Do Right—All the Time

The legacy of Lacy Grice Insurance

Words by Suzie Walton | Images by Ryan McGill

Right around the corner from Main Street in downtown Jasper sits a quaint, small family business. For over four decades, this family business has taken care of the community with honesty and integrity.

Jeff Grice, President of Lacy Grice Insurance, said one of the most important lessons he learned from his dad was to “do it right all the time – business will be there, but you can’t lose your integrity.”

It was 1970 when Lacy Grice received a convincing call to leave a Birmingham company and return to Jasper to work independently.

“John Primm called Dad and explained how much better the insurance business is and convinced dad to move to Jasper,” Jeff recalls. “And by 1973, Dad was building his business.”

Jeff’s family had been living in Homewood and Mountain Brook when his dad received the call, and thus moving to Jasper when he was 14 was not in his plans.

“I actually planned to move back to Birmingham after I finished high school,” Jeff explains. “But then I attended Walker College, and I began to see some things differently. So, I went to The University of Alabama, where I first majored in accounting before graduating with a degree in insurance.”

Two years later with a degree in hand, Jeff was traveling north on Highway 69 to Jasper. Birmingham was no longer a goal.

“The main catalyst for my decision to change my major from accounting to insurance and return home was my classmates,” he says. “It was 1978, and they were struggling to find employment and searching out career fairs. That gave me a lot of angst about what to do.”

Jeff realized the opportunity he had back home. Lacy’s business was beginning to grow, and he needed his son to come help.

“The coal business was still big at that time, and the community was vibrant,” Jeff says. “It was the right time for our business to grow, and the Jasper community welcomed us.”

Jeff credits this community support to his and his wife’s decision to raise their family in Jasper. “I enjoy meeting people and developing friendships with clients,” Jeff smiles. “We still have clients who have been with our business for 30 or 40 years and come to see me and talk. Forty years of friendship is a long time and something that I value. It is very humbling.”

Today, Jeff sits behind the big desk in his dad’s old office. A bookshelf to his left is decorated with Crimson Tide memorabilia and important framed photos. His degrees from Walker College and The University remind him where he has been and the good memories from those campuses.

“It takes a long time to grow an independent insurance business from scratch,” Grice says. “My dad started with nothing and worked hard. I’m carrying on with what he started and trying to help my clients with honesty and integrity. I’ve always tried to have fun with what I do, and the people here make that easy.” 78