Paxton to retire after 30 years with State Farm Ins.

It’s the right time for State Farm Insurance Agent Alan Paxton to retire, and Monday will be his final day in a business he has been in for the past 30 years.[caption id="attachment_3438" align="alignright" width="277" caption="Alan Paxton and Patti Bustos will be retiring from State Farm Insurance next Monday. The office will transfer to Tom Newman. David Peck photo"][/caption]Paxton, his wife Peg, and Patti Bustos, who manages the Lovell satellite office, will all retire. For the Paxtons, Alan said, “it’s the right time for me, State Farm and our customers.” He said new agent Tom Newman will be able to better relate to the younger clientele.“It was a tough decision. We have a lot of wonderful, loyal customers,” Paxton said.He said while he and Peg are retiring they will continue to make their home in Basin. “This is our home and we want it continue to be our home,” he said.Insurance was not Alan’s first career. After earning a degree in education from the University of Wyoming, Paxton taught and coached in Basin for four years, and then managed an ag business for nine years. Thirty years ago, the retiring State Farm agent approached Paxton to see if he was interested in insurance and would be interested in taking over the Basin office. The rest is, as they say, history.Paxton said, “I like working with the people. There are a lot of great people in this area.” He said the adjustors he has worked with and his office help have made his job much easier. “I’ve had great help. My wife is my right arm and (Patti) in Lovell is as good as her.”The Paxtons have operated the Basin office for 30 years and the Lovell office for 15 years, since April 1995.“Traveling back and forth you have to have great help. You are covering a big area,” Paxton said.Paxton said the biggest change in the insurance industry over the past 30 years is technology. “When we started we ran the figures by hand. Now everything is on the computer and if it goes down we can’t do anything.”Peg added, “I used to be able to run figures by hand quickly,” adding that after using a computer for years, running figures by hand would take considerable time.Alan said he will be staying busy on his ranch and Peg will be helping out with their grandson, Landon Noble.Alan said he appreciates all the loyal customers he has had over the years, adding, “It’s been lots of fun.”By Karla Pomeroy