John Hale attended the University of Tennessee where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in Business Administration. He began his insurance career in 1974 with the Dunlap Insurance Agency. In 1976, he formed a new agency in Humboldt, Tennessee with Sonny Herndon, known as Hale-Herndon Insurance which later became Cornerstone Consolidated Insurance (CCI). In 2007, First State Bank purchased CCI and John became Executive Vice-President of the agency. In 2013, Simmons Bank purchased First State Insurance where John remained Executive Vice-President. In 2017, Simmons Insurance was purchased by Sunstar Insurance Group where they joined forces with FSB Insurance with John remaining as Executive VP. John is married to his wife, Vickie, and has 5 children and 11 grandchildren.