You know what, though? A lot of people have letters after their name. What they don’t necessarily have, however, is understanding, empathy, sensitivity, and a sense of humor. That’s the difference between a good financial planner, and a great financial life planner.

As I mentioned in that last section, I’ve been in the financial services arena since 1993. Prior to that I was involved in advertising, sales, and since age four I’ve been playing drums (and man, are my arms tired…). It’s fascinating how all those seemingly unrelated pursuits coalesced into a unique foundation, giving me insights into a myriad of financial planning issues. For example, musicians aren’t known for making a lot of money--after playing professionally for a number of years, not only was I broke, but I was $20,000 in debt (and back in 1984 that was a lot of money!) So I know what it means to experience financial stress. I realized in what a dangerous position I had placed myself, so with the help of the financially-savvy pastor of the church I was attending I set up a payment regime. Within two years I was debt-free. So I also know what it means to overcome severe financial obstacles. Since that time my wife and I have worked hard and achieved a successful life for ourselves and our two sons. So I know the challenges of deciding the best places to invest and grow wealth.

After beginning my career with Prudential Financial, I accepted the position of Regional Director for Money Concepts Capital Corp. Money Concepts has afforded me the opportunity to continue growing my practice, and in so doing, helping others to grow, too.

Education

1977-79 - Centralia College, AA degree, education

1989-91 - The University of Washington, BA degree, communications

1998 - The College for Financial Planning, Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor designation

2005 - The American College, Master of Financial Services

2010 - Tacoma Covenant Bible Seminary, Master of Biblical Studies

2011 - Tacoma Covenant Bible Seminary, Master of Divinity (counseling emphasis)

(By the way, those last two are so I can reassure people when they think their investments haven’t got a prayer…!)

Achievements

This is the section of the website where I’m supposed to impress you with all my career achievements, so here goes: I have been a qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table every year since 1996 with two Court of the Table honors. I have received considerable industry recognition; achieving Prudential Gold Level Financial Planner status, Presidents Hall of Honor, Prudential Masters Council, the Financial Planning Vanguard Award, several Presidents Citations, Associate of the Year, Investment Leader, Financial Planner of the year, the Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award, and Great American’s “Advantage Plus” award, among others. I have spoken to many industry and public groups over the years, written articles and been interviewed by Kiplinger’s Finance Magazine, Dow Jones Newswire and others.

While a member of the Tacoma #8 Rotary Club, one of the largest in the Country, I was awarded “Rotarian of the Year.”

Perhaps my most significant achievement, though (outside of marrying my wife Vicki and raising my two sons) is that in 2003 I founded a Guinness Word Record-breaking charity event I...

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