Did
You Know?
|
A
Brief Intro Into Genevieve's Drag Racing Hobby--A
drag race is an acceleration contest from a
standing start between two vehicles over a
measured distance. The accepted standard for
that distance is either a quarter-mile (1,320
feet) or an eighth-mile (660 feet). A drag
racing event is a series of such two-vehicle,
tournament-style eliminations. The losing driver
in each race is eliminated, and the winning
drivers progress until one driver remains.
These contests are started by means of an electronic device commonly called
a Christmas Tree because of its multicolored starting lights.
Two Separate performances are monitored for each run: elapsed time and
speed. The start-to-finish clocking is the vehicle's elapsed time (e.t.),
which serves to measure performance. Speed is measured in a 66-foot "speed
trap" that ends at the finish line. Each lane is timed independently.
The first vehicle across the finish line wins, unless it runs quicker than
its dial-in (the expected speed of the specific car). A racer also may
be disqualified for leaving the starting line too soon, leaving the lane
boundary, or failing a post-run inspection. |
There's
a Drag Queen in the Lexington Office
Drag
Racing, that is...
|
Genevieve
Noble, Lexington Office |
Genevieve
Noble, the Assistant Branch Manager of the
Lexington office and the Insider recently
sat down for a conversation. We came to find
out
that Genevieve likes life in the fast lane,
literally.
When
asked what some of her hobbies were, she
started out by explaining
that she recently
traded in a sporty two-seater for an SUV because
she has a new grandchild (more on that later).
This might not sound like a big change to most
people, but Genevieve has a real love affair
with cars—and speed. She’s been
drag racing cars since 1985 and prefers a street-rod
to the dragsters (at speeds of up to 127 miles
per hour).
Lucky
for us, she believes in being safe—she’s
never had a wreck on the track and racing is
a lot safer than it was when she started. Wearing
shorts and a t-shirt is out. Wearing a helmet
and a safety harness is in. And that’s
not all that has changed since she started
racing. She’s seen attitudes toward women
change a lot as well. When she started, it
was all about the guys racing. They’d
bring their girlfriends and wives, but most
of the racing was left to the boys. The women
might race each other in a Powder Puff race,
but mostly it was about machismo. Now women
and men race equally. Not too long ago, though,
she was slated to race a man who didn’t
want to go up against a woman—he finally
did and she beat him.
"People
know me and know I'll be fair and knowledgeable." |
Like
her hobby, Genevieve likes a challenge at work, too.
That’s why she
enjoys the pace of insurance. She’s been in the
insurance field since 1983, when she started doing
workers’ comp claims for Old Republic. That’s
where she met Larry Clevenger, and they have parted
ways and rejoined forces for the third time. She then
worked for Crawford and Company before moving on to
work at KEMI (Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance).
She has earned an AIC designation from the Insurance
Institute of America and a Workers’ Compensation
Claims Law Specialist from the American Educational
Institute. She joined our Lexington office in 2002.
What exactly does her job entail? She
explained: “I
do litigation management for Kentucky—I give
lawyers direction on defense and discuss the cases
with them. I’m constantly evaluating cases to
put the claim in the best defense posture possible.
I explain what we want in terms of a settlement and
I’m constantly watching reserves to make sure
we are adequately reserved.”
“I think what’s made me successful has
been having to deal with both the Plaintiff and Defense
bar. Over the years, I’ve developed relationships
with many of the lawyers in Kentucky. They know we’re
not trying to take advantage of them and they aren’t
going to take advantage of me. People know me and know
I’ll be fair and knowledgeable.”
In addition to being the Assistant
Branch Manager, Genevieve also sits on the board
of the Kentucky Workers’ Comp
Education Association. They focus on educating adjusters.
She was recently elected the secretary and is currently
helping to put together a seminar to be held in Northern
Kentucky. She also works with Kids Chance, KY, a charity
that helps pay for the education of children whose
parents have been catastrophically injured or killed
on the job (see the January
2005 and February
2005 issues of the newsletter for more on Kids’ Chance).
If that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, she
has a 28-year-old son, a daughter-in-law (both teach
health and P.E. and live in Lexington) and a three-month
old granddaughter—and that SUV ruining her need
for speed. She’s also building a new house and
raising a new border collie puppy—also three
months old. |
