Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
I have lived almost my entire life in Northampton Township. I lived in the city when I was younger and moved to Holland when I was in 2nd grade. My wife and I both went through the Council Rock school district. We met at a party in high school. Somebody introduced us and really, the rest is history. We have been married for 18 years and have been together for about 29.
My wife and I bought our first home in Ivyland Borough. We lived there for 5 years and eventually made our way back to Holland. We have 2 boys and a girl who are 16, 14, and 12. They keep us super busy! My kids do just about every sport you can imagine. Hockey, golf, football, baseball, field hockey, dance, you name it. We also have a yellow lab named Daisy. She will be 4 in a few weeks.
I’ve coached many sports with my kids over the years. I am not currently coaching because I feel that my kids have gotten to an age where they may need to be hearing someone else’s voice. Sometimes they get to a point where you could tell them something 3 times, but they don’t really hear it until someone else tells them. I think this has been a good time for me to step back a bit and let them grow.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career.
I began at Kutztown University for 3 years and played hockey while pursuing a degree in education to become a social studies teacher. I transferred to Temple and graduated from there. Post college I struggled to get a job in education. Somebody suggested I try out insurance until I found a teaching job. It wasn’t ideal for me, but I needed something. I began working at New York Life. I worked there for 6 months. I had a question one day and called up my car insurance guy. He found out I was working in insurance and long story short he convinced me I should be working for him at Nationwide. Before I even began the job another opportunity came up with a colleague of his. He needed someone to be the point person for a relationship he had with American Heritage credit union. This guy and my future boss came up with a deal and I became the point person there. I was the onsite Nationwide agent there for 9 years. Those 9 years taught me some great skills and lessons and helped me get to the point where I could open my own business. I opened Gavaghan Family Insurance on January 2nd, 2013. I started from scratch and now here we are 11 years later.
We are an independent broker, meaning that we work for the clients, not the insurance companies. This helps us customize plans specifically for the client to optimize their insurance for every aspect. We write insurance with 14 different companies and have all direct contracts. We are lucky to have great relationships with our managers and underwriters which means we get things done that a lot of other companies may not be able to. We focus almost exclusively on personal lines and life insurance. We stick to what we know and do it well. Our clients are so important to us and we strive to give them the best information and service we can through our knowledgeable and efficient team. The goal is to give the best customer experience over any other company in our agency.
Q: What are some of your favorite spots in the community?
We love to eat at The Irish Horne and 59 Almshouse. My kids grew up at “the blue park” and we would also recommend it to families.
Q: Where is your favorite place you have ever traveled and where do you want to go next?
Charleston is probably my favorite place I have ever been. The people, the architecture, the history, and the food are all incredible. The people were so nice down there we thought they were messing with us when we first got there. Ireland is on the top of my travel bucket list.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
My wife and I are currently into Yellowstone and The Bear. I personally love the Jack Ryan movies, Good Will Hunting, Rocky, and Forrest Gump.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Don’t worry about what other people think about you. Chances are they probably aren’t thinking about you all that much anyway. Too many people live their lives trying to maintain or create an image, but in the end I think a lot of people will realize we’ve wasted a lot of time trying to make other people happy by being somebody we aren’t. Ultimately the people who live in my home are the people I want to make happy. I want to focus more on being the man I want my sons to be and my daughter to marry.
Q: What is your favorite band or music genre?
You could walk into our house and hear anything at any given time. I don’t really have a favorite, I listen to a mix of everything.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
I love fishing! Deep sea saltwater fishing, local fishing, I love it.
Q: Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 to 10 years?
On the personal side I could see myself with another business or two. I also would love to travel more as a family and a couple.
As far as the business goes, I see us growing in size in the next 5-10 years. I love the idea of giving someone else the career I have had. It has provided my family with so much. I haven’t missed anything in my children’s lives. I am at every practice, game, life event because of this career. I would love to give that opportunity to as many people as I can.
Q: What is something interesting that most people may not know about you?
I taught myself how to play guitar over the pandemic. I wanted to for a while, so when the world shut down I thought if it wasn’t then I never would learn. Bless my family who listened to my progress all throughout the process. I really enjoy it and am still playing today.
Q: What is your favorite holiday and why?
Without question my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving brings family together without all of the stress and money spent. It is a good time to be thankful, have people together, and watch football.
Q: Who inspires you to be your best?
My kids! I want to be the best version of myself for them. My philosophy is when I leave this earth, if my 3 children can be here as a version of myself or better, the world can be a better place. If I can be a good example for them, that example can multiply as they live their lives.
Q: What are one or two of your favorite smells?
I love the smell of a charcoal grille. The vanilla aroma air freshener in my truck and the smell walking into a hockey rink. To me every rink has its own specific smell and I love most of them.
Q: What words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Family, being with my kids, and trying to take your mind off of the outside world and relax.
Q: Where can people find you or your business?