By Kristine Jacobson 

Principal Financial Group has a "rock solid past" with a legendary team who built a successful business. It also has an exciting future of protecting families and businesses and helping them grow their assets.

The legendary team started when Carl Hendrickson first opened a Principal office (now the oldest in the state) on July 1, 1925. He first worked from home and then in an office at the First National Bank. He moved the office to its current location at 415 East Avenue in 1948.

Later, Carl's son, Bruce, joined his father. Then Tom Carlson (current candidate for Nebraska governor) joined Principal. They worked to create one of the highest-respected Principal offices in the nation.

Dave Hunt, current Principal Financial Services Representative, said the Holdrege office is nationally recognized as one of the best offices.

"They are legends with Principal," Dave said of the Hendricksons and Tom Carlson. "People still talk about what they did."

Bruce said his dad was the nation's leader in insurance sales in 1944.

That tradition of excellence now carries on with Principal's current team of:

• Sheila Tringe, who has worked at Principal for 20 years;
• Dave Hunt, who was hand-picked by Tom Carlson to take his place in 2008 when he became a state senator;
• Grant Erickson, a 2004 Holdrege High School graduate, who has worked at Principal for three years;
• Josh Murdoch, a 2007 Southern Valley graduate, who has worked with Principal for two years.

In 2012, all four of the current local Principal Financial Service Representatives earned a spot in Principal's Premier Club for high-volume sales.

"For a town of 5,000, that's unheard of," Dave said. "No one else did that."

Their key to success is promoting a relationship-based business that focuses on listening to clients and for the most part, avoiding cold-calls. Their clients are earned mainly through word of mouth.

Dave said that Principal Financial started in 1879 in Des Moines, Iowa, and is still a Midwest-based company with strong Midwest values.

"Principal is the largest 401k provider in the United States," Dave said. The company is known nationally for its investments and retirement planning. However, Hunt said, in the Holdrege office there is more business with life, disability and long-term care insurance.

Each member of the current Principal team has a different niche, and they capitalize on each other's talents to provide the best services for their clients.

Grant, who has a degree in business administration and finance from UNL, said his background is in investments.

"Principal has great investment products," he said, including plans to help with college funding, retirement planning and retirement income distribution planning.

"I do enjoy meeting with clients and getting to know them on a deeper level," Grant said. He also admits that he loves the analytical side of the business and working with numbers.

While Principal has great products, Dave said their clients are not limited to Principal products because they are a part of the Preferred Provider Network, which allows them to research a field of 200 different plans to find the best one for their clients.

Josh graduated from Hastings College with a degree in Business Administration. He grew up on a cattle farm down the road from Dave Hunt's family's cattle business.

Josh said he originally intended to enter the medical field but decided to help people through financial planning and risk management instead.

Dave and Josh focus a lot of their business on risk protection. They have many farmer clients and work through the Nebraska Cattlemen's Association to serve farmers with insurance needs and farm transition planning.

 "I knew there was a real need for transition planning for farms and ranches," Dave said. "Now, I'm passionate about helping people find solutions for their financial needs."

Sheila Tringe has been with Principal for 20 years, taking over Bruce Hendrickson's clients when he retired. She offers clients a broad range of products.

The Principal team mainly serves people in Phelps County, but they do have clients all over the state and the country.

Their team also includes two administrative assistants, Jan Harrold, who has been with the business for 27 years; and Tari Brayton, who has worked in the office for 13 years.