Joseph W. McCartin was born and raised in the Hamden section of Baltimore City. After graduating high school, he served four years in the U.S. Coast Guard and then attended the University of Maryland, where he graduated with a BA in Business Administration in 1961.

After a series of positions in the business world, he became an agent with the Erie Insurance group and founded Joseph W. McCartin Insurance in 1967. The rapidly growing agency soon included Harford Mutual, Safeco and TransAmerica Life Companies, which we still represent today. In 1973, Joe became somewhat of a pioneer among property & casualty agents when the agency expanded to include life insurance and retirement planning.

In 1998, he proudly sold the business to his three sons, Mike, Doug and Steve. Today, they continue Joseph’s personalized approach to insurance and investments at both Joseph W. McCartin Insurance and at JW McCartin Financial Services, our investment and retirement arm.

Joe is past president of the Beltsville Rotary Club and the Silver Spring Civitan Club. He is a loyal supporter of the University of Md. and Maryland athletics and is a 40-year member of the Terrapin Club. He has also been a parishoner of St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church since moving to Silver Spring nearly 40 years ago. He and his wife Audrey, who were married in 1960, enjoy traveling, time at their Bethany Beach cottage - and especially their eight grandchildren.

Mike is very active in insurance industry trade associations, serving as a past president and board member of the Independent Insurance Agents of Maryland. He has also served on the Agent’s Advisory Council for Erie Insurance Group. As a result of his diverse industry expertise, he is often sought out as a spokesperson for radio, television, and news stories regarding matters of insurance.

In addition to his involvement in the insurance industry, Mike still maintains an active interest in the landscaping community, as well. He served as a past president and recurring board member for the Landscape Contractors Association of Maryland, DC, and Virginia and wrote a regular column for their "Groundwork" magazine.

Mike and his wife, Ann, have two daughters. In addition to his family, Mike’s passions include boating, skiing and gardening.

Steve graduated from St. Francis University in 1985 with a BS in accounting. He was a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity and served as treasurer for Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) his senior year.

Prior to joining the family business in 1991, he worked as a staff accountant in the real estate and telecommunications industries. Today he holds property, casualty, life & health licenses and splits time managing the day-to-day operations of service & sales. Steve holds a Series 7 securities license and, together with his father and company founder, Joseph, provides investment & retirement planning at J.W. McCartin Financial Services.

Steve lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife, two daughters and one son. He volunteers as Director of the Silver Spring Saints youth football program. Steve is also a member of the College Park Rotary and sits on the board of Salvation Army of Prince Georges County. Steve’s hobbies include golf, reading and trips to their Mountaintop, Pennsylvania cabin.

After graduating Northwood High School in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1984, Doug joined his brother Mike in the landscape design business. In 1993, he began his career at McCartin Insurance, obtaining his property, casualty, life and health insurance licenses. An expert in customer service, personal lines and commercial sales, Doug is particularly talented at guiding customers through the extensive maze of life and health insurance products available in today’s marketplace.

Doug lives in Centreville, Maryland with his wife and four children. He is a member of the Catholic Business Network of Montgomery County and the Queen Anne County Chamber of Commerce. In his free time he enjoys home improvement projects, crabbing and time at the beach with his family.

Danny is a 1981 graduate of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Wheaton, Maryland. After earning a degree from The Culinary Institute of America in 1986, he served for 10 years as head chef at his family’s business, Fred & Harry’s Seafood Restaurant in Silver Spring, Maryland.

In 1995, Danny yearned for a new challenge and began working at McCartin Insurance in customer support. Soon thereafter, he earned his property, casualty, life and health licenses and was ready to fill a vacancy as a customer service representative. Danny excelled at service and sales, learning the business from the ground floor. In 2004 he was promoted to commercial sales and personal lines supervisor. In 2008 became Personal/Commercial Sales.

Danny is an avid swimmer and also enjoys hunting, fishing and trips to his West Virginia cabin. He lives in Silver Spring with his daughter, Paige, and is a member in the Catholic Business Network of Prince Georges County. Danny is also a member of the Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce and the BNI/Bethesda Business roundtable, where he also serves as a visitor host.

Buddy immediately entered the insurance world after graduating from Bowie High School in 1991. He learned the business from the bottom up under the tutelage of an acutely skilled and highly successful insurance advisor, his father, Buddy Clark III. Over the next 14 years, Buddy helped his father grow their firm into a top performer and perennial award winner with Erie Insurance Group.

When Buddy ’Senior’ decided to retire and offered McCartin Insurance the opportunity to purchase his practice, we jumped at the chance. Buddy ’Junior’ spearheaded the near seamless transition of our new clients and his product knowledge and professionalism had an immediate impact. His experience & enthusiasm is a valuable resource for both clients and prospects looking for guidance in their auto, home & life insurance needs. Buddy is also working towards his CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor), which will be completed by spring 2009.

Buddy resides in Beltsville, Maryland but spent most of his childhood in Champaign, Illinois. He is a huge fan of Illinois football & basketball. His hobbies include bowling, country music and traveling.

When Jane joined McCartin Insurance in 2005, she brought a great deal of experience to her position as an account executive in our commercial lines department. Her exceptional work led to a promotion to Commercial Lines Supervisor a year later. She is licensed in property and casualty insurance and holds a Certificate in General Insurance and an Associate in Commercial Lines Underwriting. Jane has completed five of the eight required courses toward the Certified Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

Karen was born in Philadelphia and raised in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She is passionate about working with people, and has had positions as diverse as assisting in group homes for juvenile delinquents and in placing Subaru dealerships throughout the DC area. Karen was also a pioneer in taking severely and mentally challenged out of institutions and placing them in skilled nursing care. While relatively new to the insurance business, she is dedicated to applying her extensive interpersonal skills to delivering prompt and courteous customer service.

She and her husband share a love for dirt track and drag racing, especially in sprint cars, funny cars and top fuel dragsters.  Karen also enjoys reading, the theater, collecting First Day Covers and listening to rock and roll music. She’s even had the honor of meeting and talking with Smokey Robinson back stage! She is proud of her daughter, Kimberly, who is a research nurse at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. But of all Karen’s hobbies and accomplishments, nothing matches the joy she receives from spending time with her 2-year-old grandson, Tyler.

Ellen lives in Cape Saint Claire, Maryland. After graduating Elizabeth Seton High School, she attended Johnson & Wales University where she earned a degree in Pastry Arts. Her passion for baking led her to an 18-year career as a pastry chef and cake decorator.

Ellen made the switch to insurance by starting her career as a receptionist. She earned her license four years later and now handles commercial lines at McCartin Insurance. She and her husband, Peter, are active members of the Knights of Columbus in College Park.

With more than 30 years of experience in the insurance business, Deborah has extensive knowledge of the insurance industry from the perspective of both the carrier and the agent. She has worked for McCartin Insurance since 2004.

Deborah attended the University of the District of Columbia. In addition to being a licensed insurance agent in the state of Maryland, she is also a notary public. She has been married since 1974, raising two sons with a husband she describes simply as "wonderful". Her hobbies include cooking, gardening, swimming and raising exotic birds and tropical fish. She also enjoys dancing and giving decorating advice to neighbors and friends. 

Scott is originally from Salisbury, Maryland and started working for McCartin Insurance back in 2002.  He is currently the personal lines supervisor in the agency. His spends his spare time writing and composing praise and worship music. He also enjoys meteorology, computers and photography. 

Scott has been married since 2002 and he and his wife have two horses, one dog and two cats.

Francine comes from a family of seven children born and raised in Lancaster, Virginia. After graduating high school in 1979, she relocated to Baltimore where she studied business before becoming an inside sales representative in the wholesale food industry. Prior to joining McCartin Insurance, Francine also gained industry experience working for an insurance carrier. Today she is a licensed Personal Lines Insurance Representative and is working on obtaining her Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) designation.

Francine enjoys spending time with family, friends and her son, Dustin Robinson. She also likes to travel and ballroom dance.

Heather Daves was born and raised in Beltsville, Maryland. She is a High Point High School Graduate who spent much of her time involved in sports such as basketball, cheerleading, soccer and softball. In addition to graduating with a 4.0 GPA, Heather’s determination and work ethic earned her both the Girl Athlete of the Year and Ernie Welch Integrity Awards at High Point High School.

In her free time, when she’s not playing sports or hanging out with her boyfriend Stefan and cat Jinx, Heather enjoys taking trips to Ocean City.

Kara Knips was born and raised in Medford, Oregon. After attending high school in the Rogue Valley, Kara headed east. What was supposed to be a pleasurable, two-week vacation became a permanent change of scenery. 

After establishing roots on the east coast, Kara attended the University of Maryland, studying Criminal Justice and Psychology. She has held management positions with The Gap and American Eagle and is also a licensed real estate agent for Long and Foster. Kara’s hobbies include spending time with her nephews and niece-Tony, Matty and Alex. She also enjoys people watching, traveling, sports and experiencing new restaurants.