Shelter Insurance reopens fountain with fresh renovations
Shelter Insurance, one of Columbia’s top 10 employers, held a “celebration of the arrival of spring and the 50-year anniversary of a Columbia landmark — the Shelter Fountain,” according to Shelter’s website.
The fountain was recently renovated for its 50th birthday. Updates include a larger center basin, more water surface and more water in motion. The new fountain has 49 nozzles and approximately 38 feet of waterfalls, including a nozzle in the center basin with a 20-foot spray height. The fountain was also outfitted with energy-efficient LED lights.
“We are very proud of the fact that the Shelter Fountain has been a community landmark for nearly a half a century,” said Rick Means, Shelter president and CEO, “but in order to keep it functioning for another 50 years, these improvements are necessary.”
Shelter Insurance was created in 1946, though the company traces its origins back even further: Shelter’s first incarnation was as MFA Mutual Insurance Company, an offshoot of the Missouri Farmer’s Association, which formed in 1914. As MFA began to dabble in the oil business, resulting in the creation of MFA Oil in 1929, their finances allowed for expanded operations, like insurance. The fountain was built in the 1960s, as MFA Insurance began expansion into other states in the midwest and south.
The company cut ties with the MFA in 1981, at which point they adopted their own name and brand: Shelter Insurance. Today, Shelter is the largest non-education and non-healthcare business in Boone County; those employees make up part of Shelter’s total workforce of 3,881. Shelter owns 12 separate insurance entities, with more than $4 million in consolidated assets, according to their 2014 annual report. That report also lists more than $5.3 million in assets under management.
As for the fountain: Water’s Edge Design, of Lenexa, Kansas, won the design bid early last year; Kansas City’s Sterling Construction worked as the general contractor. The 50th anniversary celebration, which included a showcase of all new improvements and design updates of the fountain, also included live music and games. Next January, Shelter will mark its 60th anniversary.