How We Serve
Is Rooted in What We’ve Experienced

Marion E. “Bud” Shore, CPA/PFS, MBA

There have been three events in my life that informed me of the man I was to become for the rest of my life: a person concerned about the safety, security and protection of others.

When I was young, my parents worked multiple jobs to support our family, so I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. Behind their house was a railroad track frequented by hobos traveling from town to town. Often, my grandmother would invite these strangers in for warm meals and welcome respite. As a small boy growing up in difficult times, I didn't think much about it. It was only when I matured that I grew to appreciate and learn from what she did. My grandmother’s welcome may have been a small act of kindness, but they were extraordinary steps to comfort others whom she didn’t even know.

Years later, my extended family and I rented a Florida vacation condo with a private beach. One morning, my brother-in-law, a big and bold guy, decided to swim out as far as he could go. We didn’t know the public beaches had posted red-flag warnings of inclement weather that day. I was on the beach with my wife and sister-in-law when we heard a faint cry for help. My brother-in-law was caught in an undertow! As a former lifeguard, I knew what to do. But could I still do it? I looked for a boat or anything that might help – but there was nothing. I decided to try to reach him anyway, because not trying was unthinkable. The high waves kept tossing me around, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it. When I finally got to him, I realized we had drifted over a shallow sandbar. “Stand up,” I yelled at him, but he didn’t understand. I tried again: “Look, I am standing. You can too.” He finally trusted me and stood up. We walked down the sand bar to the beach and back to our condo – both wiser for the experience.

I did not know it at the time, but these and other experiences were preparing me and my family for one of our greatest challenges to date: my lymphoma diagnosis in 2000. For me, the battle was about mind, body and spirit. To beat the odds, I refused to allow any negative thoughts to find a home in my mind. Of course that is a difficult thing to do. From time to time I found them creeping in anyway. I would allow them to rent short-term space, but I made sure they were quickly evicted. I resolved to turn the fear and anxiety into bravery, to convert the natural “Why me?” into “Why not me?” I kept reminding myself that, while my physical body had a disease, my spirit did not. I would not allow the bodily disease to destroy my faith and hope. And it did not. I have been cancer-free since 2000.

I certainly would never have wished for cancer. But from it, too, I have grown to be who I am: someone with experiences and expertise to share, to help others face their own life’s struggles.

Jay Bumbalough, CPA/PFS

My story begins as a young child, when I spent many hours working the corn, bean and berry fields on my grandfather’s farm.

Every summer during high school, I also worked for my father. He owned his own local business helping people move their belongings from one house to another. It wasn’t glamorous by any means. In fact, it was hard, physical labor. But it taught me early on how to be conscientious of other people’s property, because sometimes even a small, seemingly modest item would be of great value to its owner. Customers would tell me where they wanted their cherished objects placed, and they would watch to see how we handled them. I learned to listen carefully to each customer, and act accordingly.

After discovering that hard work, discipline and a respect for other people’s values were keys to success, I decided to apply that understanding to my chosen career in accounting and finance. I attended Ball State University, received an internship at Ernst & Young (one of the largest accounting firms in the world) and joined the firm upon graduation. After Ernst & Young’s corporate experience, I transitioned to a smaller, family-owned company, where I gained first-hand experience in building, growing and transitioning a successful regional business.

Then, one day my mother asked me to look over my 86-year-old grandfather’s tax return and investments. I was alarmed that my grandfather’s broker had him heavily invested in higher-risk equities. I remember that day, sitting at that simple Formica table, how my heart and mind told me that I needed to help people like my grandfather avoid these kinds of common investor mistakes.

The mistakes are usually made when brokers sell highest-commission products to their clients, whether or not it’s in their clients’ highest interest. In other words, many financial intermediaries have forgotten the basics: Listen carefully to each customer, and act accordingly.

I wanted to bring those basics back to wealth management for business owners and others in my community. In 2001, I joined Shoreline Asset Management to do just that.

Vicki J. Kelsey, CSEP

All my life I have been told by everyone who knew my father that I am just like him. I consider that to be the greatest compliment that I could receive.

He was a loving, generous and gracious man. He always wanted to help make the lives of others happier and better. He told me that one of the most important things we can do in this life is to help others find happiness and make a better life.

When my father died suddenly of cancer when I was 27, I learned how blessed I was to have others, including my future husband, who were ready to help me through this challenging time and move forward to find new joy and happiness in my life. As a result of other sudden changes in my life, I have come to understand that sudden tragedies can be both emotionally and financially challenging.

As a tax accountant, estate and trust planner and Investment Advisor Representative I have been given the opportunity to continue to help others. I understand how money concern can be as overwhelming as the emotional challenges. My combination of career skills and life experiences has helped make me uniquely qualified to help others.

Each client has their own special story and by listening, caring and talking things through, I help my clients decide on the best path for them to overcome the challenges and find wonderful opportunities for their future.

As my dad taught me, I am still doing my best to help others. This brings me great joy.

Brenda K. Baier, CFP®

My parents are my life’s greatest role models and examples. Both my father and my mother were the first people in either of their families to graduate from college, going on to earn master’s degrees.

One of my mother’s favorite sayings was that the most valuable things in life are not things. Both of my parents grew up in hard working families and that ethic provided them with the desire and commitment to accomplish their own goals. They were both schoolteachers, with my mother teaching elementary and my father teaching secondary history. My father also had two businesses for most of my childhood — a residential construction company and a real estate brokerage firm. My mother also worked in both businesses, and I did also as I grew. I still have my very first paycheck at age 10 from dad’s company – a whopping $6.

My parents almost always planned two weeks every summer for us to travel, driving all over the United States, and ultimately visiting a total of 44 states. Those weeks spent driving thousands of miles were valuable family time, and full of great memories, including eating many meals from the cooler in the trunk. It was a blessing to be able to see and experience so many places across our great country.

Because my parents both grew up with so little and watched their parents work very hard, they were diligent in making wise financial choices, saving, avoiding debt—but also providing time and resources to find ways to enjoy life along the way. They taught me that life’s choices are all about priorities.

Growing up seeing my father manage budgets and overhead, employees, deadlines for project completion, and juggling all the challenges that come with owning and running a business, I was always interested in business management and finance. As my career evolved, I began to work with medical and dental professionals who were not just providing clinical care to patients, but also running a business as well.

It is very rewarding for me to help clients realize the most for their efforts, both in financial reward from their business as well as achieving their personal and family goals and objectives, before and after retirement, just as I saw my parents do. Working hard and realizing financial reward can provide things, but it also provides for the most important things in our lives, which are not things at all.

Joshua D. Brumbaugh CPA

My story begins in rural northeastern Indiana, where my passion for helping people manage money was apparent from a young age.

I grew up in Huntington, Indiana. My father was a firefighter and worked multiple part-time jobs to provide for our family. My mother worked inside the home, and later attended nursing school while raising a family.

As young as eight years old, I took pride in running the calculator at the grocery store to help my mother stick to our family budget. Watching my father and mother work hard to provide for our family while maintaining a budget truly taught me the importance of a dollar. This is just one way I learned at a young age to take control of money, and to not let it control me.

My calculator-running days couldn’t have led me anywhere but to a double major in accounting and finance, and then an early career in public accounting. After earning my Master of Accountancy and becoming a Certified Public Accountant, I continued working in public accounting focusing on auditing and preparing tax returns, with a brief stint as a financial analyst for a large company. In 2007, my journey took an interesting turn: I quit my position as a manager at a large regional accounting firm and became a full-time firefighter with the City of Noblesville.

This might seem to be a strange career pivot and came as a surprise to many at the time. The truth is, I had always wanted to carry on the family tradition of service to others and become a firefighter. True to my eight-year-old self, I ran the numbers with my wife and determined I could not only pursue my dream of being a career firefighter, but I could continue my work as an accountant and grow my own business in other areas on my days off.

A couple years after my father retired, he sought my counsel on the best way to proceed with investing his retirement funds. He had been approached by various hardselling advisors who were trying to persuade him to purchase annuities and other products that were not suitable for a retiree with a pension. My eyes were opened to the predatory behavior that surrounds many retirees, particularly public service employees, and I saw that I could help others as a financial advisor.

Since joining the Noblesville Fire Department, I continue to maintain my own accounting firm and serve as a registered investment advisor with Shoreline Asset Management. This combination of work is extremely fulfilling to me, as I get to serve others in many different aspects of life.

I joined Shoreline Asset Management in 2015 because I understand that everyone’s stories and goals are unique. Whether you wish to retire comfortably at the age of 55, ensure you will be able to pay for your children’s college education, or entertain a dream career change, I strive to meet clients where they are (with my calculator!) and work hard to help them achieve their specific goals. Ultimately, I have one goal in mind, which is to help people plan for their retirement while balancing living life today.

Mark E. Lux, CHFC

Having grown up in a large family as the fourth of eight children, one of the many great benefits was that there were always many people around.

This made for a fun and lively daily existence to say the least! Another “benefit” of this large family life was that we were all expected to make it work. The fact that we only had one bathroom shared among my parents, my four sisters, my three brothers and I, drove home the message that cooperation, planning, and consideration were necessary facts of life. This same dynamic was present in the kitchen. Woe to the sibling that raided the refrigerator or pantry!

How my parents made it all work is nothing short of amazing. My mother stayed home and managed the household, and my dad worked as a police officer for the city of Indianapolis, along with a multitude of other part-time jobs. From an early age, I saw firsthand that money was necessary to survive, and my parents let us know that if we desired more than they could provide financially, we would need to earn the money to buy those things for ourselves.

So began my introduction to money and finance. At age 9, I started delivering newspapers for the Indianapolis News and later the Star. Not only could I earn money, but I benefited from interacting with my customers. I also came to understand that to make the most out of the money I had, planning and frugality were essential.

Although I continued delivering the paper throughout high school, I had a variety of other part-time jobs as well, until I graduated college. In each one of them, I was interested in learning about my coworkers and budgeting my earnings to get the greatest benefit from my hard work.

The money I earned allowed me to pay some of my way as a child and teenager and to lessen the financial burden on my parents. In addition, I observed that the large family that I was part of prepared me to pursue a career that allowed me to work with a variety of people.

After graduation from Western Michigan University, I joined an insurance agency in Indianapolis that provided the opportunity to work with business owners, professionals and people from all walks of life, and to discuss their financial goals and objectives. From that experience, I was able to ultimately start my own fiduciary advisory business, and in 2015, become part of Shoreline.

What I learned most was that everyone has a story, and that by listening, I could assist them in evaluating their options and bring clarity to the decision-making process.

When I reflect on my childhood and the time spent with my family around the dining table with lively discussions on a myriad of topics, I realize that it was the first of many life experiences that have helped me serve my clients as their advisor.

Eddy Lux

I grew up as the oldest of three brothers in Central Indiana. We spent most of our time outside in the woods and playing sports.

Since my dad was part of a large family, we always had lively gatherings with our cousins. It was apparent to me at a young age that relationships are the most fulfilling part of life. It has always been important to me to connect with others and earn their trust.

I watched my parents work hard to provide for us. We lived a frugal life and that helped me understand the importance of saving and setting goals. My first job was at a local golf course when I was 14. I haven’t stopped working since. This included many odd jobs throughout High School and College. Construction and warehouse manual labor, kitchen/restaurant, moving, call center, and door-to-door sales. Working in these different environments taught me the values of teamwork and reliability.

Since graduating from Purdue, I have been in sales, real estate, and small business ownership/operations. All these experiences were rewarding, and I took pride in the fact that customers and teammates could count on me to be there ready to help. One of my favorite quotes: “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do” – Henry Ford. I interpret this as “actions speak louder than words” or operating with integrity and fulfilling your promise.

After college I worked with various non-profit organizations to support local charities including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, IndyHub, and the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana. One of these events lead me to meet my wife, Lindsay.

A holiday conversation with my parents evolved into an opportunity to join the team at Shoreline in early 2022. Now I can apply my different experiences in business and life to help people reach their financial and retirement goals.