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Carla Forney knows all about long hours and hard work from growing up on a dairy farm. What she didn’t know when she so optimistically trained as an airline and cruise director is that she is prone to motion sickness.
Carla blithely moved to the Seattle area to pursue her new career and very quickly had to change her focus to terra firma. Tramco (now BF Goodrich) provided a career transition before she decided to strike out on her own with a commercial cleaning company.
This venture expanded into work with the Northshore School District (of Washington) where Carla quickly became the supervisor for all custodial, maintenance department, and grounds staff.
These days financial planning and insurance services are edging out Carla’s other ventures. She sold the cleaning business four years ago and plans to ease out of her Northshore role after fourteen years with the school district.
And no, more sleep isn’t part of the plan. This is great news for potential investors because it gives Carla more time for new clients and industry research.
Laughter erupted from Carla when asked if a transition to full-time planner would mean a change in firms. “I’ve been with Waddell & Reed since I entered the business and I see no reason to change now.
I was attracted to the organization in the first place because of their flexibility for new investors. Waddell & Reed will let a client begin a portfolio with as little as $50. Trust me, it doesn’t take a lot of money to inspire a person to make financial changes, it does, however, require a firm willing to work with smaller portfolios.”
The move to full-time financial planner will also mean Carla has a little more time to check up on her beloved grandparents in Florida. “They’ve been married 62 years and continue to be an important role model for me.”
Carla carries the role-model torch with dignity and great impact in the Washington state community. Mentoring students in responsible financial planning has helped more than one young person realize that the path to self-sufficiency comes through planning and discipline that can carry over into all aspects of life.
The Golden Acorn award came to Carla after a student recommended her to the selection committee for the positive influence Carla’s mentoring had on her. The Woodridge College Service Award was presented to Carla for her considerable service dedication to the community.
There couldn’t have been much debate to give the awards to this dedicated and compassionate professional.
Many of Carla’s clients are from the school district. Trust in Carla, her clear explanations, and positive attitude are part of the draw, but it also helps to have a financial advisor who is on intimate terms with the school district’s pension and benefits plan.
In fact, Carla is considered the school district retirement expert at Waddell & Reed. But what she’d really love to see is more young people thinking about financial planning – folks such as her youngest client - a 13-year-old boy who told his Mom he wanted to start investing. He started with $600 of his savings and continues to add to it.
It’ never too early or too late to begin working with a financial planner; the pleasure for Carla is especially great when working with multi-generations of a family and getting young people into a healthy relationship with money.
“The key,” says Carla, “is doing a plan analysis so that the client is clear about their relationship to money. Some people just want enough to get by, some really want to be rich, and some people even admit to being a little afraid of money.”
Carla does everything she can to eliminate the fear factor of financial planning. A large part of that is meeting clients in a comfortable and familiar location.
“Seeing clients in their home is ideal because they’re more relaxed and have the paperwork they need close at hand. It’s also a great boon for parents to not have to find a sitter while they meet with me.”
In June Carla will be walking away from a generous benefits and pension plan at Northshore, yet she’s confident she’ll be able to continue to look after herself both now and in retirement because of her own long-term planning.
“I’m in it for the long haul – both for myself and my clients. I get really excited when they can see a comfortable and secure future for themselves,” says Carla.
Written by: Gabriole Wilson
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