How I Made Plainfield My Home

The year was 2015. Having just started our family, my wife Kandice and I moved to Plainfield, a town of over 40,000 people, not knowing anyone. My brother Phil and I had just developed a community-based lending platform named Oak Leaf Community Mortgage. With so much at stake, being new in town didn’t intimidate me as much as it motivated me. I’ve never been one to blend into the background or hesitate to jump into the action, so I immediately embraced whatever opportunities I could to be an active member of the community.

I joined the Plainfield Lions Club—one of the largest, most long-standing service organizations, where I had the pleasure to serve a term as Club President. I got involved in any event hosted by The Village, Chamber of Commerce, my local church or even within my own neighborhood. I was determined to make Plainfield home for my wife, Kandice, and the family we were just starting.

I’ve been in the mortgage industry since before I was in my twenties. However, I was determined to do it differently this time. I didn’t want my life in the mortgage industry to be self-serving. I wanted to build my business on the foundation of serving others.

Our culture at Oak Leaf is based on Faith, Family, Business—in that order. Without the first two, business means nothing. I strive every day to help my clients achieve the dream of homeownership. I want to be part of their story. The people I’ve met through service organizations, community events, and even those I’ve served as clients have become life-long friends of mine.

As my mortgage business grew, so did my desire to serve. I decided to host a video podcast, Not Your Average Joe, that features members of our local community, and their extraordinary acts of service.

The experience of moving to Plainfield in 2015, starting my family here, and all the relationships that have been created, made me realize early on that I would never be able to give back all that has been given to me being a part of this community. But I wake up every day with one mission—to try.