Jerry Szeszulski was born in Geissen, Germany, and would have grown up there except for the fact that a wonderful American couple, stationed at the Army base, adopted him and brought him back to the states when their tour of duty in Germany was over. Jerry was a two-year-old when his dad left full-time military service, although he remained a master sergeant in the Army Reserve. They settled in Bay City, Michigan, where Jerry grew up.

After high school, Jerry attended Delta College, majoring in Business. After college, he moved to Clearwater, Florida, where he took a job with a tool company as their shop foreman lead man. On a visit to his parent's home (they had relocated to Oklahoma), Jerry interviewed with Dowell a division of Dow Chemical Company. He accepted their job offer in order to be closer to family. He also met Diana, and they married in 1982.

Jerry's new employer gave him a promotion, and transferred him right back into his old stomping grounds in Bay City, Michigan. The problem was, the company had trouble keeping some of the promises that had made the transfer palatable, so Jerry interviewed with some firms on a visit back to Oklahoma to see family.

A major insurer was eager to hire Jerry. He went to work and studied for his exams feverishly. Unfortunately, he stumbled on the homeowners section of the licensing exam. The insurer lost patience and fired him. Jerry went to work for another insurer for a year, at which point one of his clients offered him a job selling insulation all across the United States. He accepted the job, and at the end of two years, the company decided to promote Jerry and transfer him to Atlanta, Georgia.

Jerry did not want to move out of the area, and interviewed in the insurance industry again. "The insurer I interviewed with didn't have any openings," Jerry recalled, "but they said I should go talk to Bud Jessee over at American National, and he hired me in 1986. Jerry was determined to make the most of his opportunity with American National. "Our house was so small at the time that we had to go outside to change our minds," he joked. "We had one car so sometimes Diana and the kids would have to wait outside while I finished an appointment at someone's home.

"There were times when the math didn't add up," Jerry remembers. "More bills than money at the end of the month, but that's when God's math takes over. If you're faithful with the little that you have, God takes care of the rest.

"Bud Jessee asked me where I wanted to be in five years, and then we broke it down to one year, one month, one week. When I got discouraged and depressed, he would say, 'you're on your way!' "People do things for one of two reasons," Jerry said; "Inspiration or desperation. We were desperate. I did dialing for dollars, cold-calling like crazy. I built my business one piece at a time and we got by through the lean years.

"I tell people that I sell money, to help people protect the things they value most," Jerry asserts. "Because of the wonderful coverage that folks can buy from ANPAC®, they can keep their dignity, not fall into poverty. There couldn't be a better time to be an agent with American National," Jerry continued. "My goal is to always remember to take care of my clients as if they were my family." Taking a personal interest in them and their protection.

Jerry loves to spend time with wife Diana and kids-Kristi, 24 and Jeremy, 17 and his new addition granddaughter Fiona Callie. Diana says that he is quite a chef, and he enjoys coaching basketball, baseball and football. Trust God has become the center of Jerry's life. The old saying "don't worry be happy" for him is… Don't worry trust God it's all up to him. Besides whom would you rather have making decision…God?

"I attribute my success to God's unmerited favor," Jerry confessed. "I just tried to stay out the way and let God do what He saw fit. A little hard work and a lot of God. He has done exceedingly, abundantly more than my mind could have ever thought possible. And let me also say that I am one proud American. So many of my friends were born here and take that for granted. I know that I was blessed to be an American, and I will always be very proud of that!"

During Jerry's distinguished career with American National, he has qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table four times, the President's Club four times, the Chieftain Club six times, the Summit Club six times and SM&R's Century Club once. In addition, he has been named a President's Council Agent six times, a Quality Master seven times, an ANPAC Quality Agent and an ANPAC Leader once each, received ANPAC's Premium Agent Achievement Award four times, and has qualified for twelve company marketing conferences, once as a double qualifier.