Adam Tallman graduated from Gillespie High School (GHS) in 2003, earning the Michael Bertolino Memorial Scholarship. The $500 award was deposited with Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE).
Adam attended SIUE from 2003 through 2007 on a baseball scholarship. He majored in business administration with an emphasis in management, graduating in 2007 with a bachelor of science degree.
“Currently I am a business owner for Farmers Insurance Group in Gillespie, my hometown,” Adam says.
“My main job responsibility is to educate people about insurance to better prepare them to protect what matters most to them,” he explains. “Everyone sees insurance as ‘just another bill’. However, I love meeting with my clients and educating them on the value and importance of insurance.”
He is studying on an ongoing basis to further his education in a variety of insurance and investment needs.
Adam and his wife Trista (Link) married in 2008. Trista (GHS Class of 2002) also received a Partnership scholarship: The W.E. Schmidt Family Foundation award. They have a seven-year old daughter named Addisyn Kathryn and a three-year old son named Jaxon Kenneth.
“Outside of work I enjoy cooking, golfing, fishing with my daughter, playing superheroes with my son, and being with friends and family,” he says. “I also enjoy being a volunteer coach for GHS as well as my daughter’s team.”
“My plans for the future are to spend as much time with my kids as I possibly can. Seeing them grow and being the best dad I can be, in my eyes, is the kind of future I am looking forward to,” Adam says. “When I was young, my parents were very involved with all my extracurricular activities, and I plan to do the same with my kids.”
Reflecting on the importance of his university education and scholarship, Adam notes: “My scholarship from The Partnership helped me pay for books and other tuition-related expenses at SIUE. The Partnership, along with my baseball scholarship, helped me leave college without student loans or debt. This was a huge financial advantage, and I am grateful to The Partnership for helping get started debt-free – on the right foot.”
Adam has made the remarkable decision “to pay this gift forward to another GHS graduate by funding a named scholarship through The Partnership.” This tuition scholarship will be awarded for the first time in May 2018 to a graduate of GHS.
Adam is the son of Dennis and Sandy Tallman of Gillespie.