top of page

MEET OUR TEAM

Allen T. McGinniss

Agent/Member | 2-20 & 2-15 Licenses

Allen T. McGinniss

Allen was born and raised in Tallahassee, FL. He graduated from Leon High School and moved to Orlando to attend the University of Central Florida. He majored in Finance and minored in both Accounting and Economics. Allen received his BSBA from the Burnett Honors College at UCF graduating with Honors in May 2005.

 

Immediately after graduation, Allen returned to Tallahassee and began his insurance career working for a local State Farm Agency. During his 4 year State Farm Agency tenure, Allen earned his 2-15 Life & Health and General Lines 2-20 insurance licenses, as well as his Mortgage Brokers License, Series 6 Securities License. In 2008 he was accepted as a State Farm Agency Candidate.

 

In May of 2009 he opened the Tallahassee branch of VanAllen Insurance Agency with Michael. They grew and managed that office until January 2015 when they founded the McGinniss Himmel Insurance Agency.

 

Allen & Amanda have been married since 2008 (he still says it the best sale he’s ever made). They were blessed in 2014 with twin daughters, Alyssa & Audrey, and again in 2016 with Andrew. They have two dogs & two cats, Allie, Avery, Turkey, & Tippy.

 

Allen is an avid Disc Golfer and enjoys vegetable gardening and relaxing with his family and friends in his free time.

Michael D. Himmel

Agent/Member | 2-20 & 2-15 Licenses

Michael D. Himmel

Michael moved to Tallahassee, FL to attend Florida State University. He graduated from the College of Business with a degree in Risk Management/Insurance in 2006.

 

Upon graduation from Florida State, Michael went to work for a local State Farm Agency writing all lines of insurance. During his State Farm Agency tenure, Michael earned his 2-15 Life & Health and General Lines 2-20 insurance licenses, as well as his Mortgage Brokers License, Series 6 Securities License. Michael was a Financial Services Representative and Office Manager until 2009.

 

In May of 2009 he opened the Tallahassee branch of VanAllen Insurance Agency with Allen. They grew and managed that office until January 2015 when they founded the McGinniss Himmel Insurance Agency.

 

Michael is a sports enthusiast and enjoys the outdoors during his free time. He has been an avid supporter of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and has been a mentor since 2010.

David W. Bentley

Agent/Member | 2-20 & 2-15 Licenses

David W. Bentley

David, formerly a Georgia native, relocated to Florida to attend Florida Southern College in 2007. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree as well as a Master in Business Administration from Florida Southern. Upon graduation, David headed north to Tallahassee to be closer to his family and to be able to actually enjoy four seasons out of the year.

 

During his time in college, David began his insurance journey working for GEICO and acquired his 4-40 CSR license. His 5 year stay with GEICO allowed him to gain valuable knowledge of the insurance industry that helped build the foundation of his insurance career.

 

In 2015, David joined the McGinniss Himmel team earning his 2-15 Life & Health and General Lines 2-20 insurance licenses. In 2019, David became a Member of the McGinniss Himmel Insurance Agency. 

 

David enjoys the outdoors during his free time and looks forward to hunting season. He will always support his Georgia Bulldogs but has grown to love Florida State.

Kira L. Meiners

4-40 Licensed CSR

Kira L. Meiners

Kira moved to Tallahassee, FL in 1986 with her parents from Orange Park, FL.  She is a graduate of Leon High School, and in October 2005 started working for a local State Farm Agency. During her tenure at the State Farm Agency, Kira built a long time friendship with Allen as well as earned her 4-40 Customer Service Insurance license.

 

Kira’s upbeat personality, 8+ years of insurance agency experience, and ability to make everyone smile, made her the perfect fit to join Michael and Allen (again) at the VanAllen Tallahassee office in January 2011.

 

During Kira’s free time, she loves to cook, watch movies and spend time with her friends, family and her adorable bassett hound Jessie.  

Kelly Cason

2-20 & 2-15 Licensed Agent

Kelly Cason

Kelly grew up in Northern Virginia before moving to Tampa to begin working in the financial services industry. She came to Tallahassee in 1995, and while raising her kids began volunteering with the schools and local non-profit organizations.

 

She spent 5 years working with YoungLives, coordinating volunteers as well as working with local businesses and churches to organize donations.

 

Kelly began her insurance career spending 3 years at a local State Farm agent. She was the office manager as well as earned the 2-20 General lines and 2-15 Life and Health license. Joining McGinniss Himmel in 2016, she started as Agent and has promoted to the Director of our in house Claims Liaison program. She is also our Renewal Manager where she monitors clients renewals to ensure rates are appropriate and our clients loyalty isn’t being taken for granted by the insurance carriers we represent. 

 

In her spare time, Kelly enjoys being outdoors, spending time at the gym and cooking. She has two dogs, who are considered the youngest of her children, to keep her busy. Her basic outlook on life is simply to do what you can to help others.

Larry Roberts

2-20 & 2-15 Licensed Agent

Larry Roberts

Larry joined our team in 2017 and brought 4 years of State Farm agency experience. He has quickly become a top agent. Larry is a coach at heart and it shows when he helps people navigate the world of insurance. His ability to understand the needs of his clients and then give individual, experienced guidance is only second to his drive to take care of his clients and the people he talks to.

Corwin Barnes

2-20 Licensed Agent

Corwin Barnes

A graduate of Northwestern State University in Louisiana, Corwin relocated to Tallahassee in 2014.  After promoting through the ranks and becoming assistant manager of a furniture store, he realized he loved working directly with customers. He studied for and passed the 2-20 insurance license in about 1/3rd the time of a typical experienced agent – with ZERO insurance background. Joining the McGinniss Himmel team in 2018, he’s quickly shown the ability to understand the needs of the clients he works with, and already knows how to help them get the best insurance value for their situation.

Tara Schroeder-Ray

4-40 Licensed Agent

Tara Schroeder-Ray

Tara Schroeder-Ray joined our team in 2019. She is a fearless agent who is passionate about making your insurance experience a little less daunting than expected. Having worked in mortgage lending previously, this economics grad brings a real-world common sense coupled with a sparkling personality to the team. When she isn’t searching for discounts or defending your policy, you’ll find Tara playing outside with her young children, searching for fantastic flamingo memorabilia or binge-watching Netflix documentaries.

Grace Santos

2-20 & 2-15 Licensed Agent, FL Notary

Grace Santos

Grace joined our team in 2020. She was most recently an office manager at a State Farm agency and has been in the insurance industry since early 2016. Grace graduated from Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina. During her time at SMC, she studied theatre. After graduating, Grace moved to Tallahassee.


During her free time she enjoys cooking, doing yoga, dancing, traveling and going to the beach. She loves helping others strive for their best!

Katherine Whittington

2-20 & 2-15 Licensed Agent

Katherine Whittington

Katherine is a Florida native who grew up in Central Florida and moved to Tallahassee in 2020 with her husband Glenn and 2 boys, William and Jasper.  Katherine is no strange to the insurance industry, in early 2002 she began her insurance career as a receptionist.  She quickly realized how much she enjoyed insurance and wasting no time, she applied for her 4-40 Customer Service Representative license in September that same year.  Katherine later advanced her insurance career again by applying for the 2-15 Life, Health, and Var Annuity license.  In February 2017, Katherine took one more step and applied for her 2-20 General Lines Agent license.  With her 18 + years of both customer service and insurance experience Katherine is a great find we have added to the fantastic team at McGinniss Himmel Insurance Agency!


In Katherine’s spare time she loves to bake, reading a good book, going on family adventures, and building her public speaking & leadership skills with Toastmasters International.

Josh Blomeley

2-20 & 2-15 Licensed Agent

Josh Blomeley

Born and raised here in Tallahassee, Josh is a graduate of Florida State University where he studied Political Science and Business/Entrepreneurship. Josh started his insurance career as a 4-40 Licensed account manager with a State Farm agency. Later, he gained independent agency experience with Southern Financial Insurance Group.


Josh earned his 2-15 Life & Health License in 2017 and his 2-20 Property & Casualty License in 2019. He enjoys focusing on residential insurance and loves being able to give guidance about which carrier and coverages match a family’s specific goals and situation.


Passionate about serving his community, Josh loves building relationships and setting a standard of trust and professionalism within the industry. Outside the office he enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends & family.

Taylor N Johnson

4-40 Licensed Agent

Taylor N Johnson

Taylor has been a Tallahassee local since 1998 when her Family moved from Freeport, IL to Tallahassee. She is a graduate of Chiles High School and Florida International University where she graduated Cum Laude in 2019 with a degree in Marketing. Taylor embarked on her insurance career with the Florida Association of Insurance Agents and in 2019, earned her 4-40 Customer Service Insurance license. 

 

In 2020, Taylor took a break from the insurance world and spent a year in Daejeon, South Korea to teach English. She returned in late 2021 ready to continue her career in the insurance industry.

 

Taylor is avid tennis and hockey fan and enjoys cheering on Rafael Nadal and her beloved Chicago Blackhawks (and we don’t hold that against her…. too much). She also loves to spend time with her family and two dogs, Eddi and Misti, and puppy-nieces Mila and Lilo.


Cristian Aguilar

4-40 Licensed Agent

Cristian Aguilar

Cristian started his insurance career in Destin Florida in 2017. He has lived in Tallahassee since 2018.  Fluent in English & Spanish, he loves taking the stress out of the insurance portion of the home buying process. In his spare time he enjoys weight lifting, yard work, wallyball, and spending time with his significant other, Bailey and their fur baby Bronco.

bottom of page