Wheeler & Taylor Insurance of Great Barrington, Mass., announced that it has purchased the Great Barrington office of GoodWorks Insurance. The purchase brings together two firms that are consistently ranked among the top independent insurance agencies in the region, according to George A. Ryan, Jr., president of Wheeler & Taylor.

Chad Yonker, chairman of GoodWorks Insurance, will become a shareholder and chairman at Wheeler & Taylor.Ryan will continue in his role as president indefinitely and remains the company’s majority shareholder.

“We’ve formed a strategic alliance,” Yonker said. “We’ll work together on all aspects of each other's businesses, allowing us to better serve our clients and creating more opportunity for growth at both organizations.”

Ryan said, “Working with a progressive organization like GoodWorks will be great for our business, our employees, our community, and our clients.

“The resources at the disposal of this partnership will be tremendous,” he added. “We’re already using our combined strength to pursue large commercial accounts that may not have been possible for either organization to attract independently. The feedback has been very positive.”

Both organizations have a long history of supporting their communities through charitable giving and going forward will be no exception.Wheeler & Taylor will license the GoodWorks Insurance charitable-giving program to continue to support local organizations and charities in Massachusetts.

GoodWorks and Wheeler & Taylor are neighbors in Great Barrington.When GoodWorks closes its local office at 343 Main Street, their customers will go next door to 333 Main St. to be served by Wheeler & Taylor.All of the GoodWorks Great Barrington staff have been offered positions at Wheeler & Taylor.

GoodWorks Insurance, Wheeler & Taylor and their affiliates offer a full range of insurance and financial products to customers ranging from individuals to multi-national manufacturers including:auto, homeowner, business and life insurance, group health, 401(k) advisory and management, real estate brokerage, as well as surety bonds through GoodWorks affiliate Metayer Bonding Associates.

Wheeler & Taylor has five offices in the Berkshires, including Great Barrington, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Pittsfield, and Dalton.Website: www.wheelertaylor.com.

GoodWorks Insurance and its affiliates have five offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts, including the Glastonbury headquarters, New Milford, Avon, Columbia, and Worcester.Website: www.goodworksinsurance.com.