Article: Fundraising Effort Prompts Turmoil at State Farm Insurance.(Originated from Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.)

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Jun. 3--Former State Farm Insurance agent Verne Walton represented a thorn in the company's side for so long that he figured he eventually would be plucked from the sales force and discarded by management. He just never imagined that a fund-raising drive to construct a new arts building at a small Nebraska college would be his downfall.

"I expected to be hit with an ounce of lead between the eyes some day," said Walton, whose San Jose office ranked among State Farm's most successful offices until his May 1 firing ended a 30-year relationship with the company. "I just resent the sleazy, tawdry way that they did it."

Walton, 56, ...

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