If he’s lucky, Mike Alessi’s walks will have a point.

For those not in the know, arrowheads are commonly called “projectile points” and Alessi is an avid hunter of these.

“I'm a finder. I'm an outside person,” Alessi said. “I love nothing more than being outdoors.”

When a new client arrives in Alessi’s office, they often comment on the collection that adorns the space. There, in cases, are some of his findings from the area - arrowheads that are hundreds or thousands of years old. 

“One of the reasons that I have them in my office, at least my Henderson County frame, is that I want people to see what is out here,” he said. “All this came from this county. Another thing is, it has gotten me a few permissions. People will say 'I used to do that when I was a kid over in this area,' and I'll be like, 'Well, tell me more about it. What area?' And that's neat, too. I've had a lot of people tell me that it brings back memories. I've had a couple of clients bring in their collection. It sparks things in other people too. Certainly, it's something that a lot more people used to do.” 

Permissions, in the lingo of this hunter, is the ability to go on private property and search for arrowheads. He can’t remove stones from public land, so getting this permission is important. He likes to hunt on farms, especially after the ground has been turned and after a good rain.

Just don’t ask him where he’s found some of his arrowheads.

“I will say, in this area, anyone who really looks for points is incredibly secretive. I'm not going to bring someone to my farm. They're not going to bring me to theirs,” he said. “If you think about it like this, if that thing is 10,000 years old, you're the first person to find it. Well, if I bring someone and they find it, it's theirs, I'm never going to find that one. I know that sounds selfish, but it's kind of like hunting or fly fishing, it's your spot, and you're not bringing dozens of people with you, because then they're bringing people with them and then the spot is gone.”

When conditions are right, Alessi can be found on the hunt. He’ll put in his earbuds, play some music or a podcast, and walk with his head down searching for points. This is where he finds his work-life balance and manages the stress of the day.

Alessi has worked at Alessi Insurance Services with his father, Charlie, since 2015. Alessi Insurance Services has provided Individual and Group Insurance in Western North Carolina since 2007 and was started by Charlie Alessi, who started in the industry more than forty years ago. 

Alessi Insurance Services is located at 14 Towne Place Drive #120 in Hendersonville. The Alessis are licensed independent agents that assist customers with Affordable Care Act coverage, Short Term Medical, Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug Plans, Long Term Care Plans, Annuities, Life Insurance, Aflac policies, and more. 

The months of October through December are the busiest times for the agency and Alessi doesn’t get out often then to search. He joined his father’s agency after the birth of his first child. He and his family were in Atlanta and he was traveling 35 weeks out of the year. That was too much for a new father, so he moved to Western North Carolina for a better work situation.

His first experience with finding an arrowhead happened when he lived in Georgia.

“It was probably about more than 15 years ago, but I was South Georgia pig hunting with friends and we were just walking, walking along a trail in the woods, and I found one just right on top,” Alessi said. “Right away, I was like, 'this is amazing, just to pick something up that could be anywhere from 500 to 13,000 years old.' It just got me right then and there, and then I started frequenting that area and figuring out where I was finding flakes and pieces, then kind of honing in on that area.”

Every trip doesn’t end with a find. He can visit a place several times without picking up an artifact. 

“One thing about it is, when you're looking for a place to find points, you're not just going to randomly walk around and stumble upon them. I mean, yes, my first one, that's how I got it, but you have a much higher probability if you know what you're looking for,” he said.

Alessi said the easiest starting spot is “a flat spot on top of a hill with water close by.” Good dirt is key, he said, and he has spent several days searching the same area.

When he finds an arrowhead, he wants to learn more. There are websites that Alessi will confer to determine the possible age of an arrowhead.

“It's really neat to be able to sit there and look at a point and say, 'Oh, well, this is six to 8000 years old' and that's just what blows me away,” he said. “That's a cool thing about our area too, as we've got points from again 200 years ago up to 13,000 years.”