BUILT BYTHE TRADES.

Outside of my professional life, my greatest blessings are my wife of more than two decades and our daughter. They are the center of everything I do — and the reason I understand, on a deeply personal level, how important it is to protect the people and the future that matter most. Life with them is full, loud, and exactly what I'd choose every time.

My wife is one of the most driven and community-minded people I know. As the Chamber of Commerce Director, she works tirelessly to support local businesses and economic growth. She's also a School Board Member, EDA President, and one of the first to show up whenever the community needs a hand. She doesn't just talk about building something better — she rolls up her sleeves and does it. Her commitment to the people around us has shaped how I think about service, leadership, and what it really means to invest in your community.

As a family, we love to travel — and we don't always need a plan to make it great. Some of our best memories have come from just going. Theme parks and roller coasters are a family staple — the bigger the drop, the better. We've chased wildlife, walked beaches, and found the best fish tacos in places we almost didn't stop. There's something about traveling without an agenda that keeps life exciting and reminds you what you're actually working for.

Our daughter is creative, fearless, and full of life. She has a genuine passion for art — she sees the world differently, and her work reflects that. She also shares my love of adventure. I have never met a more fearless young woman than my daughter. She demands that we find the fastest, highest thrill rides in the world. I have to constantly remind her she is too young to skydive or bungee jump. We've made it a point to travel together and chase those experiences — because the memories we build as a family are just as important as any financial plan.

Music has always been my creative outlet — the place I go when the work is done and the world needs to quiet down for a minute. I'm a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, and I've had the privilege of recording with talented musicians from around the world. There's something about writing a song that mirrors everything I believe about life and retirement: every great story has a beginning, a struggle, and a meaningful ending. Songwriting taught me that. When I pick up a guitar, I'm not thinking about markets or risk models — I'm just present. That balance between hard work and creative release is something I'd encourage anyone to find.

I wasn't raised on Wall Street. I was raised in a small Iron Range mining town in Northern Minnesota, where the people around me worked in the mines, the trades, and small businesses. They earned every dollar they brought home and understood the value of building something that would last. That mindset shaped who I am. From a young age I was self-employed and drawn to building things with my own hands. I attended trade school studying industrial electronics and microcomputers, taught myself property rehabilitation, purchased rental properties, remodeled commercial buildings, and eventually transformed a rundown bar and grill into a successful restaurant.

Then came the financial crisis. As the economy unraveled between 2008 and 2010, I watched businesses struggle and retirement dreams change almost overnight. I lost my restaurant during that period — but what stayed with me even more was watching people who had spent decades working toward retirement suddenly wonder if they could ever afford to stop. Some postponed retirement for years. Others reduced their lifestyle. Many simply hoped the market would recover before they ran out of time. That experience changed the direction of my life — and ignited a mission I've carried ever since: to protect hardworking Americans from the financial threats that can quietly erode everything they've spent a lifetime building.

Before entering retirement planning, I lived the blue-collar life firsthand — early shifts, midnight shifts, and 12 to 14-hour days. Plowing snow in the dead of a Northern Minnesota winter. Shoveling rock into wheelbarrows in the heat of summer. To this day I still operate a commercial landscaping company in Northern Minnesota. I know what it takes to get through a long week, and I know what it means to finally see the finish line. Because I've lived it, I understand what my clients have been through to get where they are — and I know how much it means to them to protect that hard work, protect their savings, and retire with peace of mind. A clear path. A certain future. That's not just a goal. That's what they've earned.

The best time to fix a leak is before it becomes a flood. The best time to protect your retirement is before the damage is done. That's not just a saying — it's the principle behind everything I do.

In every business I've built, I've learned that the most expensive problems are usually the ones nobody sees coming. A roof leak starts small. Foundation damage begins with a crack. By the time the damage becomes obvious, the repair is far more costly than it needed to be. Retirement works the same way. In 2009, I founded TriSure Financial — and I've spent every year since helping hardworking Americans identify those risks before they become disasters. I believe retirement isn't won by chasing the highest returns. It's won by avoiding the biggest mistakes, building a strong foundation, and protecting what took a lifetime to earn.