Comer Receives FPA 2011 Heart of Financial Planning Award

FOR RELEASE:       August 9, 2011

CONTACT:               Christine Richardson

                                    303-867- 7104

                                    Christine.Richardson@FPAnet.org

FPA Announces 2011 Heart of Financial Planning Award Winners

Denver - The Financial Planning Association^® (FPA^®) today announced its 2011 Heart of Financial Planning Award winners. The Awards recognize individual professionals, financial planning firms, FPA chapters, or organizations who engage in extraordinary work, contributing and giving back to the financial planning community and public through financial planning. Recipients embody the spirit of financial planning and also represent FPA's Core Values: Competence, Integrity, Relationships and Stewardship. This year’s winners are:

• Marco Chavarín – Chavarín manages the Bank on San Francisco and Payday Plus SF program for the San Francisco Treasurer’s Office of Financial Empowerment; connecting low-income San Franciscans to healthy financial products and providing culturally relevant financial education to ensure success in the mainstream. Chavarín also serves as the chair of San Francisco’s Financial Education Network, a collaborative group of nonprofit service providers, philanthropic funders, and local public sector representatives dedicated to improving the provision of financial education services city-wide. He has worked for Treasurer José Cisneros providing access for needy San Francisco residents to the financial mainstream since November 2008. For the past two years, Chavarín has served on the board of directors of HomeownershipSF, helping diverse and underserved households buy and keep homes in San Francisco.
• John Comer, CFP^® (FPA of Minnesota) – Comer serves FPA of Minnesota as a member of the Financial Literacy & Stability Committee and is on the Steering Committee for the Twin Cities Financial Planning Day event. Comer has also a past chapter board member and regularly volunteers for FPA national committees. He is on the Steering Committee for Financial Matters at Best Prep, a statewide organization with a mission to best prepare Minnesota students with business, career and financial literacy skills through experiences that inspire success in work and life. Comer manages his own business, consulting with financial planners, to assist them in providing a more focused and improved client experience.
• Robert Glovsky, JD, LLM, CFP^® (FPA of Massachusetts) – Glovsky has spent more than 20 years helping develop the CFP^® program at Boston University, and is director emeritus of its Program for Financial Planners, the fourth largest in the country. Additionally, Glovsky has been practicing as a financial planner for more than 30 years and is the president of Mintz Levin Financial Advisors, LLC in Boston, where he provides wealth management and investment advisory services to individuals and families. Glovsky was 2010 chair of the CFP Board of Standards and also led its Board of Examiners, which sets standards for professionals worldwide.
• Nicholas Nicolette, CFP^® (FPA of New Jersey) – Nicolette has been involved in the financial planning profession since 1981 and is currently a principal of Sterling Financial Planning, Inc. in Sparta, NJ. He served as the 2007 national president of the Financial Planning Association . Prior to his national service, he served as president of the FPA New Jersey chapter; and has also been awarded the chapter’s Heart of Financial Planning Award. He was honored to be the first FPA spokesperson to appear before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Aging and to testify before the Committee regarding fraudulent or inappropriate investment advice given to seniors. Nicolette was also active on the Post 9/11 relief effort assisting victims’ families with pro bono financial planning assistance.
• Frank Paré, CFP^® (FPA of East Bay) –While serving as co-chair of government relations for FPA of East Bay, Paré was instrumental in developing the first collaboration between local and state government to host financial planning clinics in Oakland, Calif., and cities across the country to help low-income families impacted by the economic downturn. Paré helped FPA and its partners coordinate the inaugural Financial Planning Days program that launched in 2010, resulting in thousands of Americans discovering the value of financial planning in more than 20 communities nationwide. As a result of his efforts, Paré was asked to submit a resolution on behalf of FPA to the U.S. Conference of Mayors titled, "Financial Planning Clinics for Retirement Preparedness & Financial Literacy."  The resolution was supported and adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and has been submitted to Congress for adoption. 
• Gary Schaer – New Jersey Assemblyman Schaer has championed state legislation that supports financial literacy in schools and protects seniors from deceptive sales techniques. As chair of the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, Schaer has supported legislation that introduces financial education in high school, prevents predatory annuity sales and marketing activities, and prohibits misleading use of senior citizen-specific financial certifications and professional designations. While promoting the value of financial planning in high schools, the legislation also protects consumers, especially seniors, from financial representatives that practice deceptive sales techniques.
• Judith Volkmann, Esq., CFP^® (FPA of New York) – Volkmann has worked tirelessly to create pro bono opportunities for FPA. Volkmann has established connections with nonprofit community organizations to provide financial literacy workshops for their clients. Volkmann taught planners how to give the workshops and found a successor so the committee would continue. She was instrumental in starting the Money Work$ program at a New York community college, a twelve week-course that teaches financial literacy to students; the program is in its seventh year. Additionally, Volkmann started a program at a community college for FPA members to learn how to start a viable financial planning practice; the program has been approved for next semester.

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About the Financial Planning Association

The Financial Planning Association^® (FPA^®) is the largest membership organization for personal financial planning experts in the U.S. and includes professionals from all backgrounds and business models. FPA members adhere to the highest standards of professional competence, ethical conduct and clear, complete disclosure to those they serve. Based in Denver, Colo., FPA works in alliance with academic leaders, legislative and regulatory bodies, financial services firms and consumer interest organizations. For more information about FPA, visit www.FPAnet.org or call 800.322.4237.