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8 Men In Business
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July 3, 2013
How long has Joe Domenico been an in-
surance agent in the Milwaukie area? Con-
sider this: When Domenico started, he wasn’t
even old enough to legally write a contract for
property and casualty insurance. At 20, he was
Farmers Insurance Group’s youngest agent ever,
and could only sell life insurance until his 21st
birthday.
That was 1967, and he’s still selling insurance
today. What motivated a 20-year-old to jump
into the insurance business?
“Poverty is a great motivator,” Domenico
said. He had spent the past five years working
different jobs at a restaurant, and figured he’d
open his own someday. Then he ran into a re-
gional manager for Farmers, Doug Coleman,
who would eventually become Domenico’s
mentor. Coleman gently pointed out that the
young man had no funds to build his own res-
taurant, but suggested he might be able to start
a business with no overhead.
“He told me, ‘you’ve got to take that first
step,’” Domenico remembers. “Forty-three
years later, I’m still stepping.”
Domenico said he’s managed to be success-
ful, in part, because “you have to be somewhat
crazy to do this job.”
“People either love you or hate you,” he said.
“You take money from them, and they don’t
perceive its value … but the other day, I said
to a customer, ‘did you realize that little wreck
you had cost $78,000?’ And he said, ‘no, I really
didn’t.’”
Domenico’s roots in the region run even
deeper than his business. He grew up in the area
that is now Clackamas Town Center, attending
St. John’s Elementary in Milwaukie and Central
Catholic before going to college in Portland. He
has been in his small office on Lake Road for
decades. In fact, the New Hope Community
Church in Clackamas actually started meeting
in the basement of his building. In recent years,
he even convinced an old friend, Harold Peter-
son, to join his business as an agent.
And most of his customers know that Do-
menico’s interests expand beyond his work. He’s
vice-president of the Northwest Steelheaders
Association, a group that advocates for the pro-
tection and enhancement of rivers and streams.
He also goes fishing in Alaska once or twice a
year, trips that are evidenced by the photos and
paintings that decorate the walls of his office.
But, he notes, he always comes back home
to an office just a few miles away from the spot
where he grew up.
“I’m kind of a local yocal,” Domenico joked.
“I haven’t really gone too far from home.”
Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC
2423 Galena Avenue, Simi Vaklley, CA 93065 • (805) 306-3400 Member NASD
6641 SE Lake Road Milwaukie, OR 97222
Bus: 503-653-0120 Fax: 503-653-0122
Specializing in Auto, Home, Commercial, Life, Boats, R.V.'s, Financial Services
JOE DOMENICO AGENCY
Established in 1967, the Joe Domenico Agency, is a multi-line
insurance agency, providing personalized insurance coverage for
families and businesses in Milwaukie & Portland Oregon. We
represent some of the finest insurance carriers in the nation
joedomenicoagency.com
Insurance & Financial Agent
407654.070313 CRMIB
Joe Domenico
Milwaukie Farmers Insurance Group
Awards and Personalized Gifts
Laserwerks
15717 McLoughlin
Boulevard
Milwaukie, OR
Laserwerksonline.com
503-344-4476
423736.070313 CRMIB
Don Svela has been involved in businesses in
Clackamas County for over forty years, and in
2004 started Laserwerks to provide custom en-
graving of high quality products. His company
is committed to customer service excellence,
and is a member of the International Awards
and Recognition Association and has achieved
the designation of Certified Recognition Spe-
cialist. Training for this certification involves
coursework in manufacture and distribution
of sales awards and recognition goods and ser-
vices. Don participates in the North Clackamas
Chamber of Commerce, Oregon City Chamber
of Commerce, the Gladstone Business owners
and Managers group, and the Lake Oswego
Chamber of Commerce. He is also active as
an officer of the Clackamas Sunrisers Kiwanis
Club and as a member of the Board of Portland
Opera Guild.
Don says, ‘Thanking others for their help,
their business, and their loyalty is an impor-
tant part of any business, and for Laserwerks,
it IS our business. We are dedicated to provid-
ing you with the tools you need to capture im-
portant moments. We produce and customize
awards for employees, customers, teams and
groups, as well as create and support recogni-
tion and incentive programs. We’re here to help
you to tell others how much they mean to you
through awards, personalized gifts, trophies and
more. Each product we offer has YOU written
on it, even if the names we engrave are those of
the recipients.’
For more information about Laserwerks and
our creative products and services, visit our
showroom at 15717 S.E. McLoughlin Blvd. in
Milwaukie, contact us at (503) 344-4476 or
check out the company’s website at www.laser-
werksonline.com.
Don Svela
Laserwerks
423743.070313 CRMIB