By Traci Chapman
Managing Editor
For Scott Tribbey, 2022 ended with a change in his professional career trajectory, as he stepped out of his comfort zone and into his own insurance agency.
That agency is the Scott Tribbey Farmers Insurance agency; it’s a new endeavor made all that much easier thanks to longtime friend and agency producer Judy Richards.
The office is located in Oklahoma City but has special ties to Piedmont. Richards and her family are staples of the community, and Tribbey has a special fondness for the area, he said.
“One of the very first things I did when starting this agency was to hire Judy Richards, a longtime Piedmont resident and friend of mine for 32 years to be my second-in-command,” Tribbey said. “With her this business is more like a partnership.”
Tribbey worked since 2003 in the auto sales industry, graduating in 2005 from University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in history.
“I’ve spent the majority of my career in retail automotive, having served as a general manager at some smaller dealerships,” Tribbey said. “I’ve also worked in new home construction and financial services – all of which contribute to my knowledge and expertise in serving our new and existing clients.”
The Scott Tribbey Agency is a full-service insurance provider, offering auto, home, condos, life, umbrella, commercial, renters, RV, travel trailers, motorcycle, marine, flood, earthquake and even pet insurance, Tribbey said.
The agency’s expansive service range is important for a rapidly growing community like Piedmont, Tribbey said.
“As it’s a rapidly growing city, it’s also important to keep up with the changes out there, especially in northern Canadian County,” he said. “One thing Judy is great at is connecting with people – it’s her best talent and has been invaluable to the agency so far. The insurance needs of people in the city are different to an extent from someone who owns 20 acres.”
Tribbey also recently immersed himself in a different kind of experience, some that has expanded both his world view and expertise – becoming a Warr Acres City Council member in February.
“I take that very seriously to protect and respect the public’s trust in their local government and its officials,” he said.
Trust is an important component of the insurance business – and an integral part of Tribbey’s philosophy, he said. That is a reason he is so invested in life insurance for his clients, which can be invaluable at the most difficult of times.
“These are very uncomfortable times for everyone in the United States, and Oklahoma isn’t immune. Between COVID, the following supply chain shortages, interest rates spiking and insurance rates going up, people are looking for answers from someone they can trust,” he said. “The one thing that people forget to insure first and foremost is their lives — that’s the most important thing you’ve got, so don’t wait for a miracle, your whole life is a miracle,” Tribbey said. “The sincerest thing we do at Farmers Insurance is our life insurance policies, and if you’re starting a new family, take advantage of your age and get your whole family insured for relative pennies on the dollar. Nothing makes me more upset than to see a Go Fund me account on Facebook when it so easily could have been avoided. No one has ever gone bankrupt because they were paying for life insurance. But families have gone bankrupt because they weren’t.”
Tribbey has been married to his wife Angela, a KWTV News 9 technical director, for 15 years. The couple has a 17-year-old son, Hayden, and Tribbey’s parents live in Edmond, where he grew up. Tribbey enjoys watching OU sports, playing and watching golf, traveling and comic book collecting, he said. His family and its history is very important to him – and his statewide connections are an asset when working with agency customers, he said.
Richards met Tribbey in eighth grade; the two graduated together from Edmond North High School in 1996. She met her husband Brandon in 1999 and married in 2001.
“After a few years we were expecting our first child and we made the decision to move to a sleepy little town I had never even heard of, Piedmont.,” she said.
Richards graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She would go on to accept a position at Hertz, which she would later leave to become a stay-at-home mom, helping her husband build his automotive repair business over the last 20 years.
During that time Richards also served on the city of Piedmont Planning Commission, as well as on the board for the Piedmont Soccer Club.
Her children have all achieved success in sports – Conner at Casady in football, daughter Brinley was a part of Piedmont’s Class 5A 2021 Softball State Champions, and Carson loves football, last year playing as the starting center for Piedmont Middle School. Youngest son Daxton plays youth football, basketball and baseball, Richards said.
“In the last 19 years what used to be the ‘sleepy little town’ of Piedmont has become a big part of my heart and so have all the amazing people we’ve met here,” she said. “It truly is a special place I love to call home, and I want to give back by helping people know they aren’t just a number, not to me they aren’t – they are my neighbors.”
The Scott Tribbey Farmers Insurance Agency is located at 9500 Westgate Road, Suite 101, in Oklahoma City. For more information, call (405) 724-2133.
