A few weeks ago, Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Bugg found himself toe-to-toe with a 6’3, 230-pound aggressive male armed with a stick. Kevin, 5’9” and weighing in at 180 pounds was at a clear disadvantage. But, he stood his ground and fought back.

“I didn’t win the face off,” Kevin said with a smile, “but our team won the game!”

Kevin was playing the game of lacrosse. According to the book, Lacrosse for Dummies, “It contains the physical hitting of football, the speed and quickness of hockey, and the passing and shooting ability of basketball. Anybody can play this game, from the little guy who has speed and quickness to the big guy who has strength and power.”

The earlier David and Goliath encounter gave Kevin the opportunity to teach his 11-year-old son, Charlie, a life lesson.

“When we’re watching college lacrosse together on television,” Kevin said, “I’ll be able to point out Colin Sherwood at Chapel Hill, which is ranked 3rd in the nation, and tell him, ‘There’s the guy I faced off with in our local men’s league.’”

In reality, while Kevin knew that his opponent had a clear advantage, he also knew that anything is possible. This knowledge came from a life-changing experience when Kevin played lacrosse while attending Radford University.

“Coach Doug Bartlett took our mediocre team and showed us how to beat Roanoke, ranked No.2 in the country. He proved to us that you can do anything with the right attitude and preparation,” Kevin explained.

Kevin, in turn has been coaching youth lacrosse in Kernersville for years. Finally, last year, Kernersville formed its first youth team—Kernersville Cannons. Again, proving anything is possible, Kevin has one girl on his boy’s league team, 11-year-old Katelyn Anderson.

“Katelyn,” Kevin said, “is one of my best players. And, it didn’t take long for her to earn the respect of her teammates.”

Katelyn has learned all the lessons the boys have learned and one more.

“I learned that girls can do anything boys can do and we can be just as good at it as they are,” Katelyn said proudly.

Kevin also teaches the team to manage anger and hurtful remarks by others. Instead of taking it out on the individual, he advises them to take it out on the field, which will make the team better.

Anna Marie Price, who watched her 12-year-old son, Gabe, flourish under Coach Kevin Bugg’s leadership, saw the team really come together by the end of the season.

Anna Marie noted, “Kevin is amazingly patient with the kids. He gets them focused and gives them positive reinforcement. You can see the difference in their lives.”

Kevin also helps players develop “field sense”— knowing where everyone is at on the field and where they are headed next.

It is probably this skill—communication by intuition—that has helped Kevin more than anything else in his daily life. Early in life, Kevin was able to see the big picture of community. And, right in his boyhood home, he saw an amazing demonstration of community support.

“My dad, Bobby Bugg,” reminisced Kevin, “had to retire as a manager from State Farm when he was only 38 years old due to thrombophlebitis. But because he always put others first and he had such a positive attitude, people came to us. I knew that is what I wanted for my life.”

So Kevin was one of those rare people that actually majored in insurance in college! And, because he really believed that insurance provides a way to coach people to protect themselves and make their dreams come true—Kevin was put on the State Farm corporate fast track immediately upon graduation.

But, after a few years on that playing field, Kevin realized that he wanted more person-to-person contact.

“When I traveled the country,” explained Kevin, “working with agents helped me realize that I wanted the one-on-one relationships that they had with their clients and with their hometowns.”

It wasn’t easy to switch leagues, moving from the corporate side of the business to the agency side, but after 10 years, Kevin was selected to open his own State Farm Insurance office in Kernersville in 1995.

Since that time, his “field sense” has helped him to know when and where he is really needed. For instance, in 2005, when client Stephen J. Nanney knew he was going to lose his battle to cancer, he asked Kevin to take care of his family.

Kevin knew what Stephen was asking for. The family’s heating system was broken and it was the middle of winter. One child was still at home and Betty, Stephen’s soon-to-be widow had serious health problems of her own. Surveying the field, Kevin realized that he was the only one in a position to give this family the long-term support they needed.

“Kevin has been like part of our family,” said Betty, “even to the extent that we insisted on listing him in Stephen’s obituary. And now, almost four years later, Kevin is still there for me anytime I call him.” Kevin also surveyed the community landscape and decided that there was a place for him in town government.

One of his supporter’s, Jerry Young, who set out signs and campaigned for Kevin said, “Kevin is a man who looks at the big picture. He doesn’t have an agenda and he doesn’t blindly vote with the party. Instead, he really looks at what is best for both business and the individual in Kernersville.”

In addition to his strong commitment to his family, which includes his wife, Lisa, and children, Charlie and Aleksey, and his State Farm agency and his role as Mayor Pro Tem, Kevin weekly coaches students academically in the Rotary Club’s Study Buddy program, is heavily involved in the Chamber of Commerce and Körner’s Folly, serves on the board of Kernersville Foundation, and of course, coaches lacrosse.

In spite of this heavy load and maybe in response to this heavy load, Kevin always makes time to play lacrosse.

“Life comes at you fast and each time I play lacrosse I’m reminded of the importance of playing as a team and being there for others.”