April 20, 2026
Mark Lewis wins SFM’s top honor
Mark Lewis is SFM’s 2025 Richard J. Marshik Service Excellence Award winner.
He started as an underwriting trainee, later moving up to marketing underwriter and small business marketing rep before landing in his current role as team business leader.
He called the honor “truly a customer service award.”
“That’s the one thing I try to focus on, and it’s easy to do,” Lewis said. “All of our agencies, whether they’re large or super small, they’re all important to us. About 99% of our business comes from independent agents, so I show them respect and thank them for their business. Then when they have success, we do, as well.”
Being a monoline carrier in an aggressive market means SFM must make customer service the backbone of all its functions, he said. SFM differentiates itself through “a great model with great teams. That’s a big key to our success.”
Lewis also noted the support he has received from others during his time at SFM, including VP of Regional Business Ryan Jirak, VP of Regional Business Mark Arrington, VP of Small Business Dennis Logstrom and Sr. VP & Chief Business Officer Steve Sandilla.
“That’s what’s great at SFM. They’re not like, you’re on your own, figure it out. There are so many people who want you to be successful,” he said.
He added: “It’s an individual award, but success for me is success for others, as well,” he said. “No one at SFM works in a silo, so if one person has success, it’s always due to other folks along the way.”
