Sharla Schipper

I am the product of a Fremont area family orchard farm....my father had tree fruits - apples, cherries, peaches, plums...and we eight kids were expected to work in the orchards, picking fruit, helping with harvest, and picking up drops -- can't do that today!!!. We all helped mother with the gardens - strawberries, tomatoes, beans, peas, etc. ..... all those good fruits and vegetables that mother canned and froze. I was driving tractors helping in the orchards by the time I was 10 years old and before I was a teenager, I was driving the trucks and our family station wagon on the farm. In fact, in my High School driver training course I drove 15 minutes the first day and fifteen minutes the last day...that was the extent of my 6 weeks driver road training since my instructor knew how much I had been driving on the farm. That farm work ethic instilled by my parents carried me though college, law school and a few careers before opening my State Farm agency in 1987. As for what I do after I close the State Farm office door, my life is never bored. My mother taught me to sew - I remember "sewing" on paper -- watching the needle make holes in the paper -- I was probably 7-8 years old then. I made most of my own clothes growing up, and in fact sewed heirloom christening gowns for all eleven grandchildren. Music and singing are definitely part of my world - gospel, jazz, ballads are my current genre. You will find me singing with Hark Up Ministries in Grand Rapids, and locally with River Country Community Choir. Reading is my quiet time. I have a passion for healthy holistic alternatives for me and my pets, and you can see my passion for my pets since 1982 in the banner above: one cocker spaniel, 3 rough coat collies and 1 smooth coat collie, a Pomeranian and now my 3rd English Shepherd. I continue to promote color image and clothing personalities, especially to help with confidence and appearance for women as well as men. Yes, I have a lot of interests and hobbies, but State Farm continues to be my focus -- in all these years since 1987, it is the one career that is always challenging me to learn and grow. I will continue to represent Grant and Newaygo County and surrounding areas in the state of Michigan with State Farm auto, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, home and apartment, health and life insurance for you my customer.