Cecil W. Powell established his company in Jacksonville in 1935 because he believed the city represented the best opportunity to start and grow an insurance agency.
“My grandfather figured out he had sold all the insurance he could sell in Fitzgerald, Georgia. He decided he needed to come to a bigger city, so he came to Jacksonville,” said Fitzhugh Powell Jr., the 69-year-old president of Cecil W. Powell & Company and the third generation to lead the agency.
“He had eight people in the agency, which was big for the time. The first account was Miller Electric and we still have that account,” Powell said.
In the 1960s, the founder turned over the reins to his son, Fitzhugh Powell Sr., who stepped aside as president in the early 1980s to put his son in charge.
Powell Jr. decided to sustain and build the family business by paying attention to scale.
“I looked at all the other agencies and figured out I didn’t want to be the big guy and I didn’t want to be the little guy. I wanted to be a boutique – and that was before it was called that,” Powell said.
Now employing nearly 50 insurance professionals and support staff, the agency maintains its 87-year tradition representing providers of insurance for businesses that want to protect their assets, including vehicles and property as well as executive liability and workers’ compensation.
The agency specializes in coverage for construction companies and not-for-profits.
“We are fortunate that we found some niches we love,” Powell said.
The focus has helped make the agency able to weather the challenges faced by its clients over the decades, including the current coronavirus pandemic.
“We have been pretty much recession-proof, even in the COVID era, because we do business with a lot of heavy construction companies. Those guys are digging in the dirt and building,” Powell said.
The agency’s office is at 219 N. Newnan St. Downtown in one of Jacksonville’s most distinctive buildings in terms of architecture.
The former headquarters of the Shriners International’s Morocco Temple, it features a pair of sculptures at the entrance designed after The Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt, the corporate symbol selected by Cecil Powell when he established the agency.
Designed by Henry John Klutho and built in 1910, the building was vacated when the Morocco Shrine Center moved to St. Johns Bluff Road.
“My father loves this building. The trademark is tied up in it – the sphinx is a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. He said if he could get the building, it would make it all real,” Powell said.
Purchased in 1984 by Powell Sr. for $610,000; its current taxable value is $1.75 million, according to Duval County Property Appraiser records.
The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The insurance agency is on the ground floor, an engineering and construction firm has offices on the second floor and there is space for lease in the building.
Cecil W. Powell & Company will make its own history in March when the agency’s first branch office will open in Valdosta, Georgia.
It will be staffed by a few agents and customer service staff who will work with clients in Jacksonville and build business in South Georgia, Powell said.
Other than that small expansion, Powell said the corporate strategy for 2022 is to continue doing what works for the company and its clients.
“We have outlasted everybody. All of the other local agencies have been sold to larger companies, but we are going to keep it in the family,” Powell said.
The fourth generation is being prepared to lead the firm into its second century.
Powell’s nephew, Ben Powell, a surety specialist, is senior vice president. Powell’s stepson, Billy Toth, also works in the agency.
“We’re not going anywhere. We will be here a long time,” Powell said.
