When Ginger Sterner’s father, Forest Ogden retired from the United States Air Force, he moved his family to Mena, the town he grew up visiting during the summer, and where he had originally met his wife, Shirley. Sterner graduated from Mena High School in 1977 and spent some time attending what is now the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. In 1981, she began working as a teller for First America Bank in Mena and left in 1989 as the branch manager. In 1989, Sterner married her husband, Aubrey, and they relocated to Medesto, California. It was there Sterner became a licensed stock broker. “In the town we lived, the majority of the people had settled there from Arkansas and Oklahoma during The Depression. Most of my client base was from this area and recognized the accent, it worked very well,” explained Sterner.
In 1996, Sterner and her husband relocated back to Mena and she took over the local Edward Jones Investment Branch in 1997. Located at 501 Highway 71 North, Edward Jones is a group of one-broker offices that have been in business in the United States since 1922. Through the last 93 years, Edward Jones has become a household name in the area of investments and has grown to 11,000 branch offices in the United States, as well as 600 branch offices in Canada through their affiliate. They currently service nearly 7 million clients. “I am licensed like a stock broker and I help clients with their financial life with things such as: getting a higher rate of return on investments, retirement planning, college planning, estate strategy, 401Ks, saving money on their taxes through tax free investing. I work with local attorneys and CPA’s to make sure our clients are getting the most out of their investments,” explained Sterner.
For the past five years, Sterner has had the assistance of Lawana Callahan, who serves as the Branch Office Administrator. “I do the investing and she backs me up, she’s my right hand and I couldn’t ask for a better one,” said Sterner. “I will sit down with clients and help fine tune their plans, or help them determine what they need, we will coordinate and develop plans for their individual needs and then I will assist them.”
Sterner also reads the Daily Stock Market Report on KENA 104.1 and is happy to add any stocks of local interest to her list. “To reach us, you can use bricks, clicks or the phone. Come visit the office, call us at 479.394.7940, or visit us online at www.edwardjones.com,” added Sterner with a laugh.
“I feel like in today’s world, I could live anywhere in the world, but this is where we choose to live, this is our past, present and future. The wonderful people make it easy and we love the resources. I love to hike and it’s so beautiful. We have the uniqueness of living in a small town, and if one wants the city life, it’s not too far to visit,” said Sterner.
About Author
Jeri Pearson
Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.
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