Past Presidents of FPA Orange County
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At the Chapter Leaders Conference in November of 2018, FPA National announced plans for OneFPA. Key drivers in the stated initiative were centralized technology, staffing and financial reporting, and the goal of providing a more consistent member experience. After much consideration, FPAOC applied for, and was accepted to be one of the 11 chosen beta-test chapters.
Throughout 2019, FPAOC also had continued success providing quality education to members, which we maintained as the forefront of our mission. Two of our four Quarterly Education Meetings were sold-out events. We also boasted a sold-out Orange County Tax and Financial Forum, held at The Pacific Club. While still providing great value to our partners, we decreased the amount of sponsored stage time, allowing for event attendees to have even more time spent learning, developing professionally and networking.
Volunteer board members and committee members of the FPAOC worked relentlessly to provide quality events and continually represented our group with dignity and poise. I am proud to have been able to lead a group of such accomplished individuals.
Meghan Coolbaugh, MA, CFP®
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The Orange County Chapter of FPA rocks! Our first objective for 2018 was to maintain the high standards set by those that went before us. Through the dedicated work of a great board, we faced up to the challenge and helped make FPAOC even stronger.
- We strengthened our structure by realigning our Board positions and adding a Business Success committee which represents all the satellite committees such as NexGen, Interns, Advisors in Transition and the Study Groups.
- The Partners Agreements were changed resulting in fewer sponsors speaking during the Quarterly Education meetings giving members more time for networking.
- The Excess Reserves Task Force created an Investment Policy Statement for investing money over that needed for current Cash Flows.
Our commitment to excellence resulted in three of the Orange County education meetings selling out. We co-hosted a Southern California conference that was held at UCLA Lake Arrowhead to rave reviews.
I enjoyed serving with the exceptional people of FPA of Orange County and helping to advance the profession of financial planning.
Janet L. Larsen, CFP®, APMA®
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It was an absolute privilege to serve as president of our chapter in 2017. We prioritized putting on high-quality quarterly education meetings and our program committee truly delivered. We set a new attendance record with an average of 270 attendees over the four meetings. We also emphasized strengthening relationships with our partners which worked out very well. 2017 was a year of strengthening the chapter for the benefit of our members and the sustainability of our vision to be the community that fosters the value of financial planning while advancing the practice and profession of financial planning in Orange County.
David K. MacLeod, CFP®, CFA
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It was a tremendous honor and a pleasure to have been able to serve as President of such an outstanding chapter of true professionals. I’m pleased that so many are engaged in the success of our community and our profession, and I’m truly thankful to have had the opportunity to lead. Whether you are a brand new CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® or a seasoned vet, a true sense of community and purpose brings us all together and brings many, many benefits to those who grab the opportunity to engage. Thank you for providing that opportunity!
Wil Smith, CFP®
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2015 was an exciting year for the FPA of Orange County. Our members connected to those who provide, support and benefit from professional financial planning. We reached out to the community, the media, academic leaders, students, advocacy groups, legislative leaders, and our allied professionals –all while serving our clients.
We worked really hard to serve our growing membership while having a lot of fun. We educated ourselves with keynote speakers at our Quarterly Education Meetings and study groups. We played with our children at our inaugural annual picnic and went to mixers. We took a cruise. With participation, engagement, and the assistance of multiple professional associations and our wonderful partners, this year’s Allied Professionals Summit was among the best we have ever had. The attendance was completely full, the speakers were terrific, and we enjoyed tremendous positive feedback from the attendees. We were recognized with two Outstanding Achievement Awards at the national Chapter Leaders Conference.
We also implemented:
Keep: What are the things that we should keep doing?
Stop: What are some things that we should stop doing?
Start: What are some things that we should start doing
We put the final touches to the Financial Philosophy for the chapter as we finished the year with healthy reserves.
We prospered in 2015 and finished strong with 545 members.
We worked together to “Put FPAOC on the Map!”
Andi Kang, CFP® CAP®
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“The year during which I was privileged to serve as our chapter president was one in which I worked to accomplish two main themes. First to further entrench the educational and networking components of our chapter’s mission and second, to build new capability in public relations (social media primarily) that moves our chapter into the digital age in a more important way. By further entrench, my meaning is to underscore the primary “product” of our chapter being our Quarterly Educational Meetings (QEM), to further the high quality of these meetings and to continue the tradition of very strong committee chairs in the Program committee. Strong QEMs build the educational and networking components of our chapter and add membership. Building new capability in public relations is essential if our chapter will appeal to young financial professionals who represent the future vitality of our profession and our professional associations. It is vit al for us to bring this next wave of professionals into an awareness of the whole profession, rather than limited to their own firms, and the FPA needs to be the vehicle to accomplish this.”
Howard Erman, MHA, CFP®, EA
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“FPA Orange County has a history that demonstrates a commitment to growing our profession through the provision of quality education programs and the power of collective action. This history reaches back to well before the creation of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), and serves as proof of how much can be accomplished through coordinated, consistent, and visionary effort.
We all stand where we are today because of what those who came before us were willing to dream, and do. Beyond carrying a debt of gratitude, we all have an obligation to “pay it forward,” and do what we can to help move the bar of accomplishment ever upward.
In this spirit, our Board took careful action to appreciate all that has come before us while also reorienting itself around new Why, Mission, and Vision statements, and making the commitment to actively use these for ongoing, guidance in both our short-term decision making, and long-term planning. Our process not only allowed us to examine our collective efforts, and whenever possible, refine our practices to achieve improved effectiveness, it also provided the space necessary to better understand how our local efforts could more effectively be used to simultaneously impact broader goals and objectives.
Due to the myriad projects and activities FPAOC traditionally executes so well, this Chapter continues to consistently rank among the best in the nation. This is a direct result of the ongoing, and oftentimes, uncelebrated efforts of so many who give of themselves unselfishly. From our Board, to all our volunteers, and our administrator, I say thank you, and encourage you all to keep up your worthwhile efforts and good work, while remembering these key ideas: Maintain your focus on who we’re here for and why we’re here; Develop true insight into your responsibilities and the organization at large; Make a commitment to ongoing quality improvement, collaboration, and to leading by example.”
William Cuthbertson, MBA, EA, CFP®
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Our chapter has a long legacy of outstanding leaders. Year after year, each board has done its part to make our chapter one of the best in the country. However, as we grew, the demands on our volunteers increased as well. Our goal for 2012 was to make it the “Year of the Volunteer”. Through the efforts of many, we were able to fully integrate a part-time Chapter Administrator, which allowed board members to focus on their highest and best use instead of being mired down in administrative tasks. At the beginning of the year, the 2012 Board worked together to determine WHY we volunteered to help the chapter. We selected – ‘To Invest in Your Future Development.’ This WHY became our rallying cry as a means to motivate current volunteers and recruit new ones. 2012 also saw the creation of a new committee and board position – the Volunteer Development Committee (“VDC”), which focused on leadership development, succession planning and volunteer acknowledgement. The VDC held two successful Volunteer Appreciation Events and created the Future Leaders Group, which was designed to groom outstanding volunteers for future board positions. The VDC’s efforts helped foster a culture of teamwork between committees and board members. 2012 also saw the creation of our Chapter’s Board Book, a tool designed to help newly elected board members as they transitioned into their leadership roles. Finally, our chapter was recognized with two Outstanding Achievement Awards by FPA National at the Chapter Leaders Conference in November of 2012!
Michael J. Shockley, CFP®, J.D., MBA
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The FPA of Orange County had many terrific accomplishments during its first ten years. In its eleventh year, the board determined it was an instrumental time to not only continue the successful programs of the past, but also evaluate the future needs of its members and the chapter as a whole. In 2011 we approved and hired a chapter administrator to assist in providing for not only our chapters needs but the needs of our members and the community we serve. We believe this decision will help elevate the Orange County Chapter in its future goals and achievements.
Carolanne M. Chavanne, CFP®
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“My year as President allowed me to advance our profession, to serve our community, and to make some terrific friends along the way. During my tenure, the volunteers on our Board and in our chapter created the first-ever Financial Planning Day in Orange County, revolutionized our website to better serve our members and our community (re-launched in April 2011), and took the first steps to organize an FPA of California to advocate with elected and appointed state leaders for all California FPA members and our profession, as a whole. These three notable projects were among the many undertaken by the passionate volunteers of our chapter and we celebrated their impressive accomplishments with our first Volunteer Appreciation Event (a good time was had by all despite the President and President Elect singing karaoke). I’m proud of our good work in 2010 and the fun that we had along the way.”
Evelyn Zohlen, CFP®
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“When I had the privilege to be the President of the Orange County FPA I feel it was one of the most exciting times in the history of our organization. I was able to see young financial professionals get involved and use their technological skills to customize our webpage, simplify our registration process and improve our capabilities to communicate with our members. Our next President Evelyn Zohlen improved the process even beyond what we accomplished. None of this could have happened without the faithful service and hard work performed by the officers and board members who came before me. How true the quote by Isaac Newton, “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.”
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“It was a great honor to serve as President of the Orange County FPA and to work with such a talented and conscientious board of directors and to represent our dedicated and enthusiastic general membership. It is no accident that the Orange County chapter is viewed as one of the top, if not the top, chapter in the country. I will look back on my time on the board with great satisfaction stemming from the great relationships that I have developed, the lessons I have learned, and the hard work that I and others have put in to further the cause of financial planning. “
Mark Rylance, CFP®
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“FPA is a window to our developing and highly respected profession. The personal friendships, high quality continuing education and professional growth that result from active involvement in the Orange County association have proven lasting and real benefits. I could not have asked for a better return on the investment.”
David L. Reagan, CFP®, CIMA®
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“Board member Lee Jarvis recruited me to an active role on the Planners Resource Day committee when I joined FPA in 2002. He didn’t just call me. He invited me out for coffee and engaged me in FPA. Under his guidance, I grew to head the committee and then joined the Board. Presidents Linda Barlow and David Duttenhoffer encouraged me to help them implement their vision for a Community Advisory Council, and we enlisted top local leaders to join the Council and become advocates for FPA. Yaron Brook, CEO of The Ayn Rand Institute, Bill Eldien, President of Ketel One Vodka, John Adams, Superior Court Judge, Mimi Walters, Assemblywoman 73rd District, and Susan Della-Corte, Family Services Coordinator, Camp Pendleton are among those who volunteered their time and energy for the Council. 2006 was the year we changed our name to FPA of Orange County. I am grateful for the personal and profession growth I have experienced because of FPA and humbled by the amazingly talented and kind people I have met because of my involvement.”
Bob Brown, CFP®
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“In 2005 we focused on building on the great work previous presidents had done for the still young chapter and solidifying its financial position. The partners program, started the year before by David Duttenhofer, contributed significantly to the chapter’s bottom line for the second year. We also started a chapter golf tournament which was very successful for a few years. It built camaraderie amongst the chapter members, provided sponsors with another opportunity to spend time with members, and contributed to the chapter’s bottom line as well.”
David Little, CFP®
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“2004 was a big transition year to our current Partners Program. Much work was done in 2003 to it. Roger Ibbotson was a featured speaker in November.”
David McLain Duttenhofer, CFP®
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“The year of my Presidency was very exciting. We expanded the board from nine to eleven members. We began the Community Council which consisted of many leaders in the community: judges, Presidents of Corporations, etc. That Council met twice a year with the leaders of the FPA and developed programs that benefitted the public. The leaders of the Community were excited about the prospects and initiatives that were begun that year. We had almost the entire board attend Leadership Training, as sponsored by National. Membership grew substantially during that year. We moved our meeting location to Beckman Center, which was a vast improvement over our prior meeting location and probably had much to do with the increased attendance and membership.”
Linda Barlow, CFP®
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“I was the second president to serve after we merged two organizations in to the Financial Planning Association, so there was still a lot of adjusting going on. It was an excellent opportunity to see how many dedicated volunteers we have in our organization and to get a feel for how the National Organization operates as well. It was on honor to serve as president of the Orange County chapter.”
Marjorie Stanford Wray, CFP®
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“2001 was the first year of the combined IAFP and ICFP into the Financial Planning Association (FPA) in Orange County. We had spent the year 2000 working in a joint committee made up of representatives from each organization. We picked the best from each group to form the operational model for the the new FPA Chapter. It is essentially the model we are using in the Chapter today, but with a number of improvements that succeeding Boards have made. The most important thing we did was to decide to do it with all volunteer labor, without paying an Executive Director. That saves the Chapter between $50,000 – $75,000 per year, money that is spent on bringing quality educational programs to the meetings. I am most proud of the volunteer effort that has been devoted to the Chapter over the years and every one of us will tell you that was the single most important factor in our personal growth and in the growth of our practices.”
Glenn Woody, CFP®