Stacey James, co-owner and vice president of James Financial Partners LLC, is a leader in a largely male-dominated industry. And her climb to the top was marked on all sides by a desire to serve others.
James was recognized for her productivity in the past year as a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, an international association that promotes best practices among top insurance and financial industry advisers. According to MDRT.org, membership is based on income, premium or commission levels for the previous year.
“Financial advisers that achieve the level that is required to earn the MDRT award are in the top 10 percent nationwide among all financial advisers in gross concessions earned for that calendar year,” James says.
She says she’s achieved that level of success as an adviser by earning the trust of her clients.
“Trying to get people to buy into you, believe that you possess the knowledge to help and lead them, and that they can trust you are not easy tasks. I have overcome these challenges by being kind, trustworthy and becoming a student of my craft,” James says.
A big part of her focus is bettering the community by extending a helping hand to local children.
“One of my proudest civic accomplishments is that I was honored to receive the Change Maker award from my Rotary club last December,” James says. “I had only been with the club for six months at the time, but I became very involved in the group including acting as the chairperson of the McGregor Elementary Committee.”
James feels passionate about the committee that serves the Title I school in a variety of ways. She encourages other Rotarians to get involved in the committee and helps coordinate volunteers for activities, which includes running the school’s store – where kids can “buy” items such as food based on the good habits they’ve demonstrated – fill snack packs or throw a Christmas party. She’s also spent time with her “lunch buddy,” through a district program in which a teacher selects a child they feel could benefit from time with a role model.
In addition, James and her husband, co-owner Tyler, help counsel parents on teaching financial basics through a course called Raising Financially Responsible Children.
“I would like to think that our advice and transfer of information from this series has influenced several parents on how to teach their children about the value of money,” she says.
James also is a board member for the local chapter of Mothers of Multiples Club, a national organization that supports mothers of twins, triplets and beyond, and she’s the treasurer on the executive board for the University Child Care Center at Missouri State University.[[In-content Ad]]
