She enjoys being able to walk to lunch and seeing friends on the street.
Those are two of the reasons transplanted Californian Donna M. Christopher is happy her State Farm Insurance office is located in downtown Johnstown. She wants to stay downtown, but she also needs a larger location.
Donna’s 900 square-foot office, where she oversees three employees, is located at 239 Main St. across from the library. Her office is in a multi-use building that formerly housed the state Department of Public Welfare.
"It’s wonderful to be able to walk around downtown,” Donna said. “Being downtown you can be involved in so many things.”
Her background with State Farm dates back 14 years. She’s been in the insurance industry a total of 22 years.
In December 1992 she received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Chico (Calif.) State University.
Donna’s experience with State Farm included a stint with the insurer’s Catastrophe Team in which she supervised the handling of claims in disaster areas across the country.
“I saw a lot of sad cases, a lot of good cases,” she said.
She said that being in so many places while on the Catastrophe Team has helped her realize that there is a lot to be done downtown. And she’s doing her share to improve that section of town.
Donna is involved with the Discover Downtown Johnstown Partnership, is an ambassador for the local Chamber of Commerce and is a board member of the Salvation Army. A native of California, she has lived in Western Pennsylvania since 1997 and has fallen in love with the area.
She and her husband, Jeff, and two children – Nina Marie, 6, and Drew Anthony, 3 - reside in Waterford, Westmoreland County.
In her free time, Donna likes traveling, fishing – she loves to fly fish – and camping.
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