Alumnus follows his own advice for retirement planning and charitable giving
Nearly 25 years ago, Christopher G. Fines was looking for a college that would enable him to play baseball and help launch a potential career in business. After graduating from Stafford High School, he chose Mary Washington.
“At the time, I didn’t realize how important that decision would be,” he says. “While I majored in business administration, I now see how Mary Washington’s superior academics and the whole liberal arts and sciences experience broadened my perspective and helped prepare me for life.”
After graduating in 1999, Chris worked at what was then Union Bank & Trust and eventually became a financial advisor. With 16 years of advisory experience, he now has several official abbreviations behind his name including CFP and RICP, meaning he is a Certified Financial Planner and a Retirement Income Certified Professional. He and his business partner own Community Financial Group, which currently has 22 employees and offices in Fredericksburg, Richmond, and Roanoke.
“I spend every day meeting with people older than me talking about financial strategies and retirement and estate planning,” says Chris. “One day I decided to solidify my own plans to provide for my wife and four children and also for Mary Washington.”
Chris then notified the Office of Gift Planning that he had designated UMW as a beneficiary of a specified percentage of his 401K.
“Mary Washington did some great things to help me develop as a person and as a professional,” he says. “I stay connected by serving on the UMW College of Business Advisory Board and by speaking to business classes. This estate gift is just one more way I can give back and show appreciation to my alma mater.”
If you wish to make UMW a beneficiary of any of your accounts, please specify that gifts be directed to the University of Mary Washington Foundation. Contact Jan Clarke at 540-654-2064 for more information.
Article written by Donna Harter, Executive Director of Advancement Initiatives
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