My first job was at 9 years old as a paperboy. Aside from riding my bike to deliver the paper, each week I would knock on every door to collect the paper money from customers. I got to know the families I was delivering to and took a lot of pride in making sure my customers were happy. I was careful to place papers in a protected area, sometimes at a certain time, sometimes not at all if a family was out of town.
My mom helped me open a “passbook” savings account around the corner from my house, and after collecting the paper money on Saturdays I would ride my bike to the bank and make a deposit. The passbook was fascinating for me: I would collect the customer’s money, take out the amount I had to pay the newspaper, pay any other kids that helped me in the week, maybe keep a little for spending and deposit the rest. Often the amount I deposited was only pennies, but it was exciting to watch that small amount grow.
Eventually I had to relinquish my passbook to the bank. It was a bittersweet day: I was proud of all the hard work I had done over the years in saving and in working hard, but a little sad to leave my customers behind. I closed the account that day to use the money to pay to start college, an investment that would eventually lead to a degree in Finance!
My passion for getting to know my customers, for providing a good service, for making money, saving money, investing and managing money – all of those things that went along with the job I had enjoyed so much as a kid, led to a Finance degree from the University of Houston. I still get that same sense of satisfaction of a job well done when my clients are satisfied with their service – when their investment is protected, put in just the right place, and decisions are made with care. I’m thankful to have done something at such an early age that led me to doing something I love today.
I don’t ride my bike to work every day anymore, but I do enjoy spending time “glamping” with my wife Lisa. We have two grown children, Michelle and Paul, both are married and have successful careers. They are genuinely good people, and we enjoy spending time with them and their spouses.
Lisa and I are animal lovers, and we especially love our dogs. They are much more spoiled than our children ever were. We love to travel. We enjoy being outdoors and have a lot of fun going on road trips in our 5th wheel, pups in tow.
We both love scary movies!
And finally (speaking of scary), I am a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan. I continue to support them no matter how unfortunate the season and hope for better years to come!