NOTE: Star icon indicates the nominee won the 2014 Top Advisor Award.
S. Bruce Allen 
Old Dominion Insurance and Investments
Winchester, Va.
Bruce Allen owns and operates Old Dominion Insurance & Investments in Winchester, Va., a company that services 10 school divisions in northwestern Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. He has more than 20 years of experience with 403(b)s, and has been a Certified Financial Planner™ since 2002. He holds Series 7, Series 63, Series 65 and Series 24 licenses.
Allen seeks to build a legacy through his work. Says Allen, “When we look at the success we have had in helping clients plan for the future, it constantly amazes us at the wealth they have been able to accumulate and ultimately live a comfortable retirement and then pass those assets on to their families. This will change the lives of families we have touched for generations and in many cases, we are working with three generations.”
Outside the office, Allen has volunteered on Habitat for Humanity mission trips to Nicaragua after Hurricane Mitch and to help Katrina survivors in Pass Christian, Miss. Old Dominion Insurance & Investments also gives back to communities, providing school classrooms with globes and other geography materials, supporting schools’ athletic and scholarship programs and sponsoring teacher-of-the-year recognition awards.
Allen graduated from James Madison University with a BBA in Management.
Randy Aranowitz
Wayne, Pa.
Randy Aranowitz is Executive Vice President of the Kades-Margolis Corporation and has been with Kades-Margolis since 1990. He specializes in working with employees of public education, their spouses and families in managing over $50,000,000 of client assets. Aranowitz helps clients understand the benefits of their pension and how their pension integrates with their other investments, and insurance to create a plan for retirement. He is professionally licensed in the sale of mutual funds, variable annuities, stocks, bonds, managed accounts, fixed annuities, life, health and long-term care insurance. He specializes in helping to plan and invest for the retirement, investment and insurance needs of his clients and their families. He has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry as a financial advisor, marketing, sales and operations manager.
Aranowitz has earned several designations, including the American College’s Chartered Life Underwriter designation, and the Tax Exempt and Governmental Plans Consultant designation bestowed ASPPA. He also holds the CLTC designation, certified in long-term care, awarded by the Institute for Long-Term Care Certification. He has been a member of the NTSA since 1990, and is a past president, vice president and board member of the organization. He is currently a member of its Leadership Council.
Aranowitz earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. He majored in Marketing with a concentration in Economics. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at the University of Maryland.
Alan Chinen
Chinen & Arinaga Financial Group, Inc.
Mililani, Hawaii
Alan Chinen is President and Chief Executive Officer of Chinen & Arinaga Financial Group, Inc., a firm he co-founded in 1992 that has grown to become one of Hawaii’s premier inancial planning organizations, managing more than $500 million.
Chinen has been very active with the National Tax-deferred Savings Association. He served as NTSAA Treasurer 2007-2009, and as a member of the NTSAA Board or Directors 2005-2009. He has been a part of the NTSAA CEO Group since 1994 and a member of the Directors Circle since 2003.
Charles "Sonny" Detillier
Lutcher, La.
Charles “Sonny” Detillier is the founder and owner of the Sonny Detillier Agency. SDA is a service oriented independent agency, specializing in the K-12 403(b) marketplace and currently serving more than 5,000 clients.
The agency started holding educational meetings instead of “selling” meetings in 1983. It then strived to become expert regarding teachers’ state retirement plans; no one had approached the school districts that way before. Additional school districts learned of these meetings and requested them; several schools have even made these meetings mandatory.
Detillier has been a member of the NTSA for 21 years and the agency is an active member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the National Health Underwriters. And Detillier has won the National Sales Achievement Award and the National Quality Award for the past 38 consecutive years.
Detillier is a qualifying and life member of the Million Dollar Round Table. And at virtually all of the high schools located within the school districts it serves, SDA makes presentations at “Career Day” events to provide information to high school seniors on the retirement planning field.
Detillier is a graduate of the Institute of Insurance Marketing at Louisiana State University and a 1981 graduate of LIMRA’s Agency Management School.
Richard Dobson
American Financial Management, Ltd.
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Richard Dobson, Jr., CFP, is President of American Financial Management, Ltd. (AFM), an SEC-registered investment advisory firm that operates in 37 states. Since 1983, AFM has specialized in third-party asset management for variable annuities, variable universal life and mutual fund sub-accounts. Dobson also is a Certified Financial Planner at Investors Professional Services, and operates Professional Brokerage Services, a life and annuity brokerage.
Dobson is a life member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). He has served on numerous MDRT committees, including the MDRT Finance Committee, and is an MDRT Foundation board trustee. He also has been a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) since 1984 and served on NAIFA’s Iowa Board of Directors for many years.
Dobson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and Marketing from the University of Northern Iowa in 1981. He holds Iowa life and health licenses and is 6, 26, 27, 51, 63 and 65 series qualified.
Ray Dunegan
Wayne, Pa.
Ray Dunegan has been a financial advisor with Kades-Margolis Corporation since 1997. In that capacity, he helps Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) members plan for their retirements and make investments. He also has extensive knowledge of the Public School Employees’ Retirement System and how it should be integrated into retirement planning.
Dunegan is a registered representative of GWN Securities, Inc., an independent registered broker-dealer. He also has earned the Certified in Long-Term Care designation. He is separately insurance licensed for life, health, and accident insurance.
William Haigh
Fairmount, Minn.
William (Bill) Haigh is a financial advisor with EFS Advisors, a company that provides financial services to the education sector.
Haigh worked for the Iowa Senate for 12 years, and was intimately involved in education funding and education legislation in Iowa from 1986 to1997. He started his own business before being asked to go back to state government as the legislative liaison and public information officer for the State information Technology Department under Gov. Tom Vilsack (D).
Since 2001, Bill has helped people prepare for retirement through proper planning and financial vehicles available to middle-income families. Haigh and his wife Nancy assisted Iowa State Education Association members in more than half of the school districts in Iowa. Since July 2010, Bill and Nancy have assisted Education Minnesota members and their families in southwest Minnesota and northern Iowa.
Haigh also has taught high school social studies and coached high school sports at three small high schools in Iowa. While he was teaching, he was an active Iowa State Education Association member.
Haigh graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Public Administration.
Timothy Hayes
Timothy Hayes Financial, Crown Capital Securities, LP
Torrance, Calif.
Timothy Hayes, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ is Registered Principal at Timothy Hayes Financial, Crown Capital Securities, L.P. The firm provides investment services and financial advisor services regarding asset management, retirement planning, 401(k) rollovers, 403(b)s, 457s, IRAs, annuities, mutual funds, college savings plans, fixed investments and more. The firm has been working with teachers in California since 1972 and specializes in 403(b)s and 457s.
As a registered principal, he supervises representatives in investment banking, training, solicitation and general business operations. He has been a chartered life underwriter since 1973; a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ since 1984; and a chartered financial consultant since 1987.
Hayes has a distinguished record of public service, having served as mayor of the City of Lancaster, Calif., and as a member of the Lancaster City Council.
Hayes earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University of Northridge. He also has earned three professional designations from the American College of Life Underwriters and the College of Financial Planning.
Jason Levine
Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc.
Waltham, Mass.
Jason Levine is a financial professional and certified financial planner with Lincoln Investment, Inc., a broker-dealer with more than 1,050 registered representatives nationwide. He also is registered with Capital Analysts, Inc., a registered investment advisor firm based in Wyncote, Pa.
Levine has more than 11 years of experience as a financial professional and is a registered broker-dealer agent. He has experience in financial planning, 401(k)s, portfolio management, mutual funds, strategic financial planning, retirement and insurance. Levine is a member of FINRA.
Levine’s previous experience includes work with Audax Group; as a senior financial analyst at Dataware Technologies; and as a senior accountant at Wasserstein Perella & Co.
Levine earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from the University of Hartford in 1992; he earned a Masters of Business Administration from Northeastern University in 1998.
Tyler Liechty
Wayne, Pa.
Tyler Liechty is a financial advisor with the Kades-Margolis Corp. He has been a registered investment advisor for more than 14 years. He has extensive experience in providing clients with a variety of services and products, including employer sponsored plans, alternative retirement investments, annuities, life insurance and long-term care insurance.
Liechty began working with Kades-Margolis in 2004. In his 10-year career there, he has created a thriving customer-focused, value-based business. He has been one of the top producing Kades-Margolis financial advisors for the last several years.
Liechty’s specialty is helping Pennsylvania public school employees and their families prepare for retirement. He has an intimate understanding of the Public School Employees Retirement System, Pennsylvania State Education Association and the unique needs of the education community.
He also has extensive experience with a variety of financial planning tools and resources to help clients prepare for retirement.
Liechty is a registered representative and investment advisor representative of GWN Securities, Inc., an independent registered broker-dealer. He is registered to provide mutual funds and variable annuities. He is separately licensed to offer annuities and life, accident and long-term health insurance.
Liechty is very active in his church and volunteers his time regularly. He also has taken an active role in coaching his children’s team sports.
Rick McCallister
Torrance, Calif.
Rick McCallister heads the McCallister Financial Group, a firm he founded in 1993 to meet individual clients’ needs and financial situations. His firm seeks to improve others’ lives and help them manage their finances in a manner that best meets their individual goals and financial position. They do so not just for risk/return, but to maximize clients’ satisfaction and provide for their heirs. McCallister Financial Group works with 403(b)s, 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs, taxable accounts and college savings plans.
McCallister is a certified financial planner, certified fund specialist and investment advisory representative. He also is a member of the Mensa Society.
McCallister’s earlier experience includes work with Accenture and serving as a consultant with financial services companies such as American Funds, Pacific Life, Home Savings & Loan, Home Federal Bank and Mitsui Manufacturers Bank.
McCallister earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Cum Laude, from the University of Southern California.
Frank Owen
Charlotte, N.C.
Frank Owen is the president of F.R. Owen & Associates, a firm founded to work primarily with 403(b)s and which became a part of U.S. Retirement Partners (USRP) in 2008. USRP offers leading 403(b) regional firms a partnership in a national network that provides a wide range of services.
In the 1980s, Owen, along with his father, helped build a practice around providing teachers alternative savings to complement their state pension benefits. The premise they followed was that if you met with their firm, they promised two things: (1) a client would know more about 403(b) programs; and (2) the firm having not calling back unless the client asked them to do so. They strongly believed in what they were doing and that most of the time prospective clients would want to work with them.
Owen worked with NTSA during the discussion in North Carolina about a 403(b) statewide plan. He has served NTSA as a board member and president, and currently serves on several committees. He is also a recipient of the 2009 Bob Schiller Meritorious Service Award.
Owen has a CLU designation and a ChFC designation. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Georgia College.
Ezra Shammay
Boston, Mass.
Ezra Shammay is a financial professional at AXA Advisors, LLC, a broker-dealer with more than 5,600 registered representatives nationwide. He began his work at AXA as a financial advisor in the Retirement Benefit Group (RBG) in 2002. By 2006, he was promoted to Vice President to recruit, train and develop new advisors in the RBG group, while maintaining and building his client base. He has sold more than 3,992 403(b)s in the state of Massachusetts.
While at AXA, Ezra has received many awards for his continued growth and service to the 403(b) market, including 2003 and 2004 Top 403(b) Contribution Leader in the Nation, 2005 New Premium Leader in the Nation, 2011 Hallmark One Award winner and Centurion Award winner 2004-2013. He was inducted in to the AXA Hall of Fame in 2011, indicating he was a 10-time consecutive National Leaders Corps member.
Shammay has held an industry securities registration for 11 years. He also is a member of FINRA/SIPC.
Shammay completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Management at the Open University in Israel in 1994. He completed his MBA at Northeastern University in 1998 with a concentration in Finance.
Bruce Smith
San Diego, Calif.
Bruce Smith is a registered representative for PlanMember Securities. His clients are primarily school districts, corporations and non-profits. He owns CalPro Network Financial Services, one of the first financial centers co-branded with PlanMember. His firm and its representatives manage over $350 million in client assets. Smith has been one of PlanMember Securities top three representatives for the last 11 years.
Smith’s career began as a corporate controller. He later began work advising educators in the 403(b) market. From the very beginning, he believed in addressing whole groups as a way to reach more employees and help them understand the need to build a healthier retirement. He is convinced that educators are under served in this area and that the key to reaching them is education. Smith has served on PlanMembers' Partners Advisory Board and seeks to instill in other PlanMember representatives the need to take an active role in serving clients’ financial needs.
Smith has also been active in helping to protect the 403(b) industry and the choices that it makes available to those whom it serves. He and other key 403(b) advisors have twice raised funds, worked together and defeated legislation on the state level in California that would have sharply limited the options employees in the education sector would have in establishing a retirement account.
Smith has a degree in accounting and finance from Eastern Michigan University.
Jeffrey J. Smith
Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc.
Lombard, Ill.
Jeffrey J. Smith is a financial representative for Lincoln Investment Planning, and has more than 21 years of experience as a financial professional. Lincoln Investment Planning is a full-service broker-dealer and registered investment advisor that serves the diverse and changing financial needs of more than 235,000 individual investors, representing more than $20.6 billion in assets.
Smith is a certified financial planner and a registered investment advisory representative. He also is an insurance agent for Linden Money Guard, Inc., American Investors and GE Asset Management.
Smith earned a Bachelors Degree in Finance from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign in 1983.
Linda Smith
Wayne, Pa.
Linda P. Smith is a financial advisor with Kades-Margolis, and has worked for the company since 1991. She is the first and only female advisor who has consistently been a sales leader and striven to exemplify industry best practices through innovative, communicative and new techniques.
Smith has expertise with 401(k) rollovers, investments, college saving plans, mutual funds, IRAs, Roth IRAs, strategic financial planning, and variable and fixed annuities.
Smith provides a variety of services that include comprehensive planning with a thorough analysis of personal financial situations. She is a specialist in tax-sheltered accounts, IRA rollover funds, state pension rollovers, long-term care insurance and life insurance.
Smith is a registered representative of GWN Securities, Inc., an independent registered broker-dealer. And she is separately licensed for life, health and accident insurance.
Smith graduated from Skidmore College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business.
Jill Snyder
Brookfield, Wis.
Jill Snyder is a registered representative with National Insurance Services, a position she has held since 1989. She has extensive background with funding vehicles used for retirement planning. In addition to visiting with existing and prospective new clients, she holds seminars on a variety of investment topics.
Snyder is a registered financial representative with Series 6, 63 and 65 securities licenses. As a tax-exempt and governmental plan consultant and a licensed life and health insurance agent, she works with individuals and groups on their retirement and long-term care plans. Snyder is a certified retirement specialist and is licensed to work with long-term care plans.
She has experience with long-term care, retirement and strategic financial planning, mutual funds, variable and fixed annuities, investments and insurance.
Snyder served on the Board of Directors for the National Tax-Sheltered Accounts Association (now the National Tax-deferred Savings Association) from 2008 to 2011. In that capacity, she helps fulfill NTSA’s mission to be a resource for education, advocacy and information for individuals and organizations serving the 403(b) and 457(b) marketplace. Snyder also shared her expertise as author of several articles that were published in 403(b) Advisor magazine. She also is a 2010 recipient of the B. Schiller Meritorius Service Award 2010 from NTSA.
George Tebbitt
Farmingville, N.Y.
George Tebbitt is a corporation advisor at PlanMember Securities Corporation, a company founded on the belief that individual investors deserve the same level of investment expertise and service as participants in the nation’s largest pension plans. PlanMember provides a broad range of investment choices designed to meet the needs of educators and nonprofit employees, as well as employees of for-profit organizations and individuals in all walks of life.
Tebbitt specializes in helping individuals at every stage of life plan and invest for their future. His clients include educators and employees of nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and come from all walks of life. He has more than 20 years of experience.
Tebbitt has been a certified financial planner since 1997. He also is a registered investment advisory representative.
Doris Wang
Campbell, Calif.
Doris Wang is a financial professional at PlanMember Securities Corporation, a broker-dealer with 554 registered representatives nationwide. She has held an industry securities registration for 16 years. She has spent more than a decade working exclusively to provide information and financial counseling to educators.
Wang puts a premium on making client presentations that effectively and clearly explain complicated financial concepts to school employees, and seeks to ensure that she provides detailed and thorough information so they can make informed decisions.
Wang earned an undergraduate degree in economics in Beijing. She earned a Master of Business Administration in Management and Finance at Santa Clara University.
Jonathan Wilt
Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc.
Wyncote, Pa.
Jonathan H. Wilt is a Senior Financial Representative with Lincoln Investment Planning, where he has worked since 1985. Early in his career he was instrumental in promoting 403(b) plan participation throughout New Jersey and was one of the first representatives of Lincoln Investment to market to school districts in that state.
Wilt’s tenure at Lincoln Investment has included mentoring new recruits, five of whom are now Lincoln Hall of Fame members. He strives to provide client service that goes beyond investment performance and addresses both personal and financial long-term goals.
Wilt is a long-time member of the Financial Services Institute. He is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® and earned his Certified Financial PlannerTM designation in 1989. He also holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 24 and 63 securities registrations and is licensed to sell life and health insurance.
Wilt earned a degree in Business Administration from Rutgers College in 1977.
David Wolfe
Educator's Financial Services, Inc.
Cambridge, Minn.
David Wolfe is a financial professional employed by Educator's Financial Services, Inc. with more than 20 years of experience. He specializes in working with individuals who are at different stages of retirement planning. Wolfe strives to tailor service to individual clients’ needs, objectives and situations. He also takes time to answer younger advisors’ questions and to instill in them a genuine care for clients.
Wolfe has experience in financial planning, pension consulting, portfolio management, conducting educational seminars, security portfolio management and selection of advisors. He is registered as an investment advisory representative and is authorized to give investment advice to clients.
Twin Cities Business and Minneapolis St. Paul magazines named Wolfe "Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager" for two consecutive years.
Wolfe serves the community by participating on many committees and boards. He is an active board member for a local community center and chairs its annual charity golf tournament. He also is part of a non-profit organization Best Prep. In that capacity, he teaches financial literacy classes to high school students as a volunteer; he primarily works with its “College Possible” program, which focuses on kids who are from low socioeconomic families. They have the potential to be the first in their families to go to college.
Wolfe graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jerald Wozniak
Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc.
Wyncote, Pa.
Jerald C. Wozniak is a financial advisor with Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc.; he joined the company in 1986 and is regional vice president. He strives to enable clients to meet their individual goals.
Wozniak is a certified financial planner and is registered as an investment advisory representative authorized to give investment advice to clients.
Wozniak is a trustee emeritus of the Homeless Children's Education Fund (HCEF), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, which was established in 1999 to supplement federal funding for the educational needs of local homeless children.
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