Thorn Murphy, Wealth Advisor at Giesting Financial, was born and raised in Columbus, Indiana. He graduated from Columbus North High School, where he met his high school sweetheart, Tara, who would eventually become his wife. Thorn and Tara are shown below at their high school prom.

Thorn attended Butler University, where he played football and majored in finance; Tara went to Ball State University, where she was a cheerleader. The couple stayed together throughout college and often traveled to each other’s campuses.

After graduation, Thorn was chosen by Cummins—a large, multinational manufacturer located in Columbus that’s famous for its engine designs—to take part in a competitive two-year program designed to give recent college grads the most in-depth amount of experience in the shortest timeframe possible. As part of that program, Thorn spent six months in North Carolina, six months in South Carolina, six months in Nashville and another six months in various parts of the world, including Brazil and the U.K. It was an incredible experience, with its only downside being that he was away from Tara.

Thorn spent another five years with Cummins, eventually being promoted to senior financial analyst with the firm. His career took a new turn when he decided to start a solo financial advisory office for Giesting Financial, which is headquartered in Batesville, Indiana. By that time, he and Tara were married.

Soon after, things morphed again when Giesting Financial acquired a financial practice owned by Rick Colglazier in Columbus. By coincidence, Thorn had interned with Rick during college. Thorn likes to joke that Rick was considering other offers and that Thorn was the real reason the acquisition happened.

For Thorn, it was a real leap of faith to go from a corporate position to running his own practice in his hometown, but he “couldn’t be happier,” especially since the merger with Rick. “I get to help people and work with people I like every single day,” Thorn says.

Tara and Thorn are very close to their families; both sets of parents still live in Columbus. The couple has two boys, Chase, who is five, and Carson, who is three. Thorn is the youngest of three brothers and the only one that currently has children. Tory, Thorn’s oldest brother is a foreman at Southern Roofing in Columbus and Teal, middle child, is an anesthesiologist at Columbus Regional Hospital. Tara has a sister, Linda Jo, with two children ages seven (Haley) and five (Luke), so family gatherings including the four young first cousins are energetic and lots of fun.

Importantly, the family also includes Tara’s “only girls”—two female Cavalier King Charles Spaniels named Millie and Mosley.

Thorn is heavily involved with the boys’ sports activities—he is a coach for their coach-pitch and T-ball baseball games, as well as coaching soccer, football, and soon, basketball.

Being an active dad, Thorn doesn’t have a lot of time to play golf, although he enjoys getting together with friends for golf scrambles when he can. He is a fantasy football enthusiast, and he participates in it each year with several groups, including his colleagues at Cummins as well as his friends from Butler University. “It’s a great way to have fun and stay connected,” Thorn says.

Another thing that Thorn is very passionate about is volunteering for a charity–specifically, Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. He and Tara serve on its Southern Indiana Philanthropy Council where they seek to increase awareness for the hospital as well as donations.

The cause is very personal. When their youngest son, Carson, was only two days old, he experienced severe respiratory distress that their local hospital was unable to treat. The weather was too bad for a Lifeline helicopter—which was the physicians’ first choice—but Carson was transported by ambulance to Indianapolis where the incredible staff at Riley Children’s Hospital saved his life. Carson is a totally healthy boy now and The Murphys will never forget the experience. They want to help ensure that other families and parents receive extraordinary healthcare for their beloved children during times of crisis.