Doherty, Duggan, Hart & Tiernan is full of DAWGs! The Athens DDHT office's history stems from the University of Georgia. DDHT Athens, team leader Meyur Vashi and DDHT President Bo Hart went to high school together before heading to UGA. With friend groups overlapping and both spending summers in Athens, they lived together several times during their college years. However, Meyur’s direct link to DDHT came from his father.
Bipin Vashi had retired from the hotel industry and begun a second career working with DDHT in the Warner Robins office writing business insurance specific to the hospitality industry. Meyur was working with a bank in Athens and contemplating going to UGA’s Terry College of Business for graduate school. Bipin recommended that his son meet with DDHT CEO Richard Doherty to get some insights on the Terry College of Business and opportunities they may have within the college. Rick had been active with the school’s alumni board. “I knew immediately that Meyur would be a great fit with our team. However, he wasn’t looking for a job, and he wasn’t looking to move out of Athens,” remembers Rick Doherty. After determining to hold off on graduate school, Meyur and Rick reconnected, and the plan to open the Athens office came to fruition.
New commercial account executive Meyur spent those first several years penetrating the Athens business community while learning equal time about the insurance needs of the hospitality industry from his father. The goal was that when his father finally decided to retire (for real this time), Meyur could continue supporting that book of business. Sadly, Bipin Vashi passed away in 2014.
Eight years later, Meyur is continuing the hospitality work his dad was passionate about. “Hospitality is a huge part of the business in the Athens office, and we write more hotels out of this office than anything else. However, we work with a wide range of industries, from contractors to non-profits and other real estate ventures. I love that our client base is so diverse,” said Meyur. The proximity of Athens to Atlanta, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee allowed Doherty, Duggan, Hart & Tiernan to expand the north Georgia footprint. The Athens office is smaller than the other DDHT offices, but its location more than makes up for it!
“Being a ‘Dawg at Heart’ means someone who appreciates what the University has given him and then passes on those gifts to the generations after him,” suggests Meyur. Whether through Meyur’s involvement with the Terry College of Business Young Alumni or DDHT’s support of other Athens and UGA programs, such as Hope Haven of Northeast Georgia, Penfield Ministries, or their involvement with the Clarke County Mentor Program, we agree - DDHT is a true ‘Dawg at Heart.’