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Gordy Bunch nominated as Entrepreneur of the Year

Published 03/26/2014

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THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Richard “Gordy” Bunch, founder, president, and CEO of The Woodlands Financial Group has been nominated as the Gulf Coast’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the 2014 search for a national EOY recipient.

The Entrepreneur of the Year program is designed by Ernst & Young to give recognition and visibility to entrepreneurial leadership by honoring a leader of a public or private company who is responsible for the recent performance of a company. If a nominee becomes a finalist, they will be honored at a black tie awards gala to be held at the Hilton America’s Houston on June 26, 2014. Regional award winners will be inducted into the Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame and become eligible for the national awards.

Bunch launched TWFG with $10,000 in 2001 in The Woodlands. Today, TWFG is a multi-faceted $330 million business covering retail and wholesale insurance, finance, and technology. His business model is based on the fact that, as an independent insurance agency, he can offer clients more choices from 200 different carriers; which usually results in better rates because of the competitive nature of multiple carriers. It is also an improvement in personalized service to consumers because “captive agents” are only allowed to sell their company’s branded products. He continues to emphasize personal care through TWFG’s familiar logo “Our Policy is Caring,” a slogan he considers his personal pledge both to customers and employees.

TWFG has become a national leader in its industry being ranked #30 in Property and Casualty lines out of 38,000 independent agencies in the nation and #1 in Texas and #5 in the nation for Personal Lines insurance (Home and Auto). There are 318 TWFG offices in 21 states with affiliated agencies expanding locations into 38 states. Bunch says he covers close to 200,000 clients in 49 states through the TWFG network. More than 40 of his agents are members of the TWFG Million-Dollar Producers Club.

As a business leader he also contributes to his community in The Woodlands and Texas. He maintains his personal fitness through tri-athlete type events like IronMan, but, he says, more importantly, he sponsors active events like the “Muddy Trails Bash” for children, the TWFG Gran Fondo bicycle races that benefit The Houston Medical Center Orchestra, Dragon Boat races for the YMCA, and a host of charities and advocacy groups. He also serves on The Woodlands Township Board of Directors where he is Treasurer and was recently named Chairman of The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau. His astute business eye for cost-savings is now benefitting the township and residents with a pay-down of $14.3 million in public debt, saving taxpayers $5.7 million in interest charges and $1.5 million in the annual budget – while cutting real estate taxes for two years in a row and saving $800,000 on a single annual contract. Bunch and his wife, Michelle, are residents of The Woodlands, raising three young boys and attending United Methodist Church.

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