See Insight: A Salute to our community’s workforce Inside the March 29 paper

Billy Lockamy lives by his strong belief that “hard work won’t kill you,” and he’s coupled that work ethic with a love of helping people to build a family-run insurance business in Sampson County, one that, after 30 years, is still going strong.

The 76-year-old Lockamy credits the success at Lockamy-Tek Insurance to a “great, hard-working staff, a loyal customer base and his own desire to put people first, day in and day out.”

And, even though he’s trying to “back off” a little from the day-in and day-out grind of a 40-plus hour work week, one can still find Lockamy at his desk or handling some aspect of the insurance business about four days out of five.

He can do that because of daughter Cheryl Lockamy Blackman, who joined the business about eight years ago, and the rest of that loyal staff he talks about with great pride, most of whom have been with him 15, 20 or 30 years, a testament to the support he gives them and the love they share with him for their customers.

Together they have grown Lockamy Tek into one of Sampson’s insurance behemoths, buying and combining, over the course of those 30 years, six other area insurance agencies.

Lockamy credits the growth, again, to hard work and loyalty, and he is quick to thank his customers for sticking with him over the years.

“I am a very blessed man,” Lockamy said. “So many people have been there along the way to provide the opportunity to fulfill my dreams. I have loyal employees and loyal customers. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them both; I hope they see me just as loyal to them as I think they have been to me.”

On a sunny March mornng, he is behind his desk at the U.S. 701 company, on the phone talking to a customer just before sitting down for the interview. He listens intently to the person on the other end of the line, laughs and then jots down a few notes. He ends the call with a thank you and a “we’ll be glad to help you out.”

“This is the part I love the most,” Lockamy said, nodding his head toward the phone to reference the customer he’d just talked to. “Dealing with people, trying my best to help them, that’s what it’s all about.”

Lockamy’s been helping people with their insurance needs for 43 years. He began his career at Farm Bureau in 1982, working there, on and off, for around 12 years. Then, in 1995, he and several investors opened Lockamy-Tek. Today, he is the 100 percent owner, with daughter Cheryl now working beside him, the second generation, he pointed out, that will keep moving the company forward. “Who knows,” he said with a wink, “there might even be a third generation.”

Affable and attentive, Lockamy leans back in his chair and surveys his office as he recalls the road he has traveled to get to this stage of life, a road, he said, that was filled with love, laughter and, of course, much hard work.

Like so many in Sampson County, Lockamy was raised on the farm, one of two sons born to Fulton and Elizabeth Carr Lockamy. Living in the Halls Township, in the Keener area, the young Lockamy attended Halls and Hobbton schools, graduating from Hobbton High School.

He grew up, he said, helping with everything from row crops to tobacco, vegetables, corn and soybeans.

“It’s where I got my work ethic,” he attested, adding with a smile, “it’s also how I know hard work won’t kill you.”

Surrounded by N.C. State Wolfpack memorabilia, it is clear where Lockamy’s ACC allegiance lies, brought on, he said, by a two-year stint at the university where he earned his associate degree in agriculture.

He taught school a little while after graduating, then joined the National Guard. His six years in the Guard included six months active duty.

A farmer at heart, Lockamy began raising poultry for Tyson Farms, something he has done for 50 years. Coupled with that is 30 years of being a hog producer for Prestage Farms.

“You might say I know farming pretty good,” he attested with a knowing laugh.

But insurance kept tugging at his heart, perhaps because, he said, the love of sales has always been in his blood. “Look, my ancestors, my cousins, they enjoyed selling. They loved dealing with people, and so do I.”

It’s why the insurance business has, in many ways, been the perfect fit — there’s the sales side and, of course, the far greater people side.

That people side has also been the catalyst for Lockamy’s desire to serve his community, both as a volunteer firefighter and as a member of the Sampson County Board of Commissioners. He was a Halls firefighter for 21 years and an elected commissioner for eight, four of them as chairman.

Both were, he said, very fulfilling.

“I really did enjoy my time as a commissioner. It opened many doors for me, and, at the same time, it allowed me to help people in a different way.”

Throughout his eight-year tenure as a commissioner (he served 2008-2016), Lockamy said his eyes got opened to things he really hadn’t understood before. “I can tell you, it’s a lot different when you sit behind that podium, a lot different than being on the other side. You have an entire county to look after, a whole lot of employees.

“It’s like throwing a rock on a lake, there’s the ripple effect. The decisions you make, they have to be well thought out, you have to look at it from every angle, seeing the impact it will have on the entire county. It’s eye-opening for sure.”

During his tenure on the board, Lockamy said he believed the county was going in a very positive direction. “I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish.”

But, he added quickly, there’s “a time to go in and a time to go out. I’m glad I recognized when my time to go out was. That’s as important as anything — to know when it’s time to let someone else, with fresh ideas, come in.”

As fulfilling as the commissioner’s role was to Lockamy, it still never rose to the level of passion he has for the insurance business. “It’s always been far more than a job,” Lockamy said.

When Blackmon joined her father at Lockamy Tek, it added the exclamation point to a profession he has always loved.

“Cheryl is very, very knowledgeable. She’s actually always loved this business,” Lockamy attested. Even though Blackman’s education put her in the radiology field to begin with, insurance came calling.

His other daughter, Billie Lockamy Bass is in home health care and, like her dad and sister, shares a great love for people. Both still live in Sampson.

But it was Blackman who chose to follow her dad into the insurance business. “It takes a special person to work with people, have a knowledge of insurance and be able to fit the person with the right policy. We are always about helping the people first; Cheryl is just as much about helping customers as I am. She understands this business, knows how to work with people and does a really, really good job.”

With Blackman and his long-time staff at the ready, Lockamy said it has been easier for him to begin weaning himself off the day-to-day activity, allowing him and wife Kim time to get out and see a little bit of the world.

He often does that on the back of his Harley, where, he said, you get to see the country from a far different perspective.

“We just got back from Bike Week,” he said. “We love being on the motorcyles. It’s a wonderful way to travel.”

They’ve been cross country six times, including traveling to Key West, South Dakota, Illnois and Kansas, just to a name a few of the many, many places they’ve been to in the last few years.

“The scenery is so beautiful. Riding a motorcycle is a wonderful way to see the country. You can really, really see it, and experience it that way,” Lockamy said.

When he’s not on that Harley, Lockamy enjoys spending time at Surf City, where listening to the blues or dancing to those favorite shag tunes brings him peace and time to breathe.

“It’s important to work hard, but it’s important to take time for yourself, too. As I’ve gotten older, I realize that more and more. “

But as much as he enjoys the down time, Lockamy can’t quite see himself not being involved in the insurance business.

“Time off is good, but I want to be here, too. I still love this,” he said. “I honestly believe I’ll be working some as long as I’m able.”

It is his love for the business and his deep concern for dealing squarely with people, helping them as much as he can, that Lockamy hopes people will think about when they think of him, Lockamy Tek and his years of public service.

“I hope when they think of me, words like fair, honest and just always come to mind. That’s what I’ve always tried to be in every aspect of my life. I hope they see me as someone who has always been willing to help.”