Greg Hatcher of The Hatcher Agency and founder of Arkansas Wrestling Association

Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy

In September of 1990, with a bank loan, an assistant and 500 square feet of office space, Greg Hatcher started The Hatcher Agency. He signed a 3 year lease on that 500 square feet of office space thinking it would be all he would ever need. At the end of the first year, he had already outgrown his office space and had grown to 7 employees, producing more insurance in his first year of business than any agent in the state of Arkansas. Three years later in 1993, The Hatcher Agency was named Arkansas' Small Business of the Year by Arkansas Business and The Hatcher Agency was the largest health insurance agency in the state of Arkansas. Greg and The Hatcher Agency have been the number one producer since, leading the state of Arkansas in health insurance sales every year since they started business in 1990. Greg graduated in 1983 from Alma College with a degree in Public Relations. While at Alma, he was President of the Student Body, and lettered in soccer, wrestling and baseball. Greg was named the schools Outstanding Graduate and the TKE Fraternity's Top Fraternity Man for his local Chapter and Nationwide. Greg was also a nine-letter winner and one of the last athletes to play three varsity sports for four years at Alma College. He was captain of the wrestling team and was named first-team all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1982-83. Hatcher helped the wrestling and baseball teams each capture three MIAA titles while also lettering in soccer. Hatcher was president of his junior class and served as president of the student body as a senior. He co-founded and was president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and also served as sports information director from 1981-83. Following graduation, he coached baseball at Notre Dame University for one year before going to work for Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. In Greg's seven years at Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, he was named the Account Executive of the Year, a record six consecutive times, before leaving to start his own agency in 1990. In 1999, Greg wrote the book 55 Steps to Outrageous Service, which is a book outlining the service that The Hatcher Agency delivers every day to their clients. This book has sold over 15,000 copies to date and in 2011 a publisher purchased the rights to the book and is now printing over 100,000 in paperback. The Hatcher Agency has grown to a business with 50 employees, over 650 group clients, and over 180,000 insured's. Because of his Outrageous Service philosophy, Greg and The Hatcher Agency have earned numerous awards and recognitions, including lifetime status in the Million Dollar Roundtable, recognizing the top 3 % of life insurance producers in the country and a lifetime Golden Eagle Award winner by the National Association of Health Underwriters, recognizing the top 1% of health insurance producers nationwide. His greatest joy has come from his work in getting wrestling started in Arkansas. Hatcher founded The Arkansas Wrestling Association (AWA) and has purchased the mats for 60 high schools and 4 colleges to help get new programs started at these schools. For his efforts, he has been honored with the “Dan Gable America Needs Wrestling Award,” named WIN Magazines Man of the Year and awarded The Certificate of Merit by The Arkansas Activities Association. Greg is most pleased that over 4,000 kids now wrestle in Arkansas.