WHO IS AUDREY HIMEBAUGH?

I grew up in western Pennsylvania, the oldest of 4 siblings.  My mother was a registered nurse and my father an elementary school teacher and administrator.  My future husband and I attended the same high school but did not know each other at the time.  We met one summer when he was home from attending college in Iowa and I was working at the Dairy Queen!  At summer’s end, he returned to Iowa for his senior year of school and I went back to Slippery Rock State College for my sophomore year.  The next summer, after his graduation, we were engaged and then married the following year.

That began a whirlwind tour that saw us making 10 moves in the first 13 years of our marriage.  No – we weren’t in the military.  Being young and child free, we willingly moved where my husband’s sales job took us, embracing the adventure.  We went from New Rochelle, NY to New Hampshire, back to western PA, then on to Minneapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (western PA again) before landing in Connecticut.  Having already lived in 2 different areas of New England, we knew New England had our hearts and have been happily settled here for nearly 34 years, raising our daughter and son in Brookfield.

After getting married and moving to New Rochelle, I graduated from the College of New Rochelle before moving to New Hampshire where I worked as a tutor for special needs kids in the local school system.  Subsequent moves lead to jobs as a typist for an engineering firm (in the EARLY days of word processors, no computers!), a substitute teacher, an administrative assistant in the credit and accounting departments of a major football helmet manufacturer, along with various other short-term jobs.  

During our time in Pittsburgh our family grew and we moved to Connecticut with 2 very young children in tow.  I remained a stay-at-home mom while the kids were small, but managed to volunteer at church as the church treasurer.  The church had been looking for a new treasurer and I was looking to learn how to use a computer.  It turned into a mutually beneficial relationship that lasted for 6 years.

As the kids got older, I started looking to help with family finances and found a part time job with First Brands in Danbury. It was a perfect job that let me work part time during the school year and take summers off to be home.  First Brands eventually sold to Clorox and moved to California leaving me unemployed – for about 2 weeks.

I knew Laurie and Michael Matson from church and Matson Financial Advisors’ office was in the same building as First Brands.  I had also always had an interest in the financial planning/advisory business.   Laurie knew I was out of work and Michael was looking for a new staff member.  Sooner than I had planned, I was re-employed – full time.

It has now been over 20 years that I have been assisting MFA clients.  With Michael’s support and encouragement, I became Series 7 securities registered early on at MFA and passed the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) exam in 2006.  20 years have gone by in the blink of an eye!

I continue to find fulfillment working with Michael in helping clients develop their plan to pursue their financial goals.  It is wonderful to help provide clients with financial confidence when they see their hard work and diligent investing pay for college and help plan for a long, happy retirement.