Last edited 9:38 a.m., July 21, 2014Every business owner and top executive has a team of professionals who are as much a part of their success as their employees. These professionals know the intimate details of the clients’ business. They are Trusted Advisers.
Honoring 16 individuals in three categories – Trusted Adviser, Up-and-Comer and Legacy Adviser – Springfield Business Journal is launching the event in 2014 to highlight four advisory industries during a Sept. 19 luncheon at Highland Springs Country Club.
“We recognized in our other awards events, it was people such as the CPAs, bankers and attorneys who are the best nominators of others because they work so closely with their clients,” said SBJ Publisher Jennifer Jackson. “We see this event as an opportunity to turn the tables a bit and shine the light on the good things they are doing in their business.”
Chosen by an independent panel of judges and honoring bankers, insurance agents, lawyers and wealth managers, the afternoon will culminate with a pinnacle award dubbed the Legacy Adviser. Recognizing an individual from any of the four areas with at least 20 years in the field, the the inaugural Legacy Adviser award honors attorney David Agee, a partner with Husch Blackwell LLP.
Noting the talent and ambition of industry professionals who are still making a name for themselves, the Up-and-Comer award honors three advisers with less than five years in business. Inaugural Up-and-Comer honors go to Scott Pierson, associate attorney with the Law Offices of Dee Wampler and Joseph Passanise PC; Stephanie Rice, a supervisor with Elliot Robinson & Co. LLP; and Clay Trautman, president of insurance with Liberty Bank.
Honoring professionals at the peak of their career, having been in the field for more than five years, Trusted Advisers honors cover four professional fields. Honorees, in alphabetical order, are:
- Brent Baldwin, BancorpSouth; Greg Baker, Branson Bank; and Shelley Evans, Guaranty Bank, in the banker category;
- Michael DeFontes, DFG Insurance; Jeff Eiserman, Ollis & Co.; and Jeremy Tyler, Clearview Insurance and Financial Services LLC, in the insurance agent category;
- Dwayne Fulk, Polsinelli PC; Craig Heidemann, Douglas, Haun & Heidemann PC; and Michael Miller, Lowther Johnson Attorneys at Law LLC, in the lawyer category; and
- Greg DeLong, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC; Jack Thurman, BKD Wealth Advisors LLC; and Paula Dougherty, Dougherty Wealth Management Ameriprise Financial, in the wealth manager category.
Honoree applications covered financial measures pertinent to the industry, along with essay questions and details of their civic involvement.
The Trusted Advisers luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 19. Tickets are $25 apiece and available at
SBJ.net/TrustedAdvisers.[[In-content Ad]]
