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With a grandfather who lived with polio, Claxton is passionate about the work of the Rotary Club and has been active in the local chapter since moving to town. She has served in connection with The Imagination Library, the Habitat Ball, the Bedford County Election Commission, the local Chamber of Commerce board, the Shelbyville Women\u2019s Club, and chairman of United Way Bedford County. While her children were in school, she was happy to participate in everything happening in their schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking care of her community is at the heart of everything she does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said, \u201cI really enjoy helping people get what they need at a price point that they need, but more than a price point, what they need if something actually happens, especially with life insurance. It\u2019s an act of love to help your family in the future. But I never want anybody to leave my office without understanding what [insurance coverage] they\u2019ve got. Everybody\u2019s different. There\u2019s no one-size-fits-all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An avid reader, Claxton added a Little Free Library lending box outside her office during COVID, and it remains today for any who want to take or leave books for others to read. It\u2019s on the Little Free Library World Map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had a lot of books I needed to get rid of, and I thought since nobody could go to the library during COVID, they could use them. There are books for adults and children in it. It\u2019s not to get folks to do business with me but to help the community,\u201d Claxton said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Being married to someone who also works in sales makes life easier. Her husband, Donnie, is a building materials sales representative, so they understand the need to be available to customers outside the average 9-to-5 jobs. Still, they are able to balance work with quality time together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe usually both take our stuff with us most of the time. We will leave everything\u00a0at home every now and then, but it\u2019s hard because, in my business, people need things immediately. As long as my assistant, Susie Emery, is there, she can help them or email me,\u201d said Maleah. \u201cAnd at the end of the night, if I\u2019m on vacation, I\u2019ll sit down and see the emails that need immediate attention. But I\u2019ve gotten lots of phone calls when I\u2019ve been on vacation, when things have happened. People apologize for bothering me, but I tell them it\u2019s no bother. This is what I signed up for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be surprised to find Maleah at Heritage Jewelers on the square in Shelbyville. Her love of jewelry pairs with her salesmanship, and she is in her element. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will go up there and meet customers and help the owner, Linda Brown, on holidays or during events, and on the weekends for fun. Because I\u2019m a jewelry lover, it\u2019s good for both of us. I\u2019m a salesperson who likes jewelry, and she needs help. It\u2019s great because I get to see and know different people. Sometimes husbands will text me for ideas for gifts for their wives, and I\u2019ll remember they liked my ring, and that automatically gives me an idea of what they\u2019d like. I don\u2019t have a whole lot of hobbies. I\u2019m not a golfer; my husband\u2019s a golfer. I read, and I like to work and do community service. I guess that is my hobby,\u201d Maleah said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding a way to connect with the community through every aspect of her life brings local small-business life full circle. GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SOME CAREERS begin with a dream or a plan, but Maleah Claxton\u2019s insurance career began, she said, as sheer dumb luck after moving to a new town and needing a job. A Shelter Insurance office hired her part time to answer the phones and file, but one month later, she was told it wasn\u2019t working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/DSC_4438-1012x1024.jpg\")