Email: steve@strongpathfinancial.com

I am the most recent addition to the StrongPath Financial team, and am very happy to be here. Dean and I have known each other almost 40 years, and worked together at two firms prior to this engagement. When Rick passed, help was needed, and I volunteered to move my business to StrongPath to provide support.

Mid-Missouri is my home, and I was blessed to have two great parents. Both were very active in my life, and many of my successes in life are directly related to their efforts. At seven years of age, my father put a golf club in one of my hands, and a baseball glove in the other -- it was love at first sight for both items, and remains so to this day. I cannot begin to count the hours Dad and I spent on the golf course; it must have been thousands. What a test of patience that must have been for him.

When not playing baseball or golf, another fun activity for me was scouting. I participated in all phases of Scouts, and ultimately achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, as had my older brother. Speech and debate was also an activity to which I was drawn, and I participated in several contests, including at the state competition level.

After high school graduation, I attended the University of Missouri at Columbia, earning my Bachelor of Science degree in Administrative Management. Following college, I moved to Albequerque, New Mexico, where I obtained my securities license. In July 1988, my wife and I and our two sons moved to St. Louis, where I took over managing an existing investment firm. Then, in 1990, we moved to Joplin, MO as I had taken a position with Great Southern Investments. Two years later, we moved to Springfield to take advantage of an opening in Great Southern's location here.

With almost 13 years at the bank under my belt, the ability to be an independent agent was becoming more and more appealing. In January 2004, that idea became reality when I affiliated with an LPL office in Springdale, Arkansas. Although Arkansas was not my 'cup of tea', as it turned out, independence was, so I moved back to Springfield and affiliated with an existing LPL office in this fine city.

Derrick and Drew are the sons mentioned earlier, and both live here in Springfield. They have blessed me with four grandchildren -- three boys and a girl between the ages of 9 and 13. Unfortunately, two of the boys are autistic, which has led Derrick to be their/an advocate on the state of Missouri Mental Health Council, where he served as President this past year. While my grandsons are lacking in some skills, each of them has their own "area of expertise." While autism is not wonderful, these two are a wonder to behold.

When not working, you will find me on the golf course, working in the yard, or reading. Several years ago it seemed like a good idea to start growing berries, so grow them I did. We now have 20 blueberry bushes, two trellis' of blackberries, and a trellis of raspberries in our yard. In hindsight, I may have bitten off a little more than I could chew.

Most recently, I applied to join Sertoma, as I feel it is time to give something back to the community which has given so much to my family and myself.