We're excited to connect with our alumni through our new Darlington Connects series. Today we hear from Dee Yancey (‘77), chairman, president and CEO of Rome-based State Mutual Insurance Co. and his son, Harley Yancey (‘07, LD ‘17), chief counsel of the company.
Three generations of Yanceys have worked for State Mutual Insurance and all three generations have supported and been leaders at Darlington School. The Yancey family is part of the fabric of Rome and Darlington. Legacy families enrich our school community and have made Darlington a special place.
Dee and his father, Life Trustee Delos Yancey, served on the Darlington Board of Trustees at the same time, something Dee says was pretty rare and was a great experience. Harley is a Leadership Darlington alumnus currently serving as Alumni Council president.
Dee came to Darlington as a freshman after his family moved to Rome for his father to run State Mutual.
“The cherry on top of moving to Rome was Darlington,” said Dee. He admits that he wasn’t too focused on academics as a student, but the friendships he made through his Darlington experience have lasted a lifetime. “I became great friends with three boarding students, Willis Everet (’76), John Izard (’77) and Seth Mellen (’76), partly because of our mutual love of hunting," he said. "We are very close and still hunt together.”
In the summers during high school, Dee would work various jobs and fondly remembers one instance when his teacher, Mr. Hawkins, was a patron at the gas station where he was working. When Dee ran out to fill his car and clean his windshield, Mr. Hawkins, knowing Dee wasn’t the strongest student, told him, “You’re a hard worker; you will do well in life.” Mr. Hawkins encouraged him, and by his senior year was elected to serve on the Honor Council, which Mr. Hawkins advised. In addition to Mr. Hawkins, Dee said he would always remember a few other legendary teachers like Bruce Burch, Rick Buice, George Awsumb, and especially Jack Summerbell and Worth Moser ... "Because I saw a lot of them!" he laughed.
After Darlington, Dee attended Emory at Oxford and then transferred to Georgia State. He began his career working for the State of Georgia and spent several years as an insurance auditor.
“Seeing the inner workings of so many insurance businesses throughout the state and meeting so many business leaders taught me so much about our industry,” he said. “It was an invaluable experience.”
When his father asked him to come back to Rome and join the business, Dee said that Darlington was a draw to return to Rome.
“My wife and I had just started our family," he said. "We knew Rome and Darlington would be a great place to raise our children and we weren’t wrong about that." All three of their children graduated from Darington, Mary Morgan (‘12), Jack (‘10) and Harley.
Like his father, Harley loves to hunt and fish. Because of this love, he said that Owen Kinney’s Georgia Natural History class was his favorite. “Mr. Kinney helped me learn to appreciate the small things in nature,” he said. Raymond Murray made an impression on Harley as the Honor Council advisor and with his love of Earnest Hemingway. Tim Foote also made his mark on Harley as his lacrosse coach, emphasizing the importance of working hard and together as a team.
After Darlington, Harley attended the University of Georgia, where he excelled at the Terry School of Business and also earned a law degree. Like his father, Harley also found his way back to Rome and began his law career with the prestigious Rome law firm Brinson Askew Berry.
“It was nice being back in Rome; there was no hesitation,” Harley said. “The firm has many Darlington connections, and transitioning to Rome after law school was made easier because of several Darlington friends who also found their way back to town.”
Harley has since made a transition to State Mutual Insurance, a move that he says has been interesting. “Law is extremely structured,” he said. “In my role with State Mutual, you have to be able to juggle many different projects and I have a tremendous amount of autonomy. The insurance industry is more complex than you can imagine.”
Harley has a great teacher, and working with his father has been eye opening. “My dad is so good and it’s amazing to watch him jump from topic to topic with such ease,” he said. Dee is also extremely proud of Harley and plans to hand over the reins of the business to him in the next several years.
When asked what it is like working with family, Dee said his father always used to say, “Working for a family business is the best thing you can do, if you can stand it.” Luckily for Darlington and the Rome community, Dee and Harley have found a way to do just that.
Are you a Darlington alum (or do you know one) with an interesting career or community involvement? We'd love to spotlight you in a future blog! Please email connect@darlingtonschool.org if you are interested in being featured.
