Of the military-specific organizations that we represent at The Wheeler Group LLC, Trans World Assurance (TWA) was founded by Charles P. Woodbury, a decorated WWII fighter pilot, whose background was in finance. In an April 5, 2009 article that appeared in the Pensacola News Journal, Carlton Proctor (cproctor@pnj.com) asked the question, How does your bank rate?

In 1963, Mr. Woodbury created a unique and revolutionary savings program called, The Flexible Dollar Builder (FDB). At The Wheeler Group, the FDB is one of the primary financial products that we make available to our clientele. All monies that is invested in the FDB is securely held at Bank of the South on NAS Pensacola in Warrington, Florida. Being associated with them, I was proud to read the good news written about Bank of the South. Although relatively unknown outside of military circles, and Florida for that matter, nevertheless I am proud to be associated with this quality financial institution.

The article cites Bank of the South and First Navy having maintained a five-star rating for 17 years. The reason: an unwavering adherence to a fundamental set of conservative banking principles, says Bank of the South President and CEO Donna Mair. She said, “We’ve never deviated from the practices Mr. Woodbury set out for the banks”. Mair says, “He [Mr. Woodbury] always had the philosophy that what’s good for the customer is good for the bank,” Mair said. “And if it wasn’t good for both, we didn’t do it. We’ve just always had conservative practices, and it’s just done well for us through the years.”

Although I never had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Woodbury, I consider myself blessed to call his daughter, Ms. Barbara Woodbury (a TWA Director) a mentor and friend. On one of her recent visits to Oahu (for a high-level change of command at Pearl Harbor) we were fortunate to have had a fantastic breakfast with her at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Although she is very humble, I learned that she was the Guest of Honor at a Sunset Parade held at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Those in the know realize that this is a huge honor. This ceremonial parade was hosted by the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. The parade is a tradition that includes the renowned U. S. Marine Corps Band and the Corp’s esteemed Silent Drill Team. This historic military ritual honors the patriotic spirit of all Americans and is one of the most popular events in our nation’s capitol, as exemplified by the large crowd that day.

We at The Wheeler Group are proud of our men and women in uniform and all those who support them, most especially during this challenging war on terror. We stand united with our heroes, one and all.  For more information on the FDB, please feel free to call us at (808)216-4147.

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