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Health & Fitness

Life's a Racket!

Judy Santos, Managing Director of OfficeSlice, recently met with dynamic business woman, Kimberlee Leonard of State Farm.  Kimberlee shared her secret to success!

Life has its scoreboard, rackets and missed opportunities, and of course, aces.  Between volleys, serves, loves and zeros, you find a rhythm and footing to send that little green ball back over the net.  Before you know it, that little green ball is back in your court.  Kimberlee Leonard is a tennis and business ace on and off the court.  She is a fierce competitor and knows how to handle those hard to hit volleys from the opponent.  Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, and now a San Fernando Valley resident, Kimberlee started out life as a competitive tennis player, which makes her a pro when life serves her zingers. 

 

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Kimberlee was playing tennis in Australia and New Zealand at the age of 17, has played in 5 different countries, and across the U.S., “As a Hawaiian, tennis got me off the rock and out to see the world!” Her favorite part about playing tennis was “the pursuit of my dream, I put a lot of work into my tennis.  It was fun and exciting trying to get to the next level.”  Her nickname was “the timex” because “when you beat me down, I get back up and try harder and work harder!” Tennis got Kimberlee a scholarship to the University of San Francisco, but she then transferred to the University of Colorado receiving her bachelor’s degree. 

 

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Hawaii soon called her home, and Kimberlee entered the financial industry as a penny stock broker for First Investment Center, the investment branch of the First Hawaiian Bank.  Kimberlee was later recruited by Washington Mutual in 1998 and she soon became the top appointment setter and financial consultant for their branch in Alhambra.

 

Kimberlee’s focus on success and her ability to “take a licking and keep on ticking” led her to become a State Farm agent seeking to build long lasting relationships with her clients.  She opened her office in Sherman Oaks in November of last year and has been building her community ever since.   

 

State Farm allows Kimberlee to use her financial background, relationship building and empathy skills in working with her prospective clients.  Kimberlee is especially well qualified to work with clients that are going through difficult transitions because she has had her share of life serving her some really hard to return tennis volleys including spinal surgery and a divorce.  She is exceptionally sensitive and truly enjoys helping individuals that are going through life’s hardest transitions like divorce and death.  “When you go through life, and talk to people about their dreams, I enjoy helping them create their plan for their future and their dreams. I want to find ways to protect them and what they worked for as much as we can.”

 

She has a soft spot in helping women, divorced or single moms, or women who are going or have gone  through a rough patch.  “Life is interesting for women, and sometimes life doesn’t help us with our dreams. We get taken away from work and unable to save for retirement, and for our dreams.” Women ride a roller coaster of sorts, we start out as career women, some lucky ones get to stay home and raise our children.  When we’re dealt certain cards, we are then back to rebuilding our career, “women who are refocusing, transitioning, are a soft spot for me,” Kimberlee said.

 

As a single mom of a son who is entering middle school, Kimberlee loves hanging out with him. “He’s opened my world to different types of hobbies.  I still play tennis, but he is an airplane aficionado, loves re-entactments, museums, hanging out at airports with pilots and mechanics, and learning about the planes. This has all been a learning curve for me.”  But Kimberlee is also a great shot. She plays Airsoft with her son and his friends, her favorite line to hear from him, “Mom! I need a magazine!”

 

Kimberlee will be hosting a Lunch ‘N’ Learn at OfficeSlice on Tuesday August 20 at 11:30 a.m. on “Risky Dreams?  Or are you Risking your Dreams” and discussing how insurance can actually help you prepare for your dreams and avoid risk.  This is a free event and open to the community.

Kimberlee will be presenting a series of (5) Free workshops, Make It  Possible Series at her office starting August 21.  The workshops will begin at 6 p.m., the topics are:   Buying a Car, A Slice of Life, Buying a Home, Your Financial Future, Your Finances

 

You can contact Kimberlee at (818) 906-9976 or via email at  Kimberlee.leonard.twwy@statefarm.com

Or stop by and visit her Hawaiian themed office at 14622 Ventura Blvd., Suite 111

Sherman Oaks (La Reina Place)




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