The heart of our corporation lies within our employees, and our communities.
Our Initiatives
Social responsibility is one of our core values, placing charity and volunteer work at the heart of our organization.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Bankers is proud of our support of the ongoing education and research at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHAC) in St. Petersburg. Bankers serves as the presenting sponsor for the Night for All Children which combines the best of two longtime fundraising events for the hospital.
This year, A Night for All Children raised $507,000 for the Center for Behavioral Health, which focuses on mental health issues impacting our children in Florida and throughout the country.
In 2018, JHAC opened its Research and Education Building on its main campus. The 250-seat auditorium inside the building bears the Bankers name in recognition of our support of JHAC and its work in our communities.
Habitat for Humanity
Bankers sponsored its first Habitat for Humanity home in Pinellas County in 2017 and the partnership has grown ever since. This year, we completed our sixth Habitat build and we are now looking ahead to the next project.
Habitat’s work transforms our communities and brings us together to lend a helping hand to our neighbors. Over the years, our associates have volunteered hundreds of hours to help many achieve the dream of owning a home.
Salvation Army – Kettle Classic
The Ed Hussemann Memorial Kettle Classic Golf Tournament began in memory of our former Board member and Chief Financial Officer. The event, which bears Ed’s name, is the Pinellas chapter’s largest annual fundraiser, with more than $1.5M collected in recent years.
Bankers has always served as the main sponsor of the tournament. Since 1912, the Salvation Army of Greater St. Petersburg has addressed the physical and emotional elements of poverty for individuals and families.
The Salvation Army’s red kettle bells ring not only during the holidays, but 365 days a year.
Our Story
Bankers started with Bob Menke, a young entrepreneur at the time, who celebrated his birthday by investing the proceeds of a real estate transaction into Bankers Insurance on June 11, 1976. Our first home was on 34th Street in St. Petersburg, and in 1994 Bankers moved to its downtown tower office. The move revitalized a dormant downtown business district and hugely impacted the community. A group of local merchants were so grateful that they sent roses to each Bankers associate as a sign of appreciation.
When Bankers moved to its current headquarters on Roosevelt Boulevard, it was the only company of its kind in the area. Industry experts took notice, and Bankers became known as the company which provided the best foundation for learning the insurance business. Now, dozens of competitors line the streets where Bankers, once again, proved to be the trailblazer.
In the four decades since its opening, the small insurance firm developed into one of the largest private holding companies in Tampa Bay. Bankers survived five U.S. recessions, the costliest hurricane in U.S. history (Katrina – $108 billion in damages in 2005), and several overhauls of insurance legislation, including flood insurance in 2012.
The Bankers Financial Corporation umbrella now encompasses the continental U.S., with customers from coast to coast across various financial product lines. Through the years, we’ve added several lines of businesses under different companies, including DecisionHR, Centricity, and, most recently, Maverick. None of this could have been possible without our associates, who continue to make the young entrepreneur’s gamble in 1976 a reality.
Fast forward to now, and the values and principles Bob and the company embodied at the start still hold true. We remain committed to developing our people and making sure we’re always there when our customers need us most.
Core Values
Performance
to the fullest potential and surpassing expectations
Collaboration
to achieve organizational goals with unified efforts
Innovation
with unique solutions and superior customer service
Trust
by valuing integrity, transparency, and ‘Doing the right thing’
Benefits
We offer benefits that
work for our employees
Careers
Grow, succeed and
make an impact
