“My roots are right where my boots are: in the soil.”

1. What’s your role at Next Acre, and how do you support the families we serve?

My role is driven completely from a faith based, stewardship mindset.  If the plan calls for the family farm to carry on to the next generation, is that generation prepared and well equipped to ensure the farm continues on for generations to come? When the topic of succession or estate planning comes up, many minds gravitate towards needing an attorney.  While an attorney will probably be needed at some point to make the plan come to life, an attorney can only represent one individual or one farm. Farming families tend to be large and we represent the entire family, everything in the "middle" to ensure that every nuisance, every detail is discussed.  Pray, Plant, Pass it on.  

2. What life experience or personal value drew you to this kind of work?

God, Family, Community, Country.  We are blessed to live in the greatest country ever known to mankind.  The family farm is such an integral piece of our country's foundation and success as a nation.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on perspective), farms have become big businesses, the price of dirt reaching levels many can't comprehend. Gone are the days of doing things on the back of a piece of cardboard or a napkin at the local diner. There is a process that each farm needs to go through to ensure the desired outcome. We are honored to serve each and every client we encounter. We respect the time, input and care that goes into passing along something that is represented by sometimes hundreds of years of blood, sweat and tears.    

3. What do you hope clients feel when they work with you?

Respected and Trustworthy. Family Drama? Family Dysfunction?  No issues at all, we meet every client where they are at, we listen more than we talk and we are not afraid to get our hands / boots dirty. We are just like the clients we serve.  

4. What does the word legacy mean to you?

Legacy is not what you leave to someone, it is what you leave in someone.  

It's not about your stuff that you leave but rather the values, the memories, the little things.

Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a Uhaul to the gravesite? Please take a picture and send it if you do see one! 

5. Tell us one thing people might not expect about you.

I was raised in an agricultural family with roots going back over 110 yrs.  My grandfather stormed the beaches at Normandy and went onto a very productive career, eventually arriving in the Ohio Natural Resources Hall of Fame - right alongside Bob Evans and Johnny Appleseed. 

1. What’s your role at Next Acre, and how do you support the families we serve?

My role is to walk alongside farm families as they navigate the complexities of succession, estate planning, and long-term care, making sure their land, legacy, and loved ones are protected. I help families see around corners so they can make confident decisions that secure the future of what they’ve built. We simplify the process, offer clear next steps, and build plans that honor the family’s values, not just their financials.

2. What life experience or personal value drew you to this kind of work?

My family has been in business for generations, from coin-operated jukeboxes to entrepreneurship today. I’ve seen the pride and pressure that comes with running a family-owned operation. Add to that my faith and my belief in stewardship — that what we’re given isn’t just for us, but for those who come after. That belief drives everything I do. Next Acre isn’t just about protecting assets, it’s about honoring sacrifice, preserving history, and making sure the next generation is equipped, not burdened.

3. What do you hope clients feel when they work with you?

Relieved. Understood. And respected. I want them to feel like they finally found someone who “gets it.” Someone who’s not going to push products or complicate things, but instead show up like a good neighbor; helpful, honest, and committed to doing right by their family.

4. What does the word legacy mean to you?

Legacy isn’t just what you leave behind — it’s how you lived while you were here. It’s the lessons passed down, the land handed over, and the values that carry on long after we’re gone. Legacy means keeping the family together, even when the paperwork could pull them apart.

5. Tell us one thing people might not expect about you.

Most people don’t expect their financial guy to be a farm-raised, small-town kid who still coaches youth basketball and works with his hands. I’ve cleaned up barns, painted houses, and run businesses — and that practical, down-to-earth mindset shapes how I serve others. I speak plain, I listen well, and I believe trust is earned by showing up consistently — not showing off.

1. What’s your role at Next Acre, and how do you support the families we serve?

As Director of Operations my goal is to ensure that our clients have a seamless experience when trusting us with their business. I am here to answer questions, solve problems, and guide our clients through the process of accomplishing their financial goals. 

2. What life experience or personal value drew you to this kind of work?

Service to others has always been the core of who I am. My faith and family values shape how I approach every part of my role, with integrity, humility, and a heart for service. I have been blessed with the opportunity to make a real difference in our clients lives by supporting this amazing team. 

3. What do you hope clients feel when they work with you?

I want our clients to feel peace of mind and genuine care. I strive for all of our clients to feel seen, respected, and supported. 

4. What does the word legacy mean to you?

Legacy for me means continuing the values, tradition, and vision of what was started before me, while building something even stronger for those who come next. I believe that helping our clients make wise financial choices, can change lives for generations. 

5. Tell us one thing people might not expect about you.

I love taking care of animals. I have two Savannah cats that are fun and extremely smart, they can open doors and love to play fetch with their toys. I also have a rescue dog that loves the water and enjoys rides in a golf cart! 

1. What’s your role at Next Acre, and how do you support the families we serve?

I’m a property and casualty risk advisor. I help families and landowners protect what matters most by evaluating their properties, identifying liability exposures, and making sure there are no gaps that could lead to major losses of income or property. In simple terms, I help protect families’ livelihoods and legacies so they can keep doing what they love for generations.

2. What life experience or personal value drew you to this kind of work?
My father was a Baptist minister, and I grew up watching him love people well and serve God faithfully. I saw firsthand how God blessed his ministry and his marriage. I also spent my childhood in Mississippi, where my grandfather raised cattle on 80-acres-land that was later transitioned into a small tree farm my father still harvests today. Currently, I live in Hilliard, Ohio, married to a wife who grew up raising horses and rabbits. These roots — faith, family, and life on the land — shaped my desire to build relationships with people who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty and humble enough to admit that Gods in control and they are just trying to be good stewards of what He has instructed them with.

3. What do you hope clients feel when they work with you?

I hope they feel they have an honest, transparent advisor who genuinely cares about them and will always have their best interests at heart — someone they can trust and count on.

4. What does the word legacy mean to you?

Legacy, to me, is pointing people to Christ. If the way I serve and communicate with my clients reflects God’s love, that’s the best legacy to leave I could ever hope for.

I can’t control the choices my children make or force them into my business, but I hope they’ll know they had a father who loved and feared God, honored his clients, and lived by the Golden Rule.

5. Tell us one thing people might not expect about you.
For a few years I lived in Pascagoula, MS near a Pogy plant. I use to have a bumper sticker that said, I brake for boiled peanuts. I can cast a mean shrimp net and know how to prepare for hurricanes. 

1. What’s your role at Next Acre, and how do you support the families we serve?
(In simple terms — what do you do and why does it matter?)

I'm an estate planning, probate and real estate attorney. I can offer service to the families by engaging in conversations regarding their ultimate goals with the family farm, and the best legal way to achieve those goals. Ultimately, I would prepare all of the legal documents that would be used to set up the estate and/or succession plan for the family farm. 

2. What life experience or personal value drew you to this kind of work?
(Think family, faith, legacy — anything that grounds you.)

I grew up raising show pigs as 4-H projects, working on my aunt's farrow to wean hog farm, and helping my dad with his 180+ acres farmland as he planted beans and corn each year.  I have seen firsthand the weight that these conversations can carry, and how important these decisions are and how they need to be made over a period of time, with clear-minded conversation amongst all interested parties. I am drawn to this kind of work because I have lived these situations.

3. What do you hope clients feel when they work with you?

I hope clients feel that they have a plan, and by extension, legal documents, that accomplish their primary goals and at the same time are easy to understand and get their arms around. I am not interested in over complicating the estate planning process. I want to make sure clients don't have to come back to me every time they have a question (but they are welcome to do so). I want them to be equipped with a comprehensive understanding of the documents that we have worked to prepare for their family business and that if conversations need to be had in the future or changes need to made, that I am always available to be involved every step along the way.

4. What does the word legacy mean to you?

The word "legacy" makes me think of that famous quote "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Legacy is the lasting effect left on other people on how you made them feel. This applies to more than just people, this applies to businesses, this applies to places, this applies to all things. We don't remember the specifics, but we always remember how people or things made us feel. 

5. Tell us one thing people might not expect about you.
(Fun fact, hidden talent, or something meaningful about who you are.)

Following college, my wife and I followed Dave Ramsey's baby steps program to pay off our debt, which totaled $125,000 in 27 months, and then subsequently went on Dave's radio show in person to do our debt scream back in 2019. Since then we have led Financial Peace 4x through our prior church.