Professional Career

Howard began his insurance career in 1991 with CUNA Mutual Insurance Group, where he specialized in Property and Casualty insurance and served the Texas Instruments Credit Union in Richardson, Texas. He went on to work in group insurance sales with Foster Benefit Resources from 1993 to 1996, primarily representing Travelers Insurance Group and helping brokers navigate the transition from Travelers to Metra Health and ultimately UnitedHealthcare.

​

From 1996 to 1999, Howard served as a Group Sales Representative with Associated Group Brokerage. There, he developed and maintained insurance broker relationships, helped streamline sales through new technologies, and focused primarily on new group business with Aetna.

In December 1999, Howard founded The General Agency, where he continues to serve as Owner and General Agent. Over the years, he has hired, trained, and supervised staff; developed sales and marketing strategies; built long-standing relationships with clients and insurance carriers; and served as a general agent for multiple carriers, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

Howard holds the Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) designation, along with Group 1 Life and Health and Property and Casualty licenses. His professional accomplishments include the Leading Producer Award (LPRT) and the DAHU MVP Award.

​

​

Service to the Insurance Industry

​

Howard has also been actively involved in professional associations. With the Dallas Association of Health Underwriters (DAHU), now associated with the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP), he has served as membership chair, photographer, and marketing chair. He has also served as membership chair for the Fort Worth Association of Health Underwriters (FWAHU).

His involvement reflects an interest that extends beyond selling insurance. Howard has consistently focused on education, professional relationships, marketing, and helping insurance professionals better understand and communicate the products they offer.

​

​

Military Service and MAST

​

Before building his career in insurance, Howard served his country in the United States Army from 1983 through 1997, attaining the rank of Sergeant. During eight years of active duty, he served as a flight medic with an air ambulance unit at Fort Lewis, Washington.

At Fort Lewis, Howard participated in the Army's Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic program, better known as MAST. The program has an important place in the history of modern emergency medical transportation.

​

MAST began in 1970 as an interagency test involving the Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, and Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Its purpose was to determine whether military helicopters and trained medical personnel could be used to rapidly transport critically injured civilians, particularly victims of serious highway accidents and emergencies in rural or isolated areas. Fort Lewis was selected as one of the original Army test locations, along with Fort Sam Houston and Fort Carson.

​

The concept was significant because military aeromedical crews could bring capabilities developed for battlefield medicine directly into civilian emergency care. MAST crews operated in coordination with local emergency services and medical facilities, providing rapid air evacuation when speed could make the difference between life and death. The initial test proved successful, and federal legislation subsequently established permanent authority for the military's role in the program.

​

Howard's experience was not simply administrative or observational. As a flight medic, he was part of the medical crew responsible for providing care and transporting critically injured patients. During his active-duty service, he flew 682 successful missions, with only one accident, working with the Washington State Patrol to transport critically injured patients to medical facilities.

​

That experience provided Howard with an early education in teamwork, accountability, decision-making under pressure, and the importance of remaining calm when circumstances are anything but routine.

​

Following his active-duty service, Howard continued serving in the Army Reserve as the senior medic assigned to the 980th Engineer Battalion in Seagoville, Texas.

​

His military accomplishments include the Expert Field Medical Badge, Army Aviation Wings, two Army Commendation Medals, the Army Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Overseas Medal, and Good Conduct Medal.

​

​

Beyond Insurance

​

Howard's professional interests extend into photography, graphic design, web design, electronic marketing, and social media marketing. He is a professional photographer and has used those skills to support his business and professional organizations through photography, visual communications, marketing, and digital media.

Today, Howard brings together an unusual combination of experiences: military medical service, aviation, emergency response, insurance, entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, and creative communications. His career has been built around relationships and service—first helping critically injured people reach lifesaving medical care, and later helping employers, brokers, and clients navigate the complex world of insurance.

From Army air ambulance missions at Fort Lewis to more than three decades in the insurance business, Howard's career reflects a consistent commitment to preparation, reliability, leadership, and helping people when they need it most.