FCS will celebrate Lauri Gray’s 30th Anniversary in December 2023.  Here are a few words from Lauri regarding her remarkable career:

I started my career in December 1993 at Merrill Lynch working with Tom Freeman as a Client Service Associate. During the early months of my career, I was also finishing my last semester at Avila College.  Previously, I worked as a teller and a new accounts representative at First Federal Savings and Loan, which sparked my interest in Wealth Management and serving clients.  I graduated from Avila College in July 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration General Management.  I continue to serve on many committees and councils, train new associates, and develop my skills as an expert in the Family Office segment of Wealth Management, and working with our clients’ needs at the center of each day.  Because of my knowledge and experience, I am now a Senior Client Relationship Manager, Senior Vice-President.

I have to say that even early on in my career, Tom instilled in me, a commitment to a high level of integrity, attention to detail, and sincere care for our clients.  That commitment lives on today, thirty years later, in everything I do, professionally and personally. The last thirty years have been filled with changes, challenges and building lasting connections with clients and colleagues.  Some of the more notable changes include, the automation of securities trading and servicing from paper to computer based systems. I obtained my Series 7 license in Oct 1998, Series 63 in November 1998 and Series 66 in October of 2016.  Changes in staff have allowed me to share my knowledge and experience with new associates, spending a great deal of my career training and coaching. There have definitely been transitions over the years from tiny footsteps up and down the hall, little league, basketball and crammed schedules, to my husband and I finding our “new normal” in an empty nest. Watching our boys, Travis (26) and Trevor (22), grow and succeed has been the joy of our lives. My husband Jeff and I celebrated 30 years of marriage in June 2023.  The professional challenges of moving our practice from Merrill Lynch to UBS in November 2002, learning and adapting to new technology and processes, and then mastering those, so I could teach others. The most exciting challenge of all being the start of FCS Family Office. Opening this practice has been, perhaps, the most gratifying challenge of my career.  But the connections that I have made with clients remain the most memorable and special. I am pleased to say I have known some of our clients the entire 30 years of my career.

I have always believed in giving back in my own life, by having served on the PTA for 7 years and the Raymore Peculiar Booster Club for 8 years in various positions while my kids were in school. That sentiment echoes through today as I volunteer with my FCS colleagues for the C.A.N program with the Raymore-Peculiar School District, and serve as the head of organizing community outreach projects on behalf of FCS.  Outside of the office I enjoy spending time with family/friends, decorating our home for each holiday and reading.

I can say I’ve truly enjoyed the last 30 years working with Tom, our team, and our wonderful clients.  I am proud of the practice we have created, the families that we help, and the impact we have made in the community.  I am gratified by providing exceptional service to our clients.  I truly believe in the motto, “It takes a village”. I have been blessed with many friends, colleagues, and clients over my 30 year career, and I am honored to work with Tom Freeman, David Turner and the entire FCS team.