A New Hope for the Future at the Venerable Hartman Insurance Agency in Saline

A venerable Saline business has new hope for the future.

Hope Smith has joined Hartman Insurance. Smith is learning the ropes from partner Jill Durnen and is being trained to take over the business one day, keeping one of Saline's oldest businesses in the family.

Hope Smith is the great-granddaughter of Milton "Moose" Hartman, who founded the Hartman Insurance Agency in 1946 after answering an ad for a Mutual of Omaha insurance representative. In 1953, he built the building at 111 N. Ann Arbor St. that houses Hartman Insurance in downtown Saline.

Hope Smith, 24, now a Manchester resident, grew up in Saline. She is the daughter of Bill Smith and Andrea Baddal. Smith graduated from Saline High School, where she played water polo and the clarinet. She furthered her studies at Eastern Michigan University, where she earned a degree in business administration. 

As a child, she spent afternoons in the Hartman office. In college, she interned at Hartman. She wasn't opposed to the idea of joining the family business, but she wanted to travel her own path.

"I was going down the human resources path, but it wasn't getting me where I wanted," Smith said. "The experience clarified things for me and made me realize that I do want to work here."

She remembers her grandfather Alan, whose father founded the business, inviting her to come work for the business when she was still in high school.

Today, she's excited about the possibilities.

"I want to work with family and carry on my great-grandfather's legacy and work with Jill and grandfather and my mom and everyone," Smith said.

Hartman Insurance has never been more of a family business.

Al Hartman and his daughter Jill Durnen run the agency.  His other daughters, Andrea and Kaisa Hartman-Mayo, work up front as customer service reps. In 2021, for the first time, all the employees at the agency were family. And that idea is strengthening with the addition of Hope.

Al Hartman, who joined the business in 1973 after serving in the US Marine Corps., said he was happy to see his grandaughter join the business.

"It's pretty cool. It's also something we needed to stay on top of everything. And I'm doing less and less. So she's a real help," Hartman said.

Durnen has been the public face of Hartman Insurance for years. She joined the firm in 1994 after graduating from Western Michigan University. Her grandfather, Milton, passed away in 2001, but not before instilling work ethic, customer service, and dedication to the community in Jill.

She's training Smith in her office every day. She spends a lot of time writing policies.

"One of the things I enjoy is helping people to give them the information they need so they are properly covered," Smith said. "It's nice working with the community and being close to everything I grew up with."

In March, Smith passed her licensing exam. She's slowly being brought along to learn the ins and outs of the insurance business.

The idea of Hope joining the agency has been in the back of Jill's mind for a while.

"I eventually want to retire, and I don't have any kids, and I don't want to leave my clients in the lurch. So it makes me happy that she's interested in picking things up and moving on, keeping the business in a family and not run by a big conglomerate," Durnen said.

In the meantime, Smith is assisting with the day-to-day tasks that were causing long days at the office, allowing the agency to maintain its commitment to customer service.

Hartman has also played a big role in Saline's community fabric. Milton Hartman was very involved in the community. Alan was as involved. Jill has been president of Saline Main Street and can regularly be seen volunteering at the summer concerts, Oktoberfest and other events.

Smith said she imagines she'll be somewhere between.

"I'll be involved and help out, but I don't know if I'll run groups. That's just not my vibe," she said.

So what's it like with another member of the family in the office?

"It's been great. We get along so well. I'm just glad she decided to join the business. My dad's been getting older and ramping up for retirement," Baddal said when asked about her daughter joining the business. "One thing I'm happy about is that she wasn't pressured. It was just the right time for her and she chose it."

Smith said she enjoys checking in every day to a place that's been central to her family.

For one, she just loves to see her family.

"Before I was working here, I might see my mother every couple of weeks and then see the rest of my family at birthdays," Smith said. "We get along so well and we never run out of things to talk about."

"It feels special. I like coming to work every day and being around my family, and knowing our family has been doing this for almost 80 years," Smith said.

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