By Dale Avery

I like old things.

I have always liked old things.  If you know me you might think that I like old things becauseI am old.  But when I was a kid growing up with six siblings we as a family had a lot of hand me downs.  I was the baby by eight years so I probably had less hand me downs than my older siblings, but I still learned the value of old and used things.

As an adult, I still enjoy old things.  My wife gives me a hard time because I watch some of the same old movies over and over again.  Some of these movies I first watched as a kid and when I run across one I have to watch again.  Like many of us, I have a few favorite clothing items I like to wear year after year.  I am comfortable in old t-shirts, pants, jackets or hats I have had for many years.  I am the king of keeping my cars for a long time.  My current car is a 2009, which is actually my wife’s old car that I took over when my last car got to the point the repairs were going to be more than the value of the car.

I thought about why I am wired like this?  I guess it was how I was raised.  My parents used to tell me not to get caught up in keeping up with the “Jones”, to not try to buy or have every new thing everyone else is buying.  I not only play this mentality out in my personal life, but also in my professional and non-profit worlds.  If you hang around me long enough you will hear me use the phrase, “I don’t like chasing the shiny pennies.”  I can re-shine an old penny and it spends just the same.

In this world, folks like to chase the shiny penny – the high profile speech, the big project, the leadership role.  Some do it because they want the attention, some do it because they are curious, some do it because they want tobe ahead of others.  I prefer to understand the new shiny item, but I do so without losing sight of all the great treasures that have been discarded in pursuit of the new venture.

I have spent most of my lifetime working on the things no one wants to focus on.  Some are materialistic items, others are projects or work.Along the way I have come across many people who have been put aside or discarded due to their thinking or time simply taking away their shine.Focusing on these people has given me the opportunity to meet some very interesting, talented and loving people.

So in this age of changing fads and technology seemingly every week, have fun and keep in tune with the new and the shiny, but don’t lose sight of the “old things” in this world.  This is where the real jewels are found.

Dale Avery, CPCU, is the assistant vice president – Enterprise Services at State Farm® Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington, Ill.

Avery began his career with State Farm in 1982 as a personal lines underwriter in Lincoln, Nebraska and assumed his current position in 2006. Avery, a native of Missouri, received his bachelor’s degree from Central Missouri State University. He earned his CPCU in 1991.

Dale resides in Bloomington with his wife, Laura and their two daughters; Megan and Jenna.

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