You know I love music, particularly from the 70s and 80s when I was growing up. During that time, Hall and Oates was a staple on the radio with a line of Top 40 hits. “You Make My Dreams Come True” was one of the first 45 records I owned. Boy, am I dating myself with that admission! Nevertheless, always loved the visuals of having our dreams come true. To go along with that, growing up poor, I dreamed of economic and financial security. I was drawn to movies and the roles of hard-working young men who worked hard to live successful lives. Two of my favorite characters were Michael J. Fox’s character in “Secret of My Success” and Tom Cruise’s character in “Cocktail.” Two guys who believed in the American Dream: if you worked hard, you could have your dreams come true.
In 2006, I was a client of Paul Smeton’s. Donna and I were his clients. At the time, we had two young kids. We were in our 30s, and we had been working with Paul for several years to help craft a long-term holistic wealth management financial plan for ourselves. We were saving money in our 401k’s, saving in 529s for Jacob and Ava, paying down our mortgage, having life insurance just in case something unexpected happened, and making sure we had a good estate plan. One fateful day, Paul asked to meet with me and asked me if I would be interested in joining HFG as a representative with the potential to be part of a succession plan for him and Matt.
I had never met Matt, but he explained to me how the business worked. When I used to come in on meetings, Paul and I would have long discussions. I had gotten my MBA from Johns Hopkins and was always interested in investments and asset management. I was trained to be an analyst and portfolio manager by my colleagues who worked at Legg Mason, Alex Brown, and T. Rowe Price. Paul explained how being a financial advisor was different in that I was not analyzing individual stocks but creating a holistic wealth management plan for clients.
Eventually, I met Matt, and he, as the founder and majority of the owners, told me about the history of HFG, how he founded it in 1978, and his goal, which was to serve and help clients. Matt and Paul eventually convinced Donna and me that transitioning from a government contractor on APG to a representative would be a good career move and an opportunity to get off the road to coach my kids’ sports teams and be there for the Scouts. On August 10, 2006, I formally joined HFG and have loved working with great clients like you for the last 18 years. I was so honored to work with great long-term clients Matt and Paul had worked with and help them achieve their dreams and goals.
Finally, on October 1, 2014, Matt and Paul formally sold Harford Financial Group to me and be the 2nd generation of the business and succession plan. They both continued to work with their clients for years until they both retired. Therefore, October 1st will always be a special day for me. It is where I achieved my dream of being an entrepreneur and business owner. That leads us to where we are. We are ten years into this plan, and time has flown. I want to take a minute and thank everyone for making my dream come true. First, I want to thank all of your excellent clients. Without the long-term relationship and trust you have placed in our firm and your choosing to work with us, we would not have a business. Our mission is to help you achieve your mission, meaning, and purpose by providing you with financial security and confidence. When you do not have to worry about money, you can be more present.
Additionally, having financial resources allows you to have experiences, take care and do things with the people you love, and pursue that meaning and purpose. It is so cyclical. We get meaning and purpose by helping you get meaning and purpose.
I also want to thank Matt and Paul for the opportunity of a lifetime and for being such incredible mentors. They developed the foundation of a great business that, over the last 10 years, has Melissa, Diane, Mallory, Donna, and Meghan as leadership team and team members we have on our team, and we have been able to build on that beautiful reputation. Bringing the bucket plan, tax management, and commitment to world-class holistic wealth management are areas we have strengthened over that time. Finally, we have wonderful partners with whom we work that provide essential products and services that we bring to our clients or services that provide infrastructure to do our jobs.
In the end, I can’t thank you all enough for making my dreams come true. I am so proud of HFG's 46 years overall and the last 10 years. I am so excited for the future and the things you will be able to achieve because we are able to do our job better.
Thank you again!!!