To Utah We Go!

In 2005 I graduated from Utah State University and took a position with a financial services company to open a scratch office them in Logan, Utah.  I learned very quickly that I loved this industry, especially the aspect of developing new financial planners as a manager.  Things went great and in 2008 my family and I moved from Logan, UT to Meridian, ID where I accepted a position of Vice President for this same company. 

Moving to Idaho was a very rewarding experience for my family.  Both Andrea and I had spent most of our life living close to family in Cache Valley (Logan, UT).  In moving to Idaho, this was our families first opportunity to be "on our own".  The only people we knew in Meridian were a few individuals from my work.  This was great because it forced us to get out of our comfort zone which created much personal growth.  We also enjoyed having the opportunity to truly rely on each other now that our family was no longer readily accessible. 

After a few months of adjusting, we really started to enjoy our neighborhood, neighbors and my new position within the company.  Life was good and we loving being "Idahoans".

Fast forward 5 years which brings us to today.  Recently we have had a considerable amount of growth outside of Idaho in my job which has required me to travel increasingly more.  This was tough considering my children are getting older and these years of their lives we'll never get back.  We also started to see some changes in the demographics of our extended family.  There's lots more cousins in Utah and our kids love spending time with them.  All of our grandparents are aging and their health has been poor.  In a nutshell, we started to miss our family and our home in Utah.

That's why when I was approached about interviewing for a position that would give us the opportunity to return to Utah it caught my attention.  The opportunity itself was also very appealing.  I would be interviewing for the position of President/CEO of a financial services company in Utah.  I knew it was a long shot to get the job, but I gave it my best shot.  Long story short I got lucky and was chosen for the position!  I am now working for Mass Mutual Financial Group - Intermountain West.

We are so excited to get back home!  I'm also very excited for the chance to work in this capacity.  Tuesday was my first day.  Throughout the week I've been fortunate to meet with many of the advisers for our firm.  These are very driven individuals that are committed to their clients, their family, and their community!  The future is bright!

We've already found a home that we love!  We'll be living in Alpine.  The kids are excited because the lot the house sits on is zoned to have up to 2 horses.  Nash really wants a goat or some chickens.  I can only imagine Nash with a yard full of farm animals!  I'm not too sure we'll be getting any animals anytime soon, but I guess you never know. 

Another reason I'm excited to live in Utah is because of the triathlon community as well as the Down syndrome community.  Both are great!  There are some excellent triathletes and there are some great races in the community.  Brynlee has been doing some training with me this year so she can do her first kids triathlon this summer.  There are also many families who have adopted children that they found through Reece's Rainbow.

In the meantime, we'll be packing, moving and then unpacking.  Summer time is just around the corner and before I know it, June 8th will be here.  That's the day of my first triathlon of the season, the Boise 70.3! 

Change is good.  It creates opportunity for growth and the opportunity for renewal.  It challenges us, but it also refines us.  For this I'm very thankful!