Tena Garcia
Tena Garcia is an experienced insurance professional and Agency Manager at Breeden Benefit Group, based in Buda, Texas. With a career in the insurance industry spanning over two decades, she has developed extensive expertise in agency operations, claims management, and client relations. Since joining her current agency more than seven years ago, she has taken on a comprehensive leadership role, overseeing nearly every aspect of the business. From accounting and human resources to client onboarding, renewals, and claims processing, Tena is known for her hands-on approach and deep understanding of the industry.
At Breeden Benefit Group, Tena works with a specialized client base that includes convenience stores, gas stations, and jewelry businesses across the United States. Her work involves managing group life insurance programs and handling highly sensitive claims, including those related to felonious assaults in retail environments. She also supports clients with Medicare transitions and term life policies, while helping expand the agency’s reach into new sectors such as hospitality. Her role requires constant adaptability, as she balances day-to-day operations with urgent, real-time situations that can arise at any moment.
What drives Tena in her work is the opportunity to support individuals and families during some of the most difficult times in their lives. She has worked closely with clients facing traumatic events, providing guidance and care through the claims process with empathy and professionalism. While the emotional weight of the job can be significant, she finds purpose in being able to make a meaningful difference for those in need. Her dedication, resilience, and commitment to service define both her career and her impact within the insurance field.
• Empire College School of Business
• Santa Rosa Junior College
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to everything I have overcome in the last 5 years and doing it on my own. I went through a divorce after a marriage of 20 years, and I have 4 girls total with 3 still at home. I've been pushing them through, with two already graduated from high school and one left. One is going to Texas State, one's in a vet tech course. Shortly after my divorce in 2021, my 21-year-old was diagnosed with cancer when she was 16. You want to talk about hard work and dedication? I was working from home, the hospital, the doctor's office. She would do chemo, we would go, I would work. You don't stop. With everything that I have overcome these last 5 years, I have stressed to my girls that whenever times get tough, you can overcome anything, you just have to believe. You've got to keep on pushing and don't ever let anything hold you down. Just within the experience that I have had within these last 5 years and doing it on my own, I pray to God that that is one thing that my girls take from me.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Stand your ground. If you believe in something and you honestly feel that your approach may be better suited, especially for a certain client, don't back down. Make yourself heard. I honestly believe that that is what has gotten me into the position that I am currently in. One thing that I preach to my girls every single day is you need to better yourself, you need to get your education, you need to push yourself so you never have to rely on anybody to take care of you. You are able to do financially for yourself, by yourself. And that's something that I have always told them.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honestly, you sit there and you learn to pray about everything. You do not take a day for granted, because you never know when your day is gonna come. And I have learned to say never say never, and whenever I say never say never, I mean that in several different ways, from what I see on a day-to-day basis and what I have experienced in my personal life. You never know when your day is gonna come, so I live every day to the fullest. I have always expressed that whenever times get tough, you can overcome anything, you just have to believe. You've got to keep on pushing and don't ever let anything hold you down. Life is gonna happen, and no matter what is thrown at you, you gotta keep on going. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Every aspect of my life, if I could change it, I definitely would so I wouldn't have gone through as much as I have, but in a way, it has made me who I am.