The day has not quite begun when Cristy Walston finds the time she values most. The phone is quiet, emails have not started filling her inbox, and there is room to think. Some mornings begin with a workout, a cold plunge, coffee, or simply a few minutes to herself. When she can, she heads for the mountains, takes her dogs on a trail, or sits near the water. It is where she resets.
That quieter side of Cristy surprises people. For someone who spends so much of her life meeting clients, networking, and building relationships, she is naturally introverted. Solitude gives her the space to recharge, and she has learned that taking care of herself is not separate from how she serves others. It is what allows her to return fully present.
That idea of showing up has shaped nearly every part of her life and business. Long before she was recognized as American Family Insurance’s Agent of the Year, Cristy knew she wanted work that felt useful. “I wanted a career where I could genuinely help people,” she says. A natural problem solver, she found in insurance a way to help families identify the gaps that could threaten the futures they were working to build.
When she opened her agency thirteen years ago, she chose relationships over transactions. What she loves most, she says, is “earning trust and being someone my clients can rely on through every stage of life.”
For Cristy, that trust is built slowly. It lives in the phone call returned, the question answered without rushing, and the conversation where someone feels heard before they ever feel sold to. “You can learn so much about a person by just listening to their story,” she says. That belief has become one of the simplest explanations for how she approaches business: listen first, educate honestly, and do what is right for the person sitting across from you.
Over thirteen years, some of those conversations have carried real weight. Cristy has helped families receive life insurance benefits after losing someone they love. She has seen what thoughtful preparation can offer in the middle of grief: the ability to step away from work, meet financial obligations, and have a little space to breathe. Those moments have made the work deeply personal. “Insurance isn’t just a policy,” she says. “It’s about protecting your people and the dreams you’ve worked hard to build.”
Her approach to life is much the same. Cristy does not expect things to go perfectly. When something difficult happens, she tries to slow down and ask what it can teach her. She believes we cannot control everything that happens, but we can control how we respond. That perspective did not come easily.
The first five years of business ownership were hard. She stepped into entrepreneurship without knowing exactly what she was doing and learned through uncertainty, setbacks, and persistence. Looking back, she sees those years as the place where much of her confidence was built. “Every challenge that was thrown my way taught me a lesson and strengthened my confidence,” she says.
That confidence is not about having everything figured out. Cristy describes it as keeping the promises you make to yourself, taking action before you feel perfectly ready, and choosing integrity even when the easier option is available.
So when asked what style means, she does not begin with fashion. To Cristy, “style is how you carry yourself,” and confidence, kindness, and authenticity never go out of style. It is a fitting answer because the way she lives and the way she leads are difficult to separate.
Success has changed for her, too. Earlier in her career, achievement mattered most. Today, it looks more like meaningful work paired with enough freedom to enjoy the people and experiences she loves. It means doing work she is proud of without losing herself inside it.
Agent of the Year is an impressive recognition, but it feels less like the definition of Cristy’s success than a reflection of what she has built quietly over time: relationships, consistency, resilience, and a reputation for caring about the person before the policy.
When asked how she hopes her life will be remembered, her answer reaches well beyond business: “She lived with purpose, lifted others up along the way, and left every person she met a little better than she found them.”
Maybe that is the clearest picture of Cristy’s style. Not something worn, but something practiced. A way of moving through work and life that leaves people feeling listened to, supported, and a little more certain than they were before.
"Style is how you carry yourself. Confidence, kindness, and authenticity never go out of style."
"Trust is built slowly. It lives in the phone call returned, the question answered without rushing, and the conversation where someone feels heard."
"The strongest reputations aren't built overnight. They're earned one relationship, one conversation, and one promise kept at a time."