PIA Oregon’s 2025 Agency of the Year & Agent of the Year

Last week at the Top Golf event, the PIA Oregon awarded its highest honor, Agent of the Year and a brand new award, the Agency of the Year. Taylor Starr, the co-owner of Unified Insurance Group in Corvallis, Oregon is the 2025 agent of the year.

Gordon Wood Insurance and Financial services in Roseburg, Oregon took home the agency of the year award. PIA Western Alliance Executive Vice President Kim Legato told Weekly Industry News it is a new award and one of those whose time has come.

“The membership system of the PIA works like this: when an agency joins the PIA, all of its employees also become members. This is what we mean when we say PIA is a family,” she said. “While we’ve long recognized individuals for exemplary service through our nomination process, we’ve never formally recognized an agency for its continued support of our mission—until now.”

Gordon Wood Insurance and Financial Services has been part of our insurance community since 1961, when Gordon Wood — the patriarch of what is now a three-generation legacy — founded the agency 64 years ago.

His son Kelsey has spent the past 30 years managing the agency. He did this while actively giving back to the community.

Kelsey currently serves on several local boards of directors, including as Board Chair of Adapt Integrative Health Care and as a member of the Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority. In 2012, he was honored as Scoutmaster of the Year by the Douglas Fir District of the Boy Scouts of America.

Kelsey served as the President of the PIA Oregon Chapter in 2014. Since, and before then, Kelsey has tirelessly provided guidance and thoughtful legislative input — particularly on bad faith legislation — to support our Oregon lobbyists on the PIA Oregon Legislative Committee.

Now, Gordon’s grandson Logan — the third generation — is following in the family’s footsteps and rising within the ranks of the PIA family. Logan has recently been invited to serve on PIA National’s Young Agent Committee. We’re confident that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and that Logan will carry on the proud tradition of service to both his community and our PIA family for years to come.

Kelsey and Logan Wood accepted the award.

The Agent of the Year Award is the PIA’s way of saying thank you and recognizing that special individual whose accomplishments exemplify the best qualities an independent insurance agent can possess: integrity, dedication and commitment to the members and goals of the PIA. As an organization, we offer no greater recognition than the PIA Agent of the Year.

Taylor Starr personifies all of the things listed in the description of what an agent of the year should be. He is loved by his clients, by his staff, and by the community.

Starting with his staff, the person we talked with said he’s the go-to guy on how to find information or develop a quote. She said he’s always upbeat and positive and put him in the best-boss ever category.

High praise, indeed.

His clients feel the same way. Taylor regularly meets with them for lunch, or at their offices, or out on the farm if farming is their business, and is always reviewing their policies and making sure they have the insurance they need.

And when it comes to their insurance needs, Taylor is excellent at finding the right insurance at the right price. As you know, clients love that.

Taylor was a sports star at Oregon State University and pitched for the Oregon State Beavers baseball team in 2008 and again in 2012. The years in between 2008 and 2012 were years of healing from Tommy John surgery.

Taylor pitched very well in 2008 and 2012. He’s not just an athlete. Taylor is very intelligent and was given a Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2012.

Since then, he has stayed involved with the team and is the head of the team’s dugout club. He serves on several boards for the Oregon State Beavers, and has participated in, and helped organize golf tournaments to raise money for the team.

Taylor is also very involved with his church.

To again quote the lady on the staff that we spoke to, “Taylor is just a great human being.”