"We're excited about it, and we're glad we're still here," said William H. Talley III, who has been with the company since 1950, when it was located on the seventh floor of the Community Bank Building at the corner of Sycamore and Tabb streets.

Current Chief Executive Officer William H. Talley IV said that the insurance company really owes its success to its clients who have been with the company over the years.

"We have a good staff, and good people and we have also had clients that have been with the business for four generations of Talley's," said Talley III.

The company was founded by William H. Talley Sr. who was born on July 4, 1853. The family stayed in the city throughout the Civil War and the Siege of Petersburg, and later in life Talley Sr. spoke of watching the Federal troops entering Petersburg early on the morning of April 3, 1865, after the Confederate Army's evacuation of the city.

"We're always in a state of change," Talley IV said. "We're now facing technology issues and our clients needs are changing and so is the insurance business."

Talley III explained that when the company started, the primary needs of clients were for fire, accident and wind insurance. Now, the company provides commercial, auto, liability, personal, home and life insurance.

"My son asked me many years ago hat I do and I told him that we protect people's dreams," said Talley III. "When the tornado came through in 1993, we helped file $1 million in claims. We helped put The Appliance Place back in business."

"They say that insurance is intangible, but it can be tangible when it replaces the things that were lost," said Talley III. "We're just glad to be here, the future is brightening for us, and if I were 25 years old again I'd want to go into the insurance business."

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