C. William Hoilman, JD, MBA, MST, CFP, CLU
Following the trauma of that first day at the academy, which we all enjoyed so much, I managed to graduate and then get married in that order – waited 14 days after graduation for the marriage to Janet McLaughlin, which is still going strong (some upperclassman from doolie year who bet against high school sweethearts owes me a case of scotch). After a 30 day honeymoon in Europe, it was on to pilot training at Webb AFB.
My first real assignment was flying B-52s at Warner-Robbins AFB in Georgia – “chrome domes,” alert and all that exciting stuff. During this period I started my first business venture, “Hullabaloo,” a teenage night club – packed in 300 to 500 kids a night 3-4 nights a week.
The success of this venture matured at the same time the Air Force instituted the policy that no air crew member would involuntarily serve two terms in Vietnam until all aircrew members had served at least one term, so I was destined, as was the fate of most of our '64 classmates, to serve in Vietnam.
The first step was to transition to UH-1Fs and fly missile site support at Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota for a year to develop experience – chasing foxes, Canadian geese, turkeys and moose in a UH-1F provided lots of real world experience. I managed to stimulate my brain by taking a course in advanced differential equations at the University of North Dakota and teaching a course in winter survival training to everyone assigned to Grand Forks AFB. I was then tagged for transition to HH-3Es, the famed Jolly Greens. After the obligatory survival training stints at Hill AFB and Clark AFB, I found myself a combat-ready Jolly Green pilot assigned to the 37thARRS at Da Nang AFB, South Vietnam.
Looking back at this “experience,” I flew 163 combat hours and 60 combat sorties, made 10 combat rescues and was directly responsible for at least 19 others over mountainous terrain, jungle and open sea. They say I performed valiantly in the most bitterly contested SAR effort in the history of the War as the only Jolly Green pilot to fly two sorties and receive battle damage both times – see attached “Boxer 22” war story.
In another rescue mission I made a daring, last light effort to recover a Marine pilot in an extremely hostile position; my aircraft received such crippling damage, wounding myself and another crew member, that my squadron commander claimed that only a skilled professional like myself could have safely brought it home – for that mission I received a Silver Star and the Purple Heart. Subsequently I was told that my knowledge, experience, and judgment were held in such high regard that I was made Chief of the HH-3E Standardization Section ahead of several other officers of higher rank. In addition, during my Vietnam experience, I was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and seven Air Metals.
By the end of my Vietnam tour, I had managed to get accepted to the Harvard Business School, but the Air Force gurus decided that my talents would be much better utilized as a Combat Crew Training Instructor in the UH-1N – twin engine Huey. After a year of chasing alligators out of Hurlburt Field at Eglin AFB in Florida and giving instruction in infiltration/exfiltration and helicopter gunship tactics, I graduated to the civilian world, moved to Boston, and obtained an MBA Degree from Babson College.
As a civilian, I went on to obtain a Masters Degree in Taxation from Bentley College and a Doctor of Laws Degree from the Massachusetts School of Law. Along the way I also qualified for the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) and the CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter) designations. Before forming my own companies, I worked for the following securities firms:
· Westamerica Financial Corp Reg Rep – 1971 - 1772
· Trend Financial Group Reg Rep – 1972 - 1974
· Westamerica Financial Corp Reg Rep – 1974 - 1977
I am presently the senior partner in the law firm of M&A Counselors and Fiduciaries, LLC, a firm specializing in tax, securities and estate planning. I am also President and Financial Principal of MHA Financial Corp, a FINRA Broker-Dealer firm.
In my forty plus years of seasoning in the securities industry, I have been involved in pioneering such organizations as the International Association for Financial Planning, the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, and the Foundation for Financial Planning. In 1978 I served as President of the International Association for Financial Planning and in 1979 as Chairman of the Board. I have served as a member of the Governor's Advisory Task Force on Securities Regulation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And, I am listed in Who's Who of the East; the World; Finance and Industry; and the International Who's Who of Intellectuals. Over the years I have been involved in many complex workouts and reorganizations of investment programs experiencing investment and tax difficulties, and have caused many millions of dollars in tax and investment benefits to be returned to investors that otherwise would have been lost.
I developed a computerized system called “Nova” that runs all back-office applications of a fully-disclosed securities broker-dealer – this system has been used by several other broker-dealer firms and is still used today by my firm.
I co-founded Financial Services Exchange, Inc., a company which conducts research and analysis of public and private investment programs and of their sponsors and served as Chairman of the Board for over 12 years.
I have served as the General Partner of several public and private Oil and Gas Limited Partnerships as well as several private Real Estate Limited Partnerships.
Also in the past I have served on the Boards of Ridgeway Exco, Inc. and Texas General Resources, Inc., both public oil & gas companies; Financial Planner's Equity Corp, an NASD Broker-Dealer; and Georgeson Development Corporation, a company which developed condominiums in downtown Boston. I also served on the Board of Trustees of the IAFP Foundation, the Transplant Foundation, the National Advisory Council of Kimball Union Academy, and the Foundation for Financial Planning.
The greatest lesson I have learned in my life experiences is that it is amazing how much you can get accomplished when you don't care who gets the credit. And I still try to live up to the principles of the Cadet Honor Code, although, sadly, the US legal system makes a mockery of the concept of “toleration.”
During my Air Force Days we were blessed with two children:
· our son, born at Warner-Robbins AFB in Georgia, is in the construction trades on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts;
· our daughter, born at Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota, is a Board Certified Pediatrician in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
And, I still like apple pie
[ Night Rescue at NKP, Boxer 22, and Night Rescue Attempt of Marine Pilot ]
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