Our History

In 1947, John Pfaff opened John Pfaff & Co in downtown Independence. John had a reputation for his commitment and amazing personal service that he gave his clients and friends. As the agency grew, he took a partner: Thomas Karren. In the mid-1970’s, John’s son Tom joined the agency. John would retire in 1978, and Tom Pfaff and Tom Karren formed the newly named Pfaff-Karren Insurance. The agency moved into the brand new Central Plaza in 1980, where it’s still located today. Tom and his family are legendary supporters of both our community and Central High School sports. After 40 years in the insurance agency, Tom Pfaff decided to start his retirement process and sold the agency to Karen Frascone and Kristin Thomas.

We pride ourselves on having many 3rd and 4th generation clients, which speaks volumes to the continued commitment and personal service John Pfaff believed in.

We encourage you to stop in and say hello. As always the coffee is on and our door is open.

Our Team

Karen Frascone

Co-Owner

Karen grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Both she and her husband Joe graduated from the University of Wisconsin, then spent a year hitchhiking through Europe. They came to Oregon in 1979, and settled in Dallas. She worked for the law firm of Shetterly, Irick and Shetterly in Dallas until 1998, and became a licensed life and health insurance agent in 2000. She joined Pfaff-Karren Insurance in the fall of 2010.

In the process of building her client base in the early 2000s, Karen tried using colorful business cards and became the “lady with the purple business card.” She has been a member of the Salem Chamber of Commerce since 2001, and has served as a Chamber Ambassador. She has been appointed to the Board of the Monmouth Independence Chamber, and have assisted with fund raising for Partnerships in Community Living. Karen is one of two agents authorized to offer Sons of Norway insurance products in Oregon, and she is actively involved on the board of Thor Lodge, Salem Sons of Norway, as well as the Eugene Sons of Norway Sonja Lodge.

Karen and Joe still live in the first home they bought in Dallas in 1981. She loves to work on the yard and plant as many flowers as possible. They are passionate travelers, especially to Europe and anywhere tropical.

Kristin Thomas

Co-Owner

Kristin was raised in Polk County, graduating from Dallas High School. Before entering the insurance industry, Kristin worked for the State of Oregon. She became licensed in Life & Health and Property & Casualty in 2009, purchasing TNT Insurance Services LLC in 2014. She moved to Pfaff-Karren Insurance in June of 2016 with her assistant, Alondra Hernandez., The next year, she purchased Pfaff-Karren Insurance with her partner, Karen Frascone.

Currently, Kristin lives in Dallas, and is the mother of 5 wonderful children, and loves being a grandma as well! She is active in her community in regards to improving the access and availability for human services. As a business owner, she is involved with Polk County Community Connect, Polk County Family & Community Outreach, and personally participates in the Mid-Valley Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Toby White

Licensed Farm/Agriculture/Commercial Producer

Toby grew up in Polk county, and has worked in the farm and agriculture industry most of his life. He worked on his family’s before joining Pfaff-Karren insurance in the Fall of 2017. As a producer, with his wealth of knowledge in farm operations, equipment and risks management, he works hand in hand with all our farm and commercial clients. He lives in the Dallas area with his wife and two girls and loves the outdoors.

Jennifer Riggs

Licensed Property & Casualty CSR

Jennifer has 18 years of experience in the insurance industry. Her focus is on personal lines, where she enjoys not only helping her customers, but getting to know them in order to help with their insurance needs. Jennifer was born and raised in the South, moving to Oregon from Mississippi in 1999.

In her spare time, she is an avid baseball fan and can be found cheering on the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes all summer long. She has also been an active participant in coaching sports through Kids Inc and Pop Warner. She currently resides in Dallas with her daughter.

Juan Landeros Jr.

Executive Support Assistant

Juan Landeros Jr. is a lifelong resident of Polk County, graduating from Central High School. After high school, Juan made a career of Wildland Firefighting. In November of 2016, Juan joined Pfaff-Karren Insurance as the start of a new career, overseeing the paperless conversion of the agency files. His work ethic and dedication to learning the insurance industry has advanced Juan to be Executive Support to owner Kristin Thomas and Commercial Lines support to Toby White.

Juan is a proud father and very involved in his children’s sports, extra-curricular activities and education.

Alondra Hernandez

Executive Support Assistant & Certified Oregon Health Plan Assister

Alondra Hernandez joined Pfaff-Karren Insurance in June of 2016 as Karen Frascone’s assistant. She had become an invaluable asset to the agency in our conversion to paperless management, scheduling appointments for our customers, and administrative tasks related to enrollment. Alondra is a certified Oregon Health Plan (OHP) assister through the State of Oregon and aids customers in applying in both English and Spanish.

A native of California, Alondra lives in Monmouth with her family.

Martha Lesmeister

Licensed Insurance Producer

Martha Lesmeister joined Pfaff-karren Insurance in December 2018. She has been a Licensed Insurance Producer for 19 years, developing long-term relationships with clients at Stineff Insurance. She joined our staff during the sale of Stineff Insurance’s personal lines policies to Pfaff-Karren Insurance. Martha is a native Spanish-speaker. Her bi-lingual skills are a huge asset to our office, allowing us to more effectively serve the Spanish-speaking community.

Martha enjoys spending time with her family – reading, listening to music, and snuggling with her two dogs, Lily and Prince. She was raised in the Monmouth/Independence area and still resides here today with her husband and four kids.