My wife Betsy and I made Virginia our home in

1994.  We have 3 daughters of our own and

were blessed, through a tragic event, to

have helped raise my niece as well.  We all

love the outdoors and the Blue Ridge Mountains near our home in Lynchburg, Virginia.

   
Drawn to the positive impact I could have, I started my career as an elementary school teacher.  When we started a family, Betsy decided she wanted to stay home.  Although I loved teaching, I soon realized a teacher’s salary, even with a master’s degree, was not going to afford our family the options and choices we wanted.

     

My struggle was wanting to make a difference, not just more money.  I found my dream career with a math curriculum.  I believed in the curriculum, having taught it for five years, and was passionate about the company's crusade; to change math education across the country.  I was making a huge positive impact and providing for our family the way we wanted, but soon after joining the company, the family who owned it sold, and things changed.

       

This started my entrepreneurial journey.  We opened our first business in 2006.  From there we built two other businesses.  Although not always easy, I enjoyed the building process and providing great service, but the business we had were not having a big impact on others.

          

Then an opportunity to build a financial services business was presented to me.  At first I wasn’t interested.  In my experience, financial people talked over my head and there was always pressure to buy.  But it was different when I sat down with the person who became a mentor.  I loved the education he provided and how simply he explained things.  I thought, if I could help other families the way he helped us, that would be a great business to build!!
 

I started my career as a teacher, and in many ways have returned to teaching by guiding businesses, organizations and families through strategies and connecting them with resources to go from where they are to where they want to be financially.