Dixie L. Leavitt | |
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Member of the Utah Senate from the 11th [1] district | |
In office January 1, 1989 –December 31, 1992 | |
Preceded by | Ivan M. Matheson |
Succeeded by | David L. Watson |
Member of the Utah Senate from the 11th,29th [1] district | |
In office January 1,1965 –December 31,1976 | |
Preceded by | Charles R. Hunter |
Succeeded by | Ivan M. Matheson |
Member of the UtahHouseofRepresentatives from the 24th [1] district | |
In office January 1,1963 –December 31,1964 | |
Preceded by | Kumen S. Gardner |
Succeeded by | J. Harold Mitchell |
Personal details | |
Born | St. George,Utah | August 27,1929
Nationality | American |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Anne Okerlund Leavitt |
Children | Michael O. Leavitt,Dane Leavitt,Mark Leavitt,Eric Leavitt,David Leavitt(attorney),Matthew Leavitt |
Residence | Cedar City,Utah |
Alma mater | Branch Agricultural College |
Profession | Insurance executive |
Dixie L. Leavitt (born August 27,1929) is an American entrepreneur and state legislator who served as a Republican member of the Utah State House of Representatives and Senate from 1963 to 1976,and from 1989 to 1992 from Utah's 24th house district and 11th and 29th senate districts. He is the founder of the Leavitt Group,one of the largest independent insurance brokerages in the nation,and is the father of former Utah governor Mike Leavitt.
Dixie L. Leavitt was born in St. George,Utah,and raised in the town of Bunkerville,in the state of Nevada. [2] He attended Virgin Valley High School,where he served as student body president and was an all-state basketball player. [3] After high school,Dixie went to Branch Agricultural College (BAC) in Cedar City,Utah,where he was yearbook editor and student body president,and became the institution's first student to letter all four years in both football and track. [4] He married Anne Okerlund in 1950. Dixie and his wife Ann reared a family of six sons.
Several of the Leavitt sons followed their father in the family insurance business.
Dixie Leavitt is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Dixie's plan throughout college was to become a schoolteacher. In 1951,after graduating from BAC,he began teaching fourth grade at Cedar West Elementary School.
After that first year,during the summer of 1952,Dixie got a job selling insurance. Though he fully intended to return to teaching in the fall,during the week before school began,the manager of the insurance company paid him a visit and urged him to stay in the insurance business. Dixie loved the business and believed he could prosper,so he decided to remain.
Dixie's first insurance office was a desk in his family's small basement apartment. [5] His business prospered and in 1959,Dixie partnered with his brother Bert Leavitt to create the first Leavitt Group affiliated agency. Dixie created the model based on the principle of aligned interests between the Leavitt Group (which maintains contractual control) and its local managing co-owners (who maintain client control).
Dixie's business grew as he partnered with other individuals and insurance agencies using the 60/40 ownership arrangement. This unique,new model worked because sharing significant ownership and profits provided the natural incentives to make each agency thrive. Unlike a typical aggregator,The Leavitt Group's "60/40" model gave independent agents a new alternative to their growth and perpetuation needs. The local manager could remain an owner and take responsibility for the local agency culture. As a result,numerous agencies have embraced this model,and today the Leavitt Group is ranked as one of the largest privately held insurance brokerages in the United States.
Dixie served 18 years in the Utah State Legislature (from 1963 to 1976 and from 1989 to 1992) [6] As a legislator,he worked to obtain four-year status for the College of Southern Utah (CSU),which was among his first legislative successes. Another notable legislative achievement was his bill that became the Utah Higher Education Act of 1969. One of the crowning accomplishments of his service in the Utah State Senate was the advancement to university status of Southern Utah University.
Dixie also served three years as president of the Leeds England Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Leeds,England. [7] As a mission president,he presided over 100 missionaries,directing the affairs of the mission organization,its people and assets. After this ecclesiastical service,he formed Leavitt Land and Investments and the Dixie and Anne Foundation—one purpose of which is to provide and manage scholarship housing for Southern Utah University students.
Washington County is a county in the southwestern corner of Utah,United States. As of the 2020 United States Census,the population was 180,279,making it the fifth-most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is St. George. The county was created in 1852 and organized in 1856. It was named after the first President of the United States,George Washington. A portion of the Paiute Indian Reservation is in western Washington County. Washington County comprises the St. George,UT Metropolitan Statistical Area.
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County,Utah,United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border,it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northeasternmost part of the Mojave Desert,adjacent to the Pine Valley Mountains and near the convergence of three distinct geologic areas and ecoregions:the Mojave Desert,Colorado Plateau,and the Great Basin. The city is 118 miles (190 km) northeast of Las Vegas,Nevada,and 300 miles (480 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City,Utah,on Interstate 15.
Michael Okerlund Leavitt is an American politician who served as the 14th Governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003 in the Republican Party,as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2003 to 2005 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2005 to 2009.
Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a United States senator representing Utah from 1974 to 1993. Garn became the first sitting member of Congress to fly in space when he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a payload specialist during NASA mission STS-51-D.
Jeffrey Roy Holland is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the ninth President of Brigham Young University (BYU) and is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve,Holland is accepted by the church as a prophet,seer,and revelator. Currently,he is the fourth most senior apostle in the church.
Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City,Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school,Southern Utah University now has over 1,800 graduates each year with baccalaureate and other graduate degrees from its six colleges. SUU offers more than 140 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs. More than 10,000 students attend SUU. Southern Utah University trademarked the name and is known as the University of the Parks. SUU's 17 athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Thunderbirds. SUU joined the Western Athletic Conference in July 2022.
Utah's Dixie is the nickname for the populated,lower-elevation area of south-central Washington County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. Its winter climate is very mild when compared to the rest of Utah,and typical of the Mojave Desert,in which it lies.
Utah Tech University (UT),formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names,is a public university in St. George,Utah. The university offers about 240 programs. As of fall 2022,there are 12,556 students enrolled at UT. The student body is 57% female and 42% male with 21% of the student body being minority (non-white) students.
David Eccles was an American businessman and industrialist who founded many businesses throughout the western United States and became Utah's first multimillionaire.
Jacob Hamblin was a Western pioneer,a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,and a diplomat to various Native American tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. He aided European-American settlement of large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona,where he was seen as an honest broker between Latter-day Saint settlers and the Natives. He is sometimes referred to as the "Buckskin Apostle," or the "Apostle to the Lamanites." In 1958,he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy &Western Heritage Museum.
William Rolfe Kerr is an emeritus general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served previously as the fifteenth Commissioner of Church Education and as president of the Logan Utah Temple.
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Howard A. Stephenson is a Utah politician who represented the State's 11th senate district in Salt Lake County including Draper from 1992 through 2018.
Stephen Douglas Nadauld is an American academic,the former president of Dixie State University and Weber State University (WSU). Nadauld was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1991 to 1996.
Junius Edgar West was a Virginia politician and businessman who was born in Sussex County,Virginia,on July 12,1866,and whose long and distinguished career culminated in two terms as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
R. Jan Pinney,CLU,ChFC,CPCU is an American businessman,author,speaker,and consultant. He received national attention for various issues discussed during his tenure on the Roseville Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees. He has also testified before Assembly and Senate committees on insurance and finance. Jan is a prominent and active figure within the insurance industry where he advocates at the State and National levels for common-sense laws,transparency in regulator oversight,and a consumer-first focus on insurance company product designs,sales distribution,and consumer protection. Most recently,he has led a coalition of NAILBA,LIDMA,and NAIFA leaders in fighting for an insurance agent exemption to the TCPA Laws that currently prevents a licensed agent from contacting a consumer regarding an existing insurance policy via telephone without written permission. Under the current rules,agents may only have telephone contact with their clients without written permission for a period of 18-months from the inception of a new insurance policy or are subject to fines.
Leavitt Group is an organization of affiliated independent insurance agencies,with 200+ locations across the United States as of 2023. According to the corporate website,Leavitt Group was founded in 1952 when Dixie Leavitt opened an insurance agency in the town of Cedar City,Utah,where the company headquarters remains located. It is among the largest retail property and casualty (P/C) insurance brokerage firms in the United States.
Alton LaVar Wade is a retired American educational administrator.
Daniel R. Liljenquist is an American businessman and politician who served one term in the Utah State Senate.
Walt Brooks is an American politician who has served in the Utah House of Representatives from the 75th district since 2016. He was appointed in September 2016 to replace Representative Don Ipson,who himself was appointed to the senate to replace Senator Steve Urquhart.