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After leaving NCHS, I graduated from Wake Forest University; majored in Physics; member and officer of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Had my share of fun, but next time, I'll play more and study less.
Then I received my MBA from UGA. While still in Athens, I married my college sweetheart, Sandy Walker, just after she graduated from Salem College in Winston-Salem. Even though I owed two years of active duty to Uncle Sam, Viet Nam was winding down and I only spent about six months on active duty, mostly in El Paso, Texas at Ft. Bliss (poorly named!).
In June 1972 I started work with Southern Bell in Atlanta. An anomaly today, I had a 30-year career there... supervising technicians; managing a large test center; supervising 15 central offices, including the one in Covington; planning how the company should utilize and reorganize around something new called a "computer"; after Southern Bell became BellSouth, managing BellSouth Enterprises' business planning process; developing new international business (lived in Sydney, Australia a few months while planning Optus, a startup competitor to Australian Telecom; traveled often to South America); participating in merger & acquisition plans and corporate strategy development; and finally managing BellSouth's operational planning process across its subsidiaries.
Along that career path, in 1974 my first wife passed away at the early age of 25 due to a rare neurological illness. Following a too-soon second marriage that soon ended in divorce, I met Margaret Anne Bryan (she worked at Cotton States Insurance; Mike Lassiter introduced us). After dating for a couple of years, we married in March of 1980.
Our children came along in 1982 and 1986 (you may recall that some classmates had grandchildren at our 20-year reunion, while Margaret and Sarah Haynes were the only pregnant reunion participants). We have raised our family in East Cobb County, a surburban oasis of metro Atlanta. We helped start and are active members of Marietta Community Church (ECO of Presbyterians).
When I retired in 2002, I engaged a money management firm (Bell Capital, no relation to the Bell System) to handle my retirement assets. I was asked what I planned to do in retirement (other than learn to play golf), a question for which I had no answer. I was then asked if I would like to help that firm find new clients like me. Thus, my second career was begun. I obtained my CFP license, and from 2002-2009 developed many client relationships. Following Bell Capital's dissolution (due to founder's final illness), in April 2010 I formed my own firm, and transitioned virtually all of my direct clients to Lassiter Financial Advisors. My office is located directly on the Marietta Square, which is similar to the Covington Square. My health is good, and I truly enjoy the personal relationships that ensue from advising clients... so I expect to be a small business owner for many more years.
I served as the 2015-16 President of The Rotary Club of Marietta Metro. I served on the Board of Directors of the State YMCA of Georgia for 3 decades.
We live in the Penhurst subdivision of East Cobb, adjacent to Walton High School. Classmates are welcome to visit anytime they are in the area!
