Paul Mikkelson grew up in Hartford, spent some time in Tampa, Florida and now lives in Simsbury, Connecticut with his wife, Ann. Paul and Annie have a son, David who works for the Travelers and is married to Jen, a pharmacist. Their daughter Liz is a consultant who works with women entrepreneurs and is married to Mark, who also works for the Travelers.
As an undergraduate at University of Connecticut, Paul was a marketing major. He earned his Masters in Business Administration at the University of Hartford. Early in his career Paul worked as an Employee Benefits Consultant for CIGNA. Later he became President of Dill, Joyce & Thresher Insurance, working with twenty-eight non-profit organizations. Paul is retired now, but still volunteers and serves as a board member with several of them. He is both a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).
Before becoming an Avon-Canton Rotarian, Paul was with the Hartford Rotary, serving as President in 1997-1998 and overseeing its first year golf tournament and Halloween Party. With Avon-Canton, Paul co-chairs the Community Service Committee and has been a key player in the club’s FAVARH initiative. Other organizations where he has made a significant contribution include the Avon Chamber of Commerce (Past President), the Simsbury Chamber of Commerce (past Board member), the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, St. Mary’s Church, and Valley Cycling.
Paul is physically active and enjoys cycling, skiing, golfing and hiking with Annie. A year and a half ago, Paul had his bladder, prostate and seven lymph nodes removed because of bladder cancer. “With the help of my Rotary friends, I was back to a normal life and riding my bike two months after surgery! Fantastic!” Lastly, Paul shares that he enjoys “going to church - love God and love one another - this is the message, this is what we need”.