Giving & Getting Back: Raymond James, Securities America, Sigma/Parkland, Triad Advisors

"My son was born profoundly deaf, and since that time it has been my mission to help others like him," she explained. "I serve on the Iowa School for the Deaf Board of Directors and am actively involved in raising money for scholarships for deaf students and helping them to succeed at all levels of education in their lives. These children are brilliant, and all have their own unique gift. The goal is to provide them the best education at all levels, be it elementary, high school, college or trade school."

(Securities America is owned by Ladenburg Thalmann.)

Sigma Financial Corp. & Parkland Securities, LLC

"Sigma Financial Corporation and Parkland Securities, LLC, have an award-winning charitable initiative called Support Our Vets, which has provided over $100,000 in funds for veterans' charities over the last two years. We have been most involved with the Travis Mills Foundation," said Jerry Rydell, CEO, Sigma Financial & Parkland Securities.

Rydell explained that the cause is important, because veterans "have given so much on our behalf. We believe that giving back is our duty."

Sigma/Parkland firms have supported veterans' charities for over a decade, but one in particular, the Travis Mills Foundation, has been a running fundraiser since 2017. "The firm has contributed just over $65,000 for his unique cause," the executive said.

Supporting that effort is Randy Hoover of Hoover Associates and a Sigma Financial Corporation financial advisor, who enjoys working with a BD that has the same values as his firm.

"My father was a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War and with that, I feel I have developed a deep appreciation for military service," he explained.

"I am honored to stand with Sigma Parkland Securities in their support of organizations and charities that are centric to veterans who have been wounded. Not only have we heard incredible tales from the battlefront from veterans at our conferences, but we've been able to engage in fundraising through outright donations and charitable auctions."

Triad Advisors

In 2005, Amy Rehn, senior vice president of Advisory Services at Triad Advisors and chief operating officer of Triad Hybrid Solutions, volunteered for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and never looked back. Her motivation may have started as personal — she is both a mother and wife to type 1 diabetics — but her drive is to find a cure.

"Each year I raise funds for research, then walk a 5k — the JDRF One Walk — in Atlanta with my family and 10,000 other participants to raise awareness about the disease and connect with other families dealing with similar challenges," Rehn said.

"I believe with enough support we will see a cure in my daughter's lifetime, turning Type 1 into Type None," Rehn added.

Advisor Sean DeFrehn, of DeFrehn Consulting, located in Adamstown, Maryland, has been working with The Dwelling Place since 2002. The non-profit supports homeless families in pursuit of self-sufficiency through housing, education, life skills, and career enhancement.

"The immediate and long-care effectiveness of this program on entire families in the community is greater than any charity I've ever worked with," DeFrehn said.

One example to the success of the program is Anne Marie Walker  who formerly was a beneficiary of the organization and eventually became a board member, DeFrehn said.

— Check out Investment Advisor magazine's other Giving & Getting Back stories.

Ginger Szala is executive managing editor of Investment Advisor. She can be reached at [email protected]. Janet Levaux is editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor. She can be reached at [email protected].