Professional Advisor Recognition Society

This growing circle acknowledges professionals for their commitment to their communities and their work to encourage philanthropy.

Latest Recognition Society Inductee:
The Martin-Rizzo Group, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Art Martin, Wade Martin, and John Rizzo of the Martin-Rizzo Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

The Community Foundation is pleased to induct The Martin-Rizzo Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney into our Professional Advisors Recognition Society.  This honor is granted occasionally to area professional advisors who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the community and who encourage philanthropy.

Partners Wade Martin, his father Arthur (Art) Martin, and John Rizzo said, “We are all humbled by this news.” Although educating clients about philanthropy and promoting “giving for giving’s sake” has long been a part of their practice, the group was surprised by this recognition; the work they do for charities, both professionally and personally, is often anonymous and is never advertised.

The group provides a wide range of financial services, including working closely with families to engage in multigenerational retirement planning, invest in college savings plans, or create special needs trusts for disabled individuals. One of the group’s specialties is the preservation of land, which can provide income and ease tax burdens for property owners and their heirs while safeguarding the environment. They arranged a deal with D&R Greenway that placed a conservation easement on Hopewell resident Ethel Mae Theriault’s farm, protecting the land while providing her with annuity income for the rest of her life—along with a new eco-friendly hybrid car.

“We tell our clients, give for giving’s sake.”

Wade and his colleagues are determined to raise awareness of these kinds of philanthropic options. “When most people think of charity,” he says, “they envision a simple transaction: an organization calls or sends a solicitation, they make a gift, they get a tax deduction. But there are really so many other possibilities.” The Community Foundation salutes The Martin-Rizzo Group for their generosity and for the charitable activities they inspire and facilitate for their clients.