William Whidden, CFP has been helping clients plan for and achieve their personal financial goals and dreams in the Columbia River Gorge since 1992. A graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine with a BA in Political Science, Bill began his financial services career with IDS/American Express Financial Advisors as a financial planner. Early in his career path, Bill decided to leave American Express and join an independent Broker/Dealer in order to offer his clients a pure, unbiased level of personalized service and full array of investment products. After receiving his Certified Financial Planner designation in 1995, he increased his focus on providing state-of-the-art, personal and wholistic financial planning services to motivated individuals and successful entrepreneurial businesses.
Professionally, Bill has devoted his career to the study of financial goal attainment and wealth accumulation. As a commitment to his profession, he pursued the CFP designation which he achieved in 1995. Subsequently, he studied for and attained the Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor designation also offered by the CFP Board of Standards. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association, past President of the White Salmon/ Bingen Rotary Club, the Skyline Hospital Foundation and Deacon at the Bethel Congregational UCC Church.
Prior to his entry in to the financial services industry, Bill was President of Freedom Sailmakers International, Ltd headquartered on the north shore of the island of Maui in the Hawaiian chain. The precursor to this career in the sailing industry was his position as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Windsurfing International, Inc in Torrance, CA. Bill’s love of the wind, water and mountains originally attracted him to the Columbia Gorge and the Pacific Northwest.
Bill is married to Heather M. Whidden, a dedicated teacher at the Stevenson Intermediate School in White Salmon. They have two children, Courtney (25) finishing her Masters in Nutrition at the National College of Alternative Medicine in Portland, OR. Ian (20) is a Sophomore studying hydrology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. Bill enjoys spending quality time with his family, working on his property and all outdoor activities; sailing his sailboat in the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands, mountain and road biking, back country and telemark skiing, tennis, and hiking.