Allan Williamson:  

I served in the Army shortly after graduating from BHS. Lucky, no Viet Nam tours for me! After discharge from the Army I met Jan on the library steps in our freshman year and we married in our junior year. We both received degrees from Penn State. After progressing up the corporate latter to middle financial manager at The Continental Group and immediately following the birth of our daughter Allana I earned my MBA. My career started in Continental Can’s management development program. In nearly 40 years I held many senior corporate financial management positions up to and including Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in several multinational US based corporations. During that time I served as a corporate officer for every company that employed me. Business activities took me overseas to most western European countries, The Czech Republic, China, Japan, Australia and South America. I lived abroad twice for approximately a year each time, England and France. I had a lovely apartment on the Parc Monceau in Paris. In the Army they called those assignments TDY – no family with me, but lots of trips home and family trips to visit me. Teaching was my second professional endeavor. During my financial career I also taught accounting as an adjunct professor and managed several of my company’s co-operative education programs. Molding young future financial managers was as rewarding to me as being one. We have held most major volunteer positions in our church lives, me; Moderator, Treasurer, Head Deacon and Jan; Sunday School and Vacation Bible School Directors. I tried retiring several times always missing the activity, responsibility and developing people. Each time retirement lasted a few months until a former employer came to me asking for either consulting help or actually returning as an employee. After a health wake-up call, I found volunteering at the National Children’s Advocacy Center here in Huntsville, Alabama (Google it, it’s a wonderful organization). I was looking for something to pay back society for my good fortune and simultaneously something that would benefit sexually abused and neglected children following the unfortunate incident at my alma mater Penn State. The $ pay sucks (pays nothing), but the hours are extremely flexible and the non-financial rewards are “priceless” as the commercial goes. Earning the “Volunteer of the Year” award and dramatically improving the number of paid exhibitors at their annual Symposium, I have found a ho...Expand for more