Family, friends, and more turned out in force Tuesday afternoon to help Kate Berry cut a ribbon celebrating the opening of her business downtown as a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual (NM).

“It was awesome,” Berry said of the event, which was coordinated by the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce where Berry is a member.

Berry, 25, is a Brooklyn native, where her father is a first-generation farmer. Farming is and will continue to be in her blood.

Currently, she and her partner Kaleb Bidwell live on a farm near Tama. In a telephone interview with the Times-Republican Wednesday, Berry said she worked aggressively as an agent at Northwestern Mutual’s Cedar Rapids office two years before being given the opportunity to take over the Marshalltown office.

The office has been managed for many years by veteran agents Gordon Leth and Jeff Krough.

The two will retire at the end of the year, Berry said, and she will be buying their “book of business.”

Leth will work out of the office at 14 E. Main St. with Berry until then.

“Working at the Cedar Rapids office was an amazing experience, high level financial learning opportunities, training, and significant personal growth … it is where I started my business,” she said.

A desire to help those in farming and agribusiness develop a strong financial foundation was a primary motivator in entering the competitive field of selling insurance and a variety of investment options ranging from bonds, certificates of deposits, mutual funds and more.

She selected Northwestern Mutual because of its long history and stability.

“The company was founded in 1857 and has never been bought out,” she said.

It is a Fortune 500 business headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisc. and currently has earned the highest available financial strength rating award to U.S. life insurers from all four major rating services according to its website. It is expected to pay out $92 billion in dividends this year.

Berry graduated from Iowa State University at age 20, having studied communications and finance. She worked in a Brooklyn law office and attended law school for one year before pursuing her current career.

“I realized law school was not for me,” she said. “I wanted to be out meeting with people and helping them attain financial stability.”

When not working, Berry said she enjoys helping her father on his farm and Kaleb’s. She also enjoys fishing and hunting.

Fittingly, she has a deer head trophy mounted on her office wall. For more information, contact Berry at 319-739-3028 or kaityberry.nm.com or kaity.berry@nm.com.