Dr. Cas, founder of Evoke 5 Medical Center, believes in the power of healthy, happy communities – and knows it takes a village to achieve that. In Dr. Cas’ Crew, we’re pleased to profile like-minded individuals and businesses that are working to create and support strong communities and healthy lifestyles.
For Mark Woody, a financial advisor in Norman, Oklahoma, his work is about more than investments and account balances – it’s about helping his clients utilize their money to serve their lives in alignment with their values.
“I enjoy helping people and making complex things more straightforward and understandable,” Mark shared. “I’m also motivated by watching my team grow in their ability to help others.”
Mark and his team were able to help many people through the changes and challenges presented by the pandemic. “We helped a number of people navigate some of the biggest challenges of their lives, including the death of spouses, during the pandemic when it was difficult to meet in person,” Mark said.
One thing that surprised Mark over the past couple of years was the ability to pivot to working virtually with people all over the country. “We acquired several new clients whom we’ve never met in person,” he said. “We also hired and trained several new team members that we didn’t meet in person for almost a year.”
As his team grows, Mark is keenly aware of the need to grow the diversity of financial planners, industry-wide. “The average age of a financial planner in the U.S. is 58. There are only 16% women in our field. Single digits for Black and Hispanic advisors,” Mark explained. “We need to become more attractive to younger people, and especially women and people of color.”
Financial planning can be an intense and sometimes stressful field, so maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important to Mark and his family, including his best friend and wife of 35+ years, Kelly, and their two children and two grandchildren.
“I love to travel and I love to learn. When I can combine the two, I really get my batteries recharged,” Mark said. “At the beginning of the year, my wife and I, along with my assistant, block out dates throughout the year that I will be out of the office.”
In his personal time, Mark is active in his church, serving as an elder at South Canadian Valley Church of Christ in Norman. He is also a self-proclaimed museum nerd and amateur WWII historian.
Mark uses some of his travel time to attend industry conferences, which helps him stay up-to-date on new research, ideas and developments to best serve his clients. He also reads, listens to podcasts, and listens to books on tape (using the Audible subscription he’s had for 14 years!). When he’s listening or speaking to another expert in the field, “I’m always interested in what it is they see, and what they are studying and learning, to point me in a new direction or to help me see patterns I hadn’t seen before,” Mark said.
If there’s a business or individual in your community that you think should be featured in Dr. Cas’ Crew, drop us a line!