Mary Alice is a Co-Owner of Insurance Advantage & LMA Financial Services. She started her insurance and retirement planning career in January of 1995. She will tell you that, as a retirement specialist, every day is a day to learn and share your knowledge. It only takes a few minutes around Mary Alice to see the passion for her job, the company, and its employees. Mary Alice places great value on the personal connections she has with her clients, which is her favorite part of the job! Faith in Christ is at the foundation of her business and she strives to live by the golden rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated.
Mary Alice, born and raised in Benton, AR, grew up in a strong Christian home with two school teaching parents! Her dad, Ken, was an elementary principal. Helen, her mother, taught 7th grade English and Social Studies. Her parent’s love of people, and especially children, has continued in Mary Alice’s life. One of her most favorite hobbies is trip planning and taking! She has even planned trips for friends and clients. Additionally, she enjoys college sports, especially Razorback football. When time allows, she loves to golf! Mary Alice has also been an avid reader of the newspaper since her childhood days. When she is in the office, there’s going to be positive vibes, laughter, and many days, a very good lunch!
Lisa is a Co-Owner of Insurance Advantage & LMA Financial Services. She is an Investment Advisor Representative holding a Series 65 registration. She also is a licensed insurance agent for Life, Health, and Annuities. What started out as a love for numbers and problem solving blossomed into a wonderful career in the financial industry. Lisa’s clients are like extended family and she cherishes the relationships she has made over the years and the trust they have in her.
Speaking of family… Lisa is blessed to have two incredible adult children and a Marine pilot as a son-in-law. Elise and her husband, Trint, currently reside in San Diego, CA. Lisa’s son, Joel, has Autism and is non-verbal. She has devoted much time to understanding Joel’s condition and providing him with the best opportunities possible. Joel spends his days at Pathfinder in Jacksonville where Lisa serves on the Board of Directors. Due to the role Pathfinder has had in Joel’s life, the organization is Lisa’s favorite charity. She is also involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House of Arkansas. In her limited free time, Lisa enjoys watching sports (particularly the Razorbacks), playing golf, reading, and playing board games with friends. She is a self-proclaimed hummingbird freak and enjoys watching them “play” in her backyard.
Blake is an Investment Advisor Representative and holds a Series 65 registration. He is also a licensed life and health insurance agent. His combined roles as an investment advisor representative and life insurance specialist allow him to help create plans that maximize his client’s wealth. Blake’s broad scope of knowledge, and his love of people, are what set him apart from most when it comes to retirement and investment planning. He believes it’s important to view the entire picture, not just the moment at hand. Blake will take the necessary time to ensure that every client fully understands what products or investments they have and why they are included in their plan.
Blake, and his beautiful wife, Hannah, (an attorney at Gill Ragon Owen, P.A. in Little Rock) were born and raised in Paragould, AR. They both enjoy living in Little Rock and take advantage of the miles of bike trails and wonderful restaurants in the central Arkansas area. But during duck season, he keeps the road to northeast Arkansas hot!
Like everyone else on the team, Blake is a big fan of anything Razorback. But unlike other team members, Blake is a bit of a clean freak and keeps his work area and home clean and clutter-free! This obsession helps him to stay focused on the tasks he needs to complete each day.
Haley was born and raised in Jacksonville, AR. Her dad, Barry, has been a coach, a teacher and now an Athletic Director. Haley’s mom, Lisa, is a 2nd grade teacher in the Beebe School District. Haley is big sister to Brandon and Molly whom she loves dearly. Haley joined our team in February of 2018 after graduating from Henderson State University in 2017.
One of Haley’s greatest qualities is her caring spirit! True to her personality, Haley treats each and every client with the utmost respect and kindness. Her goal is to put God first in everything and treat His children in a manner pleasing to Him. The entire team (and Haley’s clients) can attest to her success in doing so! Haley is dedicated to Lisa and Mary Alice, her team and our clients. At the end of the day, she is proud of her accomplishments both with clients and the other work she does at IA-LMA.
When not at work, Haley enjoys attending or watching Razorback sports. (If you haven’t heard her yelling while watching a Hogs game on TV, then just open your door and listen the next time they play!) Haley also enjoys going to concerts and movies with family and friends.
If you ask her, Haley will be quick to tell you that she works to travel! In 2018, she took her first trip to New York City and fell in love with the city! Her favorite of all, however, was her 2019 journey to Tiberias, Israel, a city on the Sea of Galilee, during her Holy Land tour. She has a bucket list of journeys and can’t wait to see everything she can see! Haley values life experiences over material things, cherishing each experience as she strives to live life to the fullest.
Whitney completed her MBA in Finance at the University of Central Arkansas in May of 2022. She joined the IA/LMA Team August of 2021. Whitney is fully focused on growing her knowledge and expertise in the financial industry. She beams with pride as she tells people that she and her twin sister, Alexis, are first generation college graduates in their family! Whitney is not only extremely smart, she is quick to tell you that she hopes to never stop learning and prides herself in her education. With a passion to help others achieve their financial goals, this industry is perfect for Whitney!
Whitney was born and raised in Jacksonville, Arkansas. Her favorite vacation destination is the beach; however, she traveled abroad when she visited China for ten days while in college. Whitney has two siblings, a twin sister that is mentioned above and a brother who is 17 years younger than her that she enjoys spoiling. He is truly benefiting from watching his older sisters strive for, and reach, their dreams. In her spare time, Whitney enjoys decorating for events and holidays as well as spending time with her family.
Rocky joined our team after a 35-year career as a teacher, coach and administrator in Pulaski County Special School District. (He will be quick to tell you that one of the athletes he coached in track went on to win a 2016 Olympic Gold Medal! ) Rocky is a licensed health and life agent. Our clients thoroughly enjoy visiting with Rocky! He has a wonderful ability to make others feel at ease. From listening to, and working with, a variety of clients, he has learned that every person is different and that there’s much more to someone than what is on the surface.
Rocky is married to Michele who is also on the IA-LMA team. He is the proud father of two sons, Reid and Jake. He has had the pleasure to be both a father and at times, a coach to his sons. (By the way, you can read more about his boys in Michele’s bio below!)
In his free time, Rocky loves watching high school sports and all Razorback sports. Now that Michele and Rocky reside in northwest Arkansas, he can, at times, attend games with one or both of his sons. This makes for a happy Rocky!
Lisa is a licensed life and health insurance agent and assists our clients with Medicare products, dental, vision, cancer, heart and stroke insurance coverage. She started in the insurance industry soon after graduating from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Our client’s love to hear Lisa’s cheerful voice and experience her positive attitude! Our team knows that these attributes are two of God’s greatest gifts to her!
Having lived in nine different states, most of her 31 years in central Arkansas were spent with the love of her life, Darrel Seward. Darrel was a coach in the Little Rock School District his entire career and passed away in November of 2018 after a 2-year battle with cancer. She will tell you that, with the help of her loving God, she has been able to move on, learning to give her worries and fears to Him! Lisa is a mother to an adult son and “Memaw” to a precious granddaughter! Her other two “kids” have four legs and rule the roost!
In the summer of 2021, Lisa was able to move back to Georgia and be of assistance to her aging parents. With modern technology, she hasn’t missed a beat where her job is concerned!
In her spare time, Lisa enjoys traveling (especially to the beach) and being with family, friends and the 4-legged kids!
Deborah is a life-long resident of central Arkansas. She graduated from Cabot High School, received her BSE from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and MS from the University of Central Arkansas. She taught high school English and College Psychology for 33 years before “retiring” and joining the staff at Insurance Advantage & LMA Financial Services. She’s now a licensed insurance agent and loves helping all clients, but especially her fellow retired teachers!
Deborah has two grown children, Brock and Ally, and she loves spending time with them at home or travelling. When not at work, Deborah enjoys hosting family and friends, watching sports, cooking, reading, taking on building/refinishing projects and cleaning up dog hair (but it’s so worth it! Love you, Chloe and Eddie!)
Joy is a central Arkansas resident but was born and raised in Texarkana, Texas. She graduated from Texas High School and received a Bachelor of Science degree from John Brown University. Joy joined our team in January of 2022. Many of our North Little Rock & Sherwood area clients immediately recognize her voice because she has waited on them at Gadwall’s Grill for over 20 years! Joy leaves our work family and joins her other work family at Gadwall’s one to two nights a week.
Both of Joys beautiful daughters and two of her grandchildren live near her. In her spare time, if she is not playing tennis (which she has done since age 12), she is most likely spoiling her grands, Elanor and Frankie! She also enjoys her Bunko group, going to the beach and trying out new restaurants with friends.
Laura is the Marketing Specialist at Insurance Advantage and LMA Financial Services. Her career has been diverse, having served both as a marketing leader and a professional ballet dancer. In her 20+ years in marketing, she has worked for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small non-profit sectors. At IA&LMA, Laura’s focus is to promote the brand and mission of the firm through marketing strategies and campaigns, including digital and social media. Secondary to her marketing role, Laura also manages the internal operations ensuring technologies, software, and database systems are functioning at the highest possible level. Laura enjoys using data and analytics to help everyone understand the ”why” of what is working and what is not working.
Laura works remotely from her home office in Panama City Beach, Florida, where she lives with her husband, Ralph, a retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant. Between the two of them, they have five grown children and five grandsons. Her family has lived in thirteen cities across the United States and has traveled extensively around the world for their careers. In her spare time, Laura likes to cook, garden, swim, and play golf. She also teaches ballet lessons whenever she can, to give back to the art form she loves, and she has a future goal to write a book.
After 27 years in the teaching profession, Michele joined our team in 2019. Having gone through the retirement process herself, she understands the unique situations of school employees and their need for assistance in planning a successful retirement. She was extremely pleased with the service and expertise she received from the team when she retired and was thrilled when Lisa and Mary Alice asked her to come join the team!
Michele is married to Rocky, another of our team members. Together they have two handsome sons, Reid and Jake. Reid is practicing dentistry in Northwest Arkansas and Jake is living his best life as a student at the University of Arkansas. Like his brother before him, Jake loves being a U of A student and enjoys all things Razorback!
Having grown up in the central Arkansas area, teaching in Pulaski County Schools and then working in our Jacksonville office, Rocky and Michele decided (in 2022) to move to Northwest Arkansas and work in our Springdale office.
When not at work, Michele enjoys travel and spending time with family and friends.
Kathryn joined the IA-LMA Team in April of 2023, and is enjoying learning new things every day! She has lived in Arkansas most of her life and taught elementary school for 33 years before retiring in 2019. She married her high school sweetheart, and they have 4 children, 2 grandchildren, and one on the way! Her husband retired in 2012 after 33 years in the military and is now a realtor.
Kathryn and her family are very passionate about travel, with the beach being her favorite place. She recently went on a trip to Israel to the Holy Land which was definitely the trip of a lifetime! She enjoys eating out (a lot), playing games such as Dominoes, Spades, and Bunco, working in her yard and vegetable garden, and reading. She is a huge Razorback fan! And of course, her favorite pastime is spent with her family.
Ally was born and raised in Central Arkansas, graduating from Beebe High School and the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She’s the newest member of the IA&LMA team, joining us on July 1, 2024.
In August 2024 she’ll begin working on her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and eventually plans to work as a Licensed Professional Social Worker.
In her free time, Ally enjoys camping, kayaking and spending time with family and friends. Ally loves music and just recently had the chance to see her all-time favorite– Billy Joel!– in concert twice! She also loves dogs (especially rescues) and currently has two, Daisy Mae and Clover Belle.
Ally was excited to join the IA&LMA team as she finishes her education and enjoys visiting with all of the clients who call or come in!
