JIM SUTHERIN - A CELEBRATION OF SERVICE
	For the past 55 years, our agency has benefited from the hard work and guidance of an extraordinary man, Jim Sutherin.  His high standard of service and integrity is the foundation to which Sutherin-Melling Insurance Agency, Inc. continues to aspire.  On December 31, 2006 Jim will fully retire from the agency. At 82 years of age, while we think his retirement is premature, we all wish him, and his wife of 56 years, continued happiness and enjoyment in the coming years.  We also anticipate that you will bump into him here in the office from time to time.        In 1942, Jim was class president at Bedford High School and was an outstanding athlete in a variety of sports, such as basketball, football and baseball.  Under the direction of coach Woody Hayes, Jim played baseball and basketball at Denison University, where he attended college and met his future wife, Dona.  Over the years, Jim has been honored by Denison University, as well as the Bedford Rotary Foundation, which annually awards a scholarship in his name to college-bound students.        In the early days, Sutherin-Melling Insurance was on of the first "one-stop shopping" businesses.  The agency sold insurance, real estate, auto license plates, and even dog tags! F J Sutherine served as Justice of the Peace and was qualified to conduct marriage ceremonies also.  As the agency grew, the focus narrowed to insurance. Throughout these years, Jim set many sales records and helped increase the number of states in which we are licensed to sell insurance to nineteen (19)!        Following completion of college and service in World War II, Jim & Dona settled in the Coventry area of Cleveland.  After working for IBM, Jim decided to join his father, Francis "Su" Sutherin, and his brother-in-law, Brian Melling, at "F.J. Sutherin Insurance", as it was then known.  Jim's approach to personal insurance combined the latest use of technology and delivered it using family-owned business values, a trait established by his father.  In 1979, Jim's second son, Dan Sutherin, came to work with him and they have worked side-by-side ever since.   Jim's presence at the office will be missed but the stories of his commitment to his customers and this agency will continue for years to come.   Thank you, Jim!