2018 Newsmakers: Laura Coalter Parker

Coalter Insurance Group has been located in the Old Town Cape District since it first opened its doors in 1985; Laura Coalter Parker has been working in the family business for the past 13 years and took over the business as president and partner after her father passed away six years ago. As the business grew and the building got older, she wanted to remain true to her father�s love for the area. Her family decided to stay at the location and remodel the building, rather than build a new one in a different area.

The building was completely gutted, down to the studs. It now has new ceilings, roof, interior, exterior, H-VAC and plumbing. Coalter Parker says she hopes this renovation will �light a spark� for other businesses to follow, renovating in historic areas of Cape Girardeau rather than moving to other locations.

�As we move into the future, everybody likes bright, new and shiny,� Coalter Parker says of why it was important for her to stay at her business�s original location. �There�s so much history, and you can take the oldest property and make it the most beautiful.�

Beyond the walls of her business, Coalter Parker is a sorority advisor at Southeast Missouri State University, member of Cape West Rotary and involved in Cape Chamber of Commerce. She says she shares her father�s passion to serve, as well as his love for the community, and that she and her team continue to look for ways to give back to it.

Coalter Parker says she carries on her family�s legacy to invest in the community at Coalter Insurance Group through treating clients as a relationship, not a sale, and living out the values her father instilled in her, including hard work, compassion and putting others first.

�I have had no interest in not being locally owned and operated,� Coalter Parker says. �That�s actually what drives me. It�s what keeps me going, because I love owning our own business here in the heart of Southeast Missouri.�