“We were among the first teams inserted into urban areas, and we were involved in door-to-door combat,” he said. “We were told to expect at least 30% casualties and nearly everyone would probably be injured. In the end, those estimates were pretty accurate.”

Bennetts was among those wounded during the campaign, and after being medically discharged from the military, he occupied himself with other pursuits: entering the financial services profession and starting a new career, as well as a new family. However, years later he got a piece of news that once again spurred him to act on behalf of his fellow service members and veterans.

“As of November 2018, I had lost more of my Marine brothers to suicide post-service than in actual military combat,” he said. “That was a real wake-up call for me, and I couldn’t understand why nobody seemed to be discussing this problem from the lens of how personal finances might play a role.”

Now The College’s CFP® Certification Education Program and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) Program Director, Bennetts says it’s been long established that service members on the battlefield won’t be as effective if they’re preoccupied with a toothache or something else physically wrong with them – but financial well-being is just as important as physical well-being to maintaining combat readiness.

“It’s just as problematic, and maybe even more so, for a service member to worry about how they’re going to pay their car insurance or afford their mortgage payment,” he said. “The biggest sources of stress for people are usually money and relationships, and if you dig deeper into many of those relationships, the cause is often still money. I found the academic community wasn’t discussing this in the context of preventing veteran suicide, so I decided to go back to school to confront this issue more seriously.”

While Bennetts said programs by the VA to address physical and mental health problems for service members and veterans, including PTSD, are incredibly important to maintain the well-being of those individuals, financial health is often left out of the conversation. In addition, statistics show that over 20 veterans die by suicide daily in the U.S. on average, demonstrating a significant need for more services to support them. Bennetts says “financial empowerment” is an important part of that equation.

While studying for his PhD in Personal Financial Planning through Kansas State University and still focusing on the issue of financial well-being for military members, Bennetts says he was presented with the opportunity to be part of a select group of student veterans who would be able to propose legislation based on their research. He applied for and was awarded one of the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW) Student Veterans of America (SVA) Legislative Fellowships, earning the privilege of traveling to the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., and presenting his findings to those in positions to take action on them.

“All the fellows had different ideas to present,” he said. “One student was working on issues surrounding veterans’ housing insecurity. Another dealt with National Guard members’ life transitions if they were called in to deal with a natural disaster. Mine had to do with financial services, financial counseling, and its integration into PTSD treatment. This was the VFW’s national legislative advocacy week, so there must have been at least 500 of us as VFW members participating from every state and territory going to their individual representatives and pitching their proposals to elected officials.”

It appears Bennetts’ proposal caught the eye of the VFW’s Legislative Affairs team, who brought it to the rest of the organization’s leadership.

“I think they realized I wasn’t a  20-something reading off a script and that I was passionate about this issue and knowledgeable on it,” he said. “Before I knew it, it went from me only meeting with people from Kansas and Nebraska to getting a list of every event happening that week and being encouraged to attend as many of those as I could.”

Over the course of several days, Bennetts estimated he met with over 15 elected officials from nine different states, including Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), a current member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. And then, things went another step further.

“They asked us to come to the White House for a meeting,” he said. “I was astounded. We had to complete security clearance requests and meet with the president’s Special Advisor on Veterans Affairs. I got to talk with her and her team about how certain record-keeping practices at the VA were stopping us from getting a clear picture of the actual well-being of our veterans. I even became part of the testimony to the Joint House and Senate Oversight Committee for Veterans Services Organizations (VSO). I’m still processing all of it, to be honest. It was a whirlwind but also an amazing experience.”

Bennetts says he plans to continue his advocacy on financial empowerment for military members and veterans and that he’s been inspired by the entire Washington experience.

“When I reflect on the last four to five years of my life, there’s been a lot of uncertainty, especially regarding my journey toward my PhD,” he said. “That week without a doubt relit my fire to keep going, and it was an honor to be part of the conversation.” 
 

Peter Browne, Howard Cowan, and Maury Stewart pictured left to right. 

The American College of Financial Services has been blessed with dedicated alumni and donors that have devoted their professional and personal resources to ensure the future success of The College. These College champions understand the impact of a College education and how it prepares our students to do great things in an industry and world that needs them.

Peter C. Browne, LUTCF^® 

A life of service and professionalism that exemplified Dr. Solomon Huebner’s client-first philosophy.

Peter C. Browne, LUTCF®, was a longtime leadership volunteer, loyal donor, and consummate champion for The College. He served on The College’s Board of Trustees and was a past chairman of The College’s Foundation Board. He was serving on the President’s Roundtable and actively working to deepen the partnership between The College and Ameritas that he tirelessly cultivated during his career with Union Central, which then merged into Ameritas Life.

Peter’s passion for The College and Union Central was best exemplified through his leadership to help establish the Union Central Larry R. Pike Chair in Insurance and Investments at The College in 2002. Through the evolution of our partnership with Ameritas, The College was able to create the Women in Financial Services scholarship with Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS) in 2021.

Peter received The College’s President’s Award in 2010 and was awarded the Solomon S. Huebner Gold Medal in 2013, The College’s highest honor, and was a member of The College’s Loyalty Society and Legacy Society.

Peter was a past NAIFA National treasurer, president of NAIFA-NY, and president of GAMA. Serving for over 60 years in the life insurance industry, he was honored with countless industry awards and recognition, including the 2015 John Newton Russell Memorial Award — the highest honor bestowed upon a living member of the insurance and financial planning industry. He spent his time and resources to ensure that life insurance professionals had access to the knowledge to grow and has left a lasting mark on the profession.

Howard Cowan, CLU^®, ChFC^®

Industry leader and mentor that always made time to share his ideas and insights on how to strengthen and grow The College.

Howard Cowan, CLU®, ChFC®, was the Founder and President of Cowan Financial Group, which he formed in 1985 and ran until he retired from the organization in 2009. Over Howard’s illustrious career, he mentored countless general agents and career agents and was recognized with many prestigious industry honors, including the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company’s highest honor, the National Chairman’s Trophy, for an unprecedented 20 years.

Howard always made time to share his ideas and insights on how to strengthen The College. Howard served on The College Foundation Board for eight years and was a member of the Insurance Review Committee. At the time of his passing, he was a member of The College’s President’s Roundtable, a President’s Circle member, Loyalty Society member, Legacy Society member, and major capital campaign donor to The College. His other awards and accolades included the Masters Club, Leaders Club, GAMA Master Agency Award, GAMA First In Class, Master Agency Growth Award, and 
GAMA Hero Leadership Award.

Maurice L. “Maury” Stewart, CLU^®, ChFC^®, CLF^®

A longtime leadership volunteer, donor, and champion for The College and an advocate for life insurance and the financial services industry.

In 1950, after serving our country as a pilot in the United States Air Force, Maurice L. “Maury” Stewart, CLU®, ChFC®, CLF®, started his career with Penn Mutual as a general agent selling life insurance in Topeka, KS.

Because of the transformational impact of his contributions, Maury was a member 
of The College’s 2012 Hall of Fame and the 2017 Solomon S. Huebner Gold Medal Winner. 
In addition to being a lifelong learner and a former faculty member at The College 
and attaining many designations, Maury encouraged the establishment of the 
Charles E. Drimal Professorship in Estate Planning. In 2008, he was honored with 
the establishment of the Maurice L. Stewart Lecture at The College in partnership with 
Penn Mutual. The annual lecture addresses issues critical to the practice of leadership 
development and has featured a series of renowned speakers.

Maury’s values and passion for leadership are also reflected in The College’s Chartered 
Leadership Fellow® (CLF®) designation. While holding the then named George Joseph Chair in Management Education, Maury substantially strengthened the development of the CLF® Program. As a guest lecturer for many years, he shared his enthusiasm and wisdom with generations of CLF® students, building their competence as managers and leaders.

The Legacy Society

The Legacy Society honors those individuals who have informed The College of their estate gift intention or funded a life-income gift or life insurance policy that will support the future of The College. We are grateful for these individuals who are living out their philanthropic goals through their legacy.

To learn more about how you can support the future of The College through an estate gift, please reach out to Carol Parlin Prushan at carol.prushan@theamericancollege.edu or 610-526-1389.  

Many people know Al Granum, CLU® as the creator of the 10-3-1 prospecting method, a simple system which greatly increased the productivity of insurance agents to grow their business. But Granum was also tirelessly committed to elevating the professionalism of the financial industry, a living example of what it means to put the client's interests first.

Early Life and Military Service

O. Alfred Granum was born just a few years before the Great Depression in a small town in northern Wisconsin. He was passionate about education, conducting his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1943, simultaneously earning his BA and MA in Life Insurance.

After graduating, Granum served our country for three years by joining the U.S. Navy during the height of World War II.

Setting Records at Northwestern Mutual

Upon returning home from the war, Granum contracted with Northwestern Mutual in Amery, WI, the company with which he would establish his legacy. After just eight years as a life insurance agent with Northwestern Mutual, Granum qualified as a life member of the Million Dollar Round Table.

In 1963 he was appointed managing partner in Chicago, IL. During his tenure in this role, his agency with Northwestern Mutual became the first office in the industry to write more than $150 million dollars of new business in a 12-month period. They were ranked first in company volume and/or premium a staggering 37 times. And Granum qualified 42 of his 45 agents as Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) members.

Creating the One Card System

It was during this period that he conducted his groundbreaking research, which ultimately led to the development of Client Building and the One Card System. This ingenious system is a proven track to success for financial services professionals – providing both the art and science of building a clientele. It is arguably his most influential and important contribution to the industry.

Understanding that client growth was most likely to result from a long term, data-driven approach, Granum required the agents he was working with to keep detailed records on referred leads (tracking cases opened, closed, and business submitted). The data was compiled manually. Computers for such tasks were still a long way off.

In the first 10 years, they were able to process good records on more than 50,000 referred leads. Research showed that every ten leads processed would generate three prospects, and one of those would become a client. This 10-3-1 ratio was confirmed by the data Granum and his team compiled over the next 15 years on 150,000 “suspects.” Remarkably, the ratio stayed the same no matter how experienced the agent became.

Elevating the Industry

After 23 years Granum retired from his managing partner position, but he continued his work – traveling around the world to teach his Client Building system to help strengthen the profession on a global basis.

Granum received the Dennis Tamcsin General Agent Achievement Award in 2000 for his lifetime impact on Northwestern Mutual. He was awarded a Chair in Practice Management at The American College, endowed to him by his peers in 2001, making him one of seven to be recognized in this way in The College’s history. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) presented him with the John Newton Russell Award for outstanding service to the institution of life insurance in 2002. One year later he received The American College’s highest honor, the Huebner Gold Medal.

Establishing the Granum Center for Financial Security

In June 2012, to honor his legacy and commitment to lifelong learning, The American College of Financial Services, supported by a generous contribution from Northwestern Mutual, formally launched the American College O. Alfred Granum Center for Financial Security. Emboldened with Al’s passion for the profession and pursuit of the truth, the Center champions financial security, seeking to strengthen and grow the profession through original, cutting-edge research, thought forums, webcasts, and advisor resources.

An Enduring Legacy

It's been said of Granum that regardless of all the accomplishments and accolades he received, he was rarely driven by recognition. The greatest leaders of our time are those who are motivated by a passion that plaques and awards can never inspire. Fortunately, Granum left many disciples who continue to share his principles with the next generation–teachings that are timeless and continue to have impact around the globe.

Al Granum, CLU® is a legend in the financial services business. His client building system has impacted countless financial services professionals. His legacy lives on—in the American College O. Alfred Granum Center for Financial Security, in the countless publications which cite his research, and in the lives of those he has impacted.