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Meet Our Insurance Agents

At Mears Insurance Group, our team made up of the best local insurance agents who care about you. No matter who you work with at Mears Insurance Group, you'll have the best experience possible!

The trust and support of our valued customers is our driving force as we strive to deliver top-notch insurance solutions. We ensure you receive the best coverage and rates while we do the heavy lifting. Unlike other agencies tied down to one company, our agency is 100% independent of any one company which helps our agents provide you with the best insurance.

Learn What Sets Us Apart

Get Familiar With The Mears Insurance Group Team

Paul

Paul D. Mears

Agency Owner/President

Paul Mears is a native of Johnson City, TN where he graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1988 and Gardner Webb University in 2012 with an MBA. Paul was elected to the Valdese, NC Town Council in 2021. He enjoys spending his leisure time hiking the Appalachian trail, playing golf, working as a humanitarian with Rotary and spending time with his wife Alicia and their six children and seven grandchildren. Paul has been a Rotarian since 1995, is a Paul Harris Fellow and a major donor and was recognized in 2018 as Rotarian of the Year in his local club. 

Meet Paul
Kelly

Kelly Bowers-Messenheimer

Associate Agent

Kelly joined the Nationwide Bowers agency back in 1993, a few years after graduating from UNC-Charlotte. She is married to Geoff and has two children, Thomas and Molly. Kelly enjoys volunteering, cooking, golfing, and traveling.

Meet Kelly
Adam

Adam Mears

Associate Agent

Adam and all of his 6′10″ frame joined our agency in 2018. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in Communications and Public Relations. Adam also has experience in social media management, marketing, and web design. Adam enjoys basketball (especially UNC), running, and playing guitar. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.

Meet Adam
Nicole Anderson

Nicole Anderson

Insurance Agent

Nicole joined our insurance team in 2021. She has been happily married for 14 years. Nicole enjoys spending time with her friends and family, traveling, and exploring new places.

Meet Nicole
Hope

Hope Barlow

Insurance Agent

Hope has been a licensed insurance agent since 2014. She joined our agency in June of 2020. She has a son and a daughter whom she loves spending time with. She enjoys woodworking and making furniture. Fun fact about Hope: She can say her ABC’s backwards.

Meet Hope
Emily

Emily Chavez-Meza

Insurance Agent
Emily is a bilingual (Spanish/English) insurance agent who got licensed in 2024. She graduated from Wilkes Early College High School in 2017. She is a proud mother of two beautiful girls, Iris and Reina. When she's not at the office, Emily enjoys spending quality time with her girls and weightlifting at the gym. She pursues her passion for beauty by offering professional eyelash extensions on the side.
Meet Emily
Shiela

Sheila Crews

Insurance Agent

Sheila has over 30 years of experience in the insurance field. She has one son, David, and enjoys playing golf and kayaking.

Meet Sheila
Amanda

Amanda Lail

Insurance Agent

Amanda graduated from East Burke High School in 2007 and has been in insurance since 2013. She has two daughters, Chloe and Maci, and enjoys hiking and watching her kids play sports. Amanda’s favorite thing to do is spend time with her family and friends. She also loves sweets and keeps her own secret snack drawer at work.

Meet Amanda
Nicole

Nicole Nickols

Insurance Agent

Nicole joined our team in February 2024. She has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. She loves spending time with her family, her fur-baby "Mary" and her three grand-corgies. Her favorite things to do are bicycling, gardening, and crafting.

Meet Nicole
Melody

Melody Poarch

Insurance Agent

Melody joined our agency in 2025. She loves teaching dance and enjoys spending time with her three children.

Meet Melody
Rebecca

Rebecca Stotts

Insurance Agent

Rebecca has nine years of experience in the insurance field. She graduated from East Burke High School in 2001. Rebecca has been married to her husband, Michael, for 15 years and they have two boys, Wyatt and Gannon. She loves the outdoors, especially going camping and fishing with her family.

Meet Rebecca
Liz

Elizabeth Vang

Insurance Agent
Elizabeth (Liz) has been a licensed insurance agent since 2004. She joined the Mears Insurance Group Team in 2020. 
She enjoys helping others and loves spending time with family and friends. 
Meet Elizabeth
Kasey

Kasey Whisnant

Insurance Agent

Kasey is a retired teacher from Burke County Public Schools, with 30 years of experience. She joined the Mears Insurance Group team in Morganton in 2024. Kasey loves spending time with her two daughters.

Meet Kasey
Carmen

Carmen Baldridge

Office Manager

Carmen graduated from Freedom High School in 1990. She is happily married and has two children. Traveling to new places is just one of her favorites things to do, along with spending time with family and friends.

Meet Carmen
Sandy

Sandra Stephens

Operations Manager

Sandy is an Education major from CCC&TI and ASU. She found out she was more geared towards business management in the 90’s and has stayed in that lane ever since. Sandy oversees the day-to-day operations of our offices. She has two children, Hannah, who is an RN in Vegas, and Adam, who is a local dentist. Sandy enjoys spending as much time as she can with family and friends, either traveling or just hanging out by the fire pit and grilling. She is also a member of the Red Fox Senior basketball team and softball team.

Meet Sandra

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