Dryden firm marks milestone

By Nick Babel
 
On April 1, 1936, a heating and ventilation salesman quit his job and opened a one-man insurance agency in the garage at his home in Dryden. Today, the name George B. Bailey still resonates in the Town of Dryden as Bailey Place Insurance celebrates this milestone of servicing the Dryden community for 80 years.
 
George Bailey’s venture, which he passed along to his son Bill and then was run by his grandson John, has been a staple in the community since its inception. The advice that George provided to his family is still followed today: “Know your product and get out and see people.”
 
Bailey Place Insurance prides itself on providing quality customer services to its clients. “When you call our office, you get to talk to a person. Though much has changed in the last 80 years, the personal connection with our clients and community remains the hallmark of our company,” says Steve Franco, president of Bailey Place.
 
After graduating from Cornell, Bill took a job at Clark’s Seed Farms, which was in the seed potato business. After spending one day on the job clearing a warehouse of rotten potatoes, Bill was sure of one thing—he did not want to be a seed potato farmer. Bill then spent two years in the Army, and while he was in the service he married his wife Jane. While he was serving in Okinawa, Bill received a letter from his father, offering him a job at the Bailey Insurance Agency, an offer he accepted and never regretted.
 
George Bailey had begun working out of his house and garage on Library Street, then opened an office on Main Street in Dryden. By the 1960s the business had grown and Bill purchased the building at 5 South Street, where the company operated for more than 50 years. It was here that Bill continued the legacy his father had begun.
 
Bill joined the Professional Insurance Agency (PIA) of New York and in 1977, serving as president of the organization, and in 1979 was named Professional Agent of the Year. This was also the year that Charles “Chuck” Spaulding joined the agency. He is currently chairman of Bailey Place Insurance.
 
“Bill was my mentor,” Spaulding says. “He was a great insurance man and a people person who really knew the product. He was a student of the industry, and as such he helped a lot of businesses in the Dryden area get established and succeed.”
 
Bill credits his father with providing sound advice for running a successful business. “Like a stool with four legs, any business should rely on the advice of four experts—a banker, a lawyer, an accountant and an insurance agent. I was proud to be one of those four pillars that my community could rely upon,” he says.
 
It was his love for the industry that led Bailey to become the New York State representative to the national PIA, and soon after to be named president of the national organization. “It takes a special person to come from a little agency in Dryden, New York, and make it to the presidency of a national organization, and Bill Bailey was that special person,” says Spaulding.
 
In 1987 the Bailey Agency acquired the Winchell Agency in Cortland, and the Denniston Agency in McGraw. This allowed for expansion to the Cortland market. “Our Dryden office was the anchor that allowed that expansion to begin.” Spaulding says.
 
In April 2013, Place Insurance merged with the Bailey Agency to become Bailey Place Insurance, with its main office in Cortland. With the acquisition of the Cotterill Agency in December 2015, Bailey Place Insurance cemented its commitment to the Dryden community and subsequently moved its Dryden office to the iconic Cotterill building at 78 North Street. Significant renovations were made to the building and state-of-the-art technology upgrades are designed to provide products and services for Bailey Place clients for years to come.
 
“We have been able to stay competitive by investing in our employees and technology. We have purchased agencies over the years where the owner was looking to retire. The reason that the owners have chosen to sell to our agency is that they feel most comfortable knowing that their clients will still be dealing with a locally-owned independent agency,” Franco says.
 
“Eighty years is an exceptional accomplishment in this industry,” Franco adds. “It is a tribute to the hard work of everyone that has been a part of the business over the years, and to the loyalty of our clients. The Central New York community knows that they can trust and rely on the agents at Bailey Place to provide the insurance they need and the service they deserve.”

While no Baileys are currently involved with the company, it is still a local family owned business. Bailey Place is an independent insurance agency with offices in Cortland, Dryden and Ithaca and 25 employees. The business provides comprehensive insurance and risk management for families, business, municipalities and nonprofit organizations.