Our Team
William Whidden, CFP has been helping clients plan for and achieve their personal financial goals and dreams in the Columbia River Gorge since 1992. A graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, Bill began his financial service career with IDS/American Express Financial Advisors as a financial planner. Early in his career path, Bill decided to leave American Express and join an independent broker dealer in order to offer his clients a pure, unbiased level of service and investment products. After receiving his Certified Financial Planner designation, he increased his focus on providing state-of-the-art, personal financial planning services to successful individuals and entrepreneurial businesses.
Professionally, Bill has devoted his career to the study of financial goal attainment and wealth accumulation. As a commitment to his profession, he pursued the CFP designation which he achieved in 1995. Subsequently, he studied for and attained the Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor designation also offered by the CFP Board of Standards. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association, past President of the White Salmon/ Bingen Rotary Club, President of the Skyline Foundation and active member of his church.
Prior to his entry in to the financial services industry, Bill was President of Freedom Sailmakers International, Ltd on the island of Maui in the Hawaiian chain. The precursor to this career in the sailing industry was his position as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Windsurfing International, Inc in Torrance, CA. Bill's love of the wind, water and mountains originally attracted him to the Columbia Gorge area.
Bill is married to Heather M. Whidden, a dedicated reading specialist at Henkle Middle School in White Salmon. They have two children, Courtney and Ian each in the White Salmon school system. Bill enjoys spending quality time with his family and all outdoor activities, specifically, mountain biking, back country and telemark skiing, tennis, and hiking.
Email Mr. Whidden at proactive@gorge.net.
Matthew Hanson, RR, IAR
Matt is a Registered Representative and Investment Advisor Representative here at Proactive Financial Management. He is also a licensed life and health insurance producer in the states of Washington and Oregon. Having a background in accounting and taxes, he is especially sensitive to the tax costs and benefits when examining investment strategies. Matt graduated from Portland State University with a degree in Finance in 1997 and has been involved in the accounting and finance industry since then. Additionally, he manages the business affairs of his wife's dental practice so he is able to empathize with the small business owner. He understands the challenges they face in providing security to their employees, while staying on course to meeting their own financial needs.
Here at our office Matt's focus is on helping people develop realistic and sound financial plans and then seeing those plans through. He thrives on working with small business owners and professionals, helping to develop successful retirement and investment strategies. Additionally, he is able to offer his expertise in all facets of wealth accumulation, preservation and management. He is very excited and passionate about helping people achieve their financial goals, whether that goal may be to take a dream vacation, send a child to college or achieve an early retirement. Matt's approach to financial planning is to stay focused on the client's needs and expectations, using his experience and knowledge to maximize investment returns while minimizing risk.
Matt grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1994 where he met and married his wife, Staci. They live in Underwood, WA with their three children, Conner, Taylor and Abby. In addition to spending time with his family, Matt enjoys windsurfing, snowboarding, mountain biking and golfing. He also loves boating and has enjoyed several great sailing vacations with his family and friends. Matt is treasurer and a board member on both the White Salmon Valley Education Foundation and the PTO for Whiston Elementary School and he is a coach for his son's soccer team. He is looking forward to continued involvement in the community as well as in his children's activities.
Email Matt at matt.proactive@gorge.net.
|
