It is with great sadness that I must relay the passing of another dear friend and industry icon—Ross Hopkin, The Brokerage, Inc., Lewisville, TX.
Ross was born in New York, went to the University of Houston on a baseball scholarship and graduated in 1964 with a degree in Finance. He began his insurance career as a group rep with General American. After stints with Ranger and Blue Cross Blue Shield, which brought him to Dallas, he recognized the need to be able to offer the products of multiple companies and opened his own brokerage shop in 1976, with a typewriter, one group health insurance contract, and his wonderful wife Cheryl.
The agency grew to be a major force in the group and individual major medical market, added a life department in the late 1980’s and developed a long term care department in the 1990’s. In 2001 he recast the agency with a focus on Medicare related products that would help the agency evolve into a national presence, capitalizing on opportunities presented in changing demographics and changing legislation. Today, The Brokerage Inc. is a national marketing organization with 30 employees, many of them long term.
Hopkin had served on many insurance carrier and agency advisory boards, was one of the initial investors in The Marketing Alliance, and helped to build The Brokers Health Insurance Network and SubCenters. He was the 2016 recipient of the Billy Vogel Award from The Marketing Alliance, recognized as clearly meeting the award’s criteria of business acumen, sense of innovation, and above all integrity.
“I cannot say enough about what Ross meant to me both personally and professionally,” says Mike Smith, president of The Brokerage, Inc. “He was my mentor and like my second father. He always operated with professionalism and integrity. He had amazing intuition. He was a great judge of character. Our industry lost a great man. Our staff at The Brokerage will continue to build upon his legacy and raise the bar in his honor.”
I met Ross almost 30 years ago as I was helping promote the fledgling Brokers Health Insurance Network. Our paths seemed to cross fairly often, and yet today I feel not nearly often enough. I knew him to be a great friend to many, a genuinely warm and caring person, a savvy businessman and a great ambassador for our industry. He excelled in making people feel special. Never in my experience did Ross meet me with anything less than a big broad smile, a warm chuckle and a raucous “Hey there Steve-o!” I’m really going to miss that. [SPH]
