperial
Counties.
In 1989 Tom made the
decision to leave the
management team and and
operate his own agency.
He set up his office in
North San Diego County where
he found his experience
allowed him to specialize
in helping agricultural and
commercial businesses. In
July 1992 he was awarded the
professional designation of
Accredited Adviser in
Insurance by the Insurance
Institute of America and in
October 2001 he was awarded
the professional designation
of Certified Insurance
Counselor by the Society of
Certified Insurance
Counselors, a division of
The National Alliance for
Insurance Education &
Research.
In February, 2008 Tom
decided to merge his agency
with another to allow him
the opportunity to
concentrate on assisting his
clients and not on the
administration of operating
a business. He chose to
become a part of Alta Vista
Insurance Agency for two
reasons; 1) Alta Vista is a
local Vista agency, and 2)
Alta Vista Insurance
Agency's business philosophy
is based on customer service
and satisfaction, a
philosophy Tom has adhered
to since he opened his first
agency in 1975.
Contact Tom:
Sherri Schmidt
Sherri started working for
Alta Vista Insurance in
March of 2009 as a customer
service representative.
Sherri's previous experience
includes working as a
materials control clerk for
GA Technologies and Reality
Income Corporation prior to
starting a family. For the
past 22 years, Sherri has
raised two sons and worked
as an administrative
representative for SC
Controls. She is an active
volunteer for Kiwanis and
spends many hours
volunteering in classrooms
and coaching baseball and
soccer.
With all the challenges today, no one has time
to become an insurance expert. Instead you need
an experienced team who can analyze the various
options open to you and suggest the best
alternatives for your needs. That’s the kind of
team you’ll find at Alta Vista Insurance Agency.
Our Mission
Alta Vista Insurance Agency is a full-service
insurance agency. We treat our clients as we
would want to be treated; leave our clients more
informed than when they met us; take our service
one step beyond what is expected, and; are
profitable without compromising our integrity or
our client’s needs.
Our Clients
We are dedicated to always putting our client’s
needs first, to providing “value added” service,
and strive to maintain an understanding and
empathic environment from which we provide fair,
fast and friendly service. We are an agency
where our clients can place their trust.
Our Staff
We are a close-knit agency and encourage a
“family” approach with our staff, maintain a
nurturing and supportive environment, and place
a high value on our staff’s community
involvement.
Our Business
We adhere to honest, ethical business practices,
strive to remain aware of the emerging needs of
our agents and policyholders, and respond to
their needs as appropriate.
