On Monday, Wheeler Financial celebrated its 13th birthday. On October 5, 2007 my Dad, Bill Wheeler, left another firm to start Wheeler Financial with his vision for providing a top-tier investment and service experience for our clients.
While our practice has had significant growth over the years, it wasn’t always easy. In its infancy, Wheeler Financial almost immediately faced major headwinds. The Great Recession of 2008 was beginning. In fact, the Dow hit its pre-crash high of 14,164 on October 9th of that year. By March 5, 2009, the Dow would be at 6594. While the job of transitioning clients to the new practice was already a challenging one, helping clients with their concerns about the market made for additional work.
Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. Bill’s sister, Cathy Hartman, who was his only employee and a key part of the operation, would be diagnosed with cancer in December of 2007. She continued to work as much as possible and put up a valiant fight against the horrible disease which would eventually take her life in 2011. We decided at that time every October 5th at Wheeler financial would be known as Cathy Hartman Day in her memory.
While the early days were a challenge, Bill and Cathy would go on to build a strong foundation for a business rooted in thoughtful advice and service beyond expectations.
I joined the practice in 2011 and eventually assumed leadership in 2016 upon my Dad’s retirement. To this day, the Wheeler Financial team strives to help our clients meet their goals and hold their hand through difficult times.
In celebration of our birthday and in fond memory of the life and contribution of my Aunt Cathy, Wheeler Financial has made a $1000 contribution to No Kid Hungry to help children who are missing out on healthy meals as a result of the global pandemic.
Once again, this year and for every year, we will follow my Dad’s advice… “Just be of value to people, and you will have a very successful business.”