I’d like to extend my most sincere congratulations to BKD LLP partner Jason Rader, named the 2016 Legacy Adviser, and to each of the individuals being honored.
Each of you should be proud of this significant achievement, because it means your professional conduct and contributions have garnered the attention of the business community we serve. As a trusted adviser, you have earned the trust, respect and confidence of colleagues, co-workers, customers and clients, likely as the result of the high degree of integrity, responsiveness, knowledge and deep experience you demonstrate.
Most of us have different trusted advisers at varying points in our lives. Growing up, I relied – as many do – on my parents to teach me life lessons and strength of character. During my formative school years, I was influenced by teachers and professors. Throughout my professional career, I have been very fortunate to have great mentors, including retired BKD partners Darryl Bueker, Dave Henderson and Bill Kirkman. To all of them, I am greatly indebted, for without the influence and support they provided, I would not be where I am today.
We all need these individuals to mentor, coach and guide us, and the reason is simple. They help us navigate turbulent waters, which all of us will encounter at one time or another, with sage advice drawn from their own years of experience.
SBJ is to be commended for recognizing the importance of trusted advisers in our business community with this event. The Trusted Adviser honorees whose accomplishments are outlined in these pages are also to be commended. Further, they should be regarded as fine examples of everything it takes to truly embrace the role of a trusted adviser. In addition to attributes previously mentioned, these include honesty, expertise, professionalism, reliability, dependability, responsibility and superior judgment.
As we salute their achievements, we can take a moment to consider not only what we can learn from their journeys, but also what we can share with others from our own experiences – because each of us has the potential to serve as a trusted adviser to someone we will encounter – and sharing the wealth of our collective professional knowledge stands only to benefit business in the Ozarks.
John Wanamaker may be reached at jwanamaker@bkd.com.
