Oak Partners celebrates holidays at Client Advocacy Brunch, featuring guest speaker David Rutherford

To celebrate the holidays and connect with clients, Oak Partners hosted its Client Advocacy Brunch on December 9 at Gamba Ristorante in Merrillville. Having chosen Gamba for other events in the past, Oak Partners Director of Client Experience Crystal DeHaven knew the location goes all-out on Christmas decor each year and would provide the perfect space for clients and wealth advisors to connect, enjoy a delicious meal, and leave feeling inspired by guest speaker, David Rutherford.

Rutherford, who possesses 30 years of experience as a former Navy SEAL and CIA instructor, shared stories of veterans and the qualities that allowed them to persevere and conquer fear. Taking lessons from an 80-year-old program that trained veterans to be successful on the battlefield, Rutherford extrapolated the program’s values, made them palatable for civilians, and emboldened Oak Partners clients and wealth advisors to lead their loved ones by example.

Covering the main bases of commitment, training, communication, and leadership, Rutherford gleaned from several stories of war heroes who excelled in these areas. These veterans, who were all Medal of Honor recipients, included PO2 Mike Monsoor (Iraq 2006), CPO Mike Thornton (Vietnam 1972), Lt. Tommy Norris (Vietnam 1972), and Lt. Mike Murphy (Afghanistan 2005). Like these brave men, Rutherford encouraged attendees to live wholeheartedly, both personally and professionally.

“Lead with love. I think that’s one of the things that most people are afraid to do. I think there’s a component of it that’s a little bit of a fallacy: this idea that if you do lead with love, you must be weak. Believe in your convictions and love your team. It’s okay to stand up for those things and apply them in a practical way that benefits the people you care about most.” Rutherford said.

As a company that leads with love and prioritizes genuine connection and trust with its clients, Oak Partners hosts events and schedules lunches with clients year-round, but the wealth advisors are always eager to do something special around the holidays.

“Having that trust and bond and really connecting with clients is what we do all year,” DeHaven said. “We focus on relationship-based financial planning, and we have a holistic approach to that. Being able to spend time with them today allows us to learn a little bit more about them and connect.”

For more information about Oak Partners, visit oakpartners.com.