Meet Marti Mongiello, a professional chef whose career started with a “no.” Mongiello wanted to join the U.S. Air Force, and despite scoring on the top 95 percentile on the ASVAB, was denied due to an incident in his history. Mongiello ended up signing on with the U.S. Navy as a chef and his career took off from there. Now Mongiello is a successful chef, with career highlights that include military service, and being a chef for the President at the White House, entrepreneur, and business coach. He not only built success through his cooking but also developed other skills, such as learning six languages. Throughout his career, Mongiello developed multiple strategies for success, built through his successes and experiences.

Congratulations to NAIFA member Andy Dalka for being hired by Union Bank & Trust as vice president – business development officer in its Retirement Plan Services department. This NAIFA-Nebraska board member’s success is due to his plethora of successful experience in the financial services industry, and his experience with leadership roles, such as being the regional vice president of Nationwide and Ameritas.

Congratulations to NAIFA member Maureen Kirschhofer who won the W. Harold Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award for this year at the International DI Society Conference.

NAIFA’s New Mexico chapter has proven to be a strong promoter of NAIFA, whether it be through social media or events, this chapter does it all. Executive Director of the chapter, Lynda Turner, has called for her members to be more active with NAIFA, asking them to join one of NAIFA’s weekly onboarding and orientation Zoom meetings. There was a resounding response to Turner’s request from her members, showing strong support from this chapter’s members to NAIFA. The sessions are held every Monday at 3 p.m. eastern, and a registration form is online at the NAIFA members’ portal.

The print edition of the 2021 Fall/Winter Advisor Today magazine has been officially released. This printed issue has been mailed to all NAIFA members and is available online here.

NAIFA member since 1993, Robert B. Wellendorf ll, Business Exit Planning Expert President at Executive Wealth Strategies, will be joining us for 2021 APC Impact Week. Wellendorf will be providing a presentation covering a deep dive case study on life insurance in the business marketplace on October 20^th.

Martha Shanks has been a loyal member of NAIFA since the fall of 2019 and has been helping her clients with reverse mortgage loans at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation since 2018.

Martha started her career in real estate in 2005, continued her journey through many different positions, and is now 100% focused as a reverse mortgage planner. She has always had a desire to help people solve their financial problems, and her current role allows her to do just that. She loves helping her clients, typically people over the age of 60, to understand how a reverse mortgage works and how it can help them to live a better retirement with fewer financial worries.

On October 19th, Andrew J. Rinn, JD, CFP, CLU, ChFC, Vice President of Advanced Marketing & Case and Competition at Ameritas (and loyal NAIFA member since 2018),  will be presenting  Life Insurance in Qualified Plans - Bridging the Retirement Planning Gap with actuary Scott McHenry. During this presentation, they will cover various topics such as how to identify potential clients and concerns, different approaches, and more.

Rock Planck has been an affiliate member of NAIFA since 2020 and is today helping clients set up financial strategies for their future. With 30 years of experience in the business, Rock was first attracted to the field as a loan officer and reverse mortgage planner due to the belief that mortgage planning should be incorporated into every financial plan (although it often is not). As Rock says, “not enough people really consider the impact that having a mortgage has on their financial picture.” Rock believes in providing knowledge to people, rather than focusing solely on having the lowest costs or rates—he is, as he says, “another tool in their toolbelt.”

Charlie Calderwood, CLU^®, ChFC^®, has been a member of NAIFA since 1977 and today is eagerly helping clients set up financial strategies for their future. Charlie enjoys the freedom and finances that he was able to obtain as an investment advisor, however, he points out that “with the freedom gained, there is an increased requirement for motivation and discipline.” Charlie emphasizes that his self-discipline and willingness to put in the hours required to be successful is what helped build him up as an advisor. Charlie has been working in the insurance and finances field since he completed college at Tulane University, quickly and steadily working his way up until now, where he owns his own very successful RIA firm.