In Middle Tennessee, most people still prefer to do business with someone they can shake hands with and look in the eye--and that is how I greet all of my customers. While we may initially talk on the phone or email back and forth, I intend to follow these southern business traditions so that you feel comfortable and familiar with me during the loan process. That familiarity begins with me telling you a little about myself. I am a Mortgage Loan Officer who is dedicated to the highest customer service standards, and I have lived all over--from Florida to Oregon, from Texas to Germany. If you asked me where I was from, I'd tell you Texas since I lived there the longest. I decided to join the U.S. Army in 1998, and I served for eight and a half years as a down-in-the-dirt infantryman. While it wasn't easy, I can easily say, without a doubt, that it was the best decision I have ever made. The Army further instilled values that I already had--loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage--and engrained the importance of professionalism and the maintenance of strict standards, all of which are an integral part of how I handle every aspect of my business and my personal life. My eight years in the Army included two tours to Kosovo and two tours to Iraq, but, fortunately, during that time, the Army also decided that I had to spend some time in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In 2002, I met a wonderful woman named Kelly Whitaker, and I married her before she could get away. My first son, Nate, was born while I was in Iraq the first time, and my second son, Will, was born just before I went back the second time, which meant that she took care of our boys all on her own while I served overseas. Needless to say, after completing a total of 29 months in Iraq, I was ready to leave the Army and help my wife raise our two boys in Hendersonville, where my wife has lived nearly her entire life. In February 2007, I returned from my second tour of Iraq and I exited the Army one month later. Armed with a Bachelor's Degree with Summa Cum Laude honors from Troy University, I jumped from one stressful environment to another, deciding on a career in the mortgage finance industry at one of the worst times possible. In an environment when loan officers and whole companies were getting out of the business due to constant change and volatile swings, I managed to survive, all the while steadily growing my business. I believe that my success is a result of my dedication to highest service standards and my total devotion to every client and referral partner, while still offering them some of the most competitive rates and costs.