In mid-September 2017, just three months before he was scheduled to take over as president and CEO of Grinnell Mutual, Jeff Menary was bitten by a mosquito. That wouldn’t have been a big deal, except this particular mosquito was carrying West Nile virus, which he contracted. Menary spent the next eight weeks at University of Iowa Hospitals, paralyzed and for a time breathing on a ventilator. He underwent months of intensive rehabilitation therapy at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital near Denver, Colo., before returning to work — in a wheelchair — in March. Menary, who has worked for 38 years at Grinnell Mutual, was most recently executive vice president of line operations. All of the support he received in cards, letters and gifts during his long rehabilitation “really reinforced the great culture that we have here,” he said. The company’s succession plan also ensured that the company didn’t miss a beat during his recovery. The property/casualty company, which has about 820 employees, last year completed a $10 million renovation of its headquarters in Grinnell. In September, the company was recognized as a great place to work by the Des Moines Register for the eighth consecutive year.

How did this illness start out? 

I got sick and went to the hospital in Iowa City on Sept. 16 last year. I had been fighting something for a couple of days. I was down in our finished basement, so sick that I didn’t want to disturb my wife upstairs. I was so sick that I had to crawl upstairs. … It wasn’t like I was out someplace and got bit by 50 mosquitoes. I saw a couple of mosquitoes, but that was it. I don’t even remember being bit. 

How has the long recovery process affected how you lead?

I’ve learned some key lessons. It’s taken me from the viewpoint that a lot of leaders take of going it alone. This disease taught me that it’s OK to be dependent on people, because there was a point where I was totally dependent on others. Not only that, but when you need help, get the very best help possible — I went out to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Englewood, Colo. And to think not about what I lost, but what I have, because I saw some people there who would have loved to be as healthy as I am. You can have a bad day, but just be sure the next day is better. It also made me think about my legacy with this company and with my family. … If you’re not making a difference for others, isn’t that our purpose? I’m still as driven as I was before, but I think it makes me take a more holistic approach. 

Are a lot of Grinnell Mutual employees as long-tenured as you? 

We do have a fairly high percentage of people who have 20-plus years’ experience with Grinnell Mutual. … It’s a place where you’re given opportunities to learn and grow, and to do many different things. I think that’s the biggest thing, because as we want to seek new growth and opportunity, those options are here. I’ve had friends say, “How can you work at one company for 38 years now?” Well, really I’ve had so many different jobs, about every four or five years there’s been a change. 

Did you come up through the sales side of the business? 

I started as a marketing rep here. We reinsure right now about 250 county mutuals in a 16-state area. With that, I called on approximately 15 mutuals in northeast Iowa and serviced them, helped them with the management of their companies like a management consultant. I also had about 55 agents that I called on who wrote products that we underwrite. After about 10 years, I took a position as an entry-level manager. 

What have been some of the most significant milestones during your tenure? 

I think the change in outlook for the company for the future has been the most dramatic change that we’ve made. … We have always focused on outstanding customer service to our agents, our policyholders, to our member mutuals, and that’s never changed. But in the past 10 years, especially the past five, the world has been changing so fast, we’ve really looked at, how do we ensure that we remain vital and viable to our customers? 

What are some of the ways the company has accomplished that? 

When the Global Insurance Accelerator was formed in Des Moines, we were one of the seven founding companies in Des Moines that invested in that. And more than just the financial investment to help fund that, we have been very active since it was founded in providing mentors to work with these innovative companies. On top of that, we’ve invested in four of them. That’s been a win-win situation for us. … We look at things with a little different prism — how can we be more innovative, more entrepreneurial? And two years ago we invested in the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator as well. 

Also we realized with many of our legacy [information technology] systems, we’re able to make them work, but we’re not going to be able to make them work in the future. So we’re in the process of converting to a new IT structure. Because we’ve had the old system for decades and we’re a company that hasn’t faced a lot of change in that regard, we’ve also put together a continuous improvement process here, to allow us to have a higher tolerance for change. … What can we do outside of just trying to use technology to make our workflows better, to make sure everything we do adds value for our customer? Even a simple process may take eight or 12 people to get it done, but until you get them all together in a room, nobody knows exactly what the next person does. They’ve just been told how to pass it along. … It’s been amazing what some of these groups have come up with. It opens up everybody’s mind to say: Just because we’ve always done it this way doesn’t mean it’s the only way to do it. 

What contributes to the company being regularly recognized as a great workplace? 

You have to have strong relationships; we’re a relationship company. That’s built on trust, and you can’t have that trust without teamwork and open communication. We can’t change things that happen to our employees; we have to make sure we are changing things with our employees. That’s the only way it works. We do a fantastic job recruiting interns and co-ops, but one of the best advocates you have for recruiting employees or for making changes is your employee base. The same thing applies if you’re developing a new business process. It only works when the employees say, “This is a good idea.” 

What have been the benefits of the headquarters renovation?  

That was primarily looking at how do we attract younger employees and do a better job training. We just couldn’t provide the training we wanted to do here for the agents that represent us and the mutuals we reinsure and our staff. So now we have a state-of-the-art training facility and a nice cafeteria that we also use for dining when we have events, so that works out very, very well. 

What’s the outlook for your physical rehabilitation? 

I don’t know if I’ll walk again. The window of that opportunity keeps collapsing with every month that goes by. I have seen improvements.   

What keeps you going?   

Right now, between work and therapy, that’s pretty much my life. I’m in the office 32 to 35 hours a week, taking time off for therapy. I work some in the evenings and on the weekends, but I’m spending 20 hours a week working out, three of those with a professional therapist. … Swimming gives me some freedom. I visited my dad and went fishing at his pond. Not as easy as I thought it would be; the fly rod didn’t even get out. Time with family and friends is the most important thing. 

What else is on your mind? 

I’m so proud of this company and the people here — we’re focused on the right things. … It’s been an eye-opening experience to be someone with a disability, whether it’s flying in an airplane or staying in a hotel or just getting around. I have so much admiration for people who have been this way for life, because it’s not easy. Things are getting better for me, but I still sit here and say, “Man, it used to be so easy.”