Geico greeted warmly with ribbon cutting in Lynbrook

Five months to the day of opening its field office in Lynbrook, Geico made it official with a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting on Aug. 10. The event had much fanfare as residents, elected officials and members of the Chamber of Commerce came to show their support for the business, which included the ceremonial ribbon cutting.

The Lynbrook office, owned by Geico agent Melissa Matassa at 475 Sunrise Highway, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7  p.m. and every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. One Saturday per month, the Geico gecko can be seen frolicking outside the facility. The business offers home, auto, renters, condominium, boat and motorcycle insurances, and also has policies for identity theft and jewelry. Geico is the largest auto insurer in New York state, and Matassa’s business is licensed to sell exclusive Geico products.

Notable attendees at the grand opening included Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach, County Legislator Bill Gaylor and — naturally — the Geico gecko.

“The support from the local community of Lynbrook along with Nassau County Executive Laura Curran is appreciated,” Matassa said. “As the agency owner of the Geico local office, the ribbon cutting made us official in the Village of Lynbrook.”

The Geico office opened its doors for the first time on March 10 after several delays brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Before owning her store, Matassa worked at Geico for 33 years and had several roles, including being part of the management team and supervising sales and service departments, and she also has experience in human resources. She had to apply to open her own business and went through a rigorous interview process before being approved to bring a Geico office to Lynbrook, which now has eight employees. Matassa said she started with five associates last June and added more in December, and that she hoped to double or triple that number by 2022.

Matassa said upon opening that one of her main goals was to be a part of the community, and that very same community welcomed her with open arms during the grand opening. She added that she hopes to expand going further.

“We are looking forward to growing our office by assisting potential new Geico policyholders and adding staff to our team in the future,” she said.

To learn more, visit on.gei.co/3tBaM2u, or call (516) 881-3210.