For my money anyway, Roccy DeFrancesco, Jr. is right up there alongside the Dos Equis character proclaiming to be "the most interesting man in the world." Roccy might not carry quite the same Hollywood-style impact, but he certainly provides a solid measure of intrigue not only in Michigan's Great Southwest, but with many national players when you simply add up the sum of the parts.
DeFrancesco recently moved into his new corporate headquarters at the corner of Plaza Drive and Fairplain Drive between the Fairplain Plaza and the Orchards Mall. I've been watching the construction process of the 3,200 square foot Williams Building there for months now, but just never connected with Roccy until this past week through his colleague Sandie Lieberg.
Roccy meets my criteria for one of the most interesting men in the region because of his sheer drive and determination on so many fronts. He owns and operates three core companies from his new headquarters building, tinkers on multiple projects in a broad array of interests, has authored many published articles, several books, has his law degree, is a licensed commercial pilot, is an avid, and accomplished golfer, and has even established a streaming live webcam overlooking Jean Klock Beach and a portion of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Club at Harbor Shores from his home on Grand Boulevard to share the view with the world.
Roccy is the Founder of The Wealth Preservation Institute, the creator of the Certified Wealth Preservation Planner, a Certified Asset Protection Planner, Certified Medicaid Planner, and Co-Founder of the Asset Protection Society. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where he also received his commercial pilot's license, and his J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in both Indiana & Michigan.
His Wealth Preservation Institute is an education company where he educates CPAs, Attorneys, financial planners and insurance agents.
He also owns & operates Strategic Marketing Partners, a company where he helps financial planners and insurance agents to market themselves. He is considered by many nationwide to be a leading expert in several areas within the financial services and insurance fields and dispatches education E-Newsletters to more than 200,000 advisors every week, a database that he has used to grow all of his companies over the years.
His third core company headquartered in his new building is Buddha Software, a new venture that he is building that may well be the most unique and powerful software in the industry today for the financial services and insurance industries. He recently brought on board Rob Harbin's firm, Active Analysis Group, to act as local project manager to continue development of the Buddha Software suite.
If that's not all enough, Roccy's launching a new venture soon in the form of his own insurance company which he projects will make national news in that industry later this year.
In addition to Lieberg and Harbin, five years ago Roccy brought Blair Schadler to the table and they all worked out of their own homes until he decided that he wanted to generate considerably more collaboration on multiple fronts in order to grow his businesses so they are now all under one roof in Benton Township.
I told you one of Roccy's stories a couple of years ago where he helps people with home mortgage acceleration plans which he has converted into a non-profit organization to help pay for home mortgages or rent for people who struggle to afford the payments. Look for a new sidebar story on that venture in the near future to showcase the work he's doing on that front.
Another great story soon to play out is Roccy's latest brainchild of a revolutionary new fully-adjustable putter head for golfers worldwide. As he worked out the strategy, design, prototypes and more, DeFrancesco worked with nearly half a dozen local manufacturing firms for the putter. He could have saved substantially on those processes by having foreign manufacturers complete many of the working parts, but he wanted his new putter to be American made, and especially with the help of local engineers and businessmen and women. That story will come your way soon, as well.
With Harbor Shores signature hole #7 and Jean Klock Park Beach virtually in his backyard, Roccy installed a live-streaming webcam to share the beauty of the region with everyone. Clicking this link: http://www.LakeMichiganWebcam.com will give you a live picture around the clock. He invites you and your friends to tune in to that web link throughout the 2016 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid to watch Champions Tour players putting on that green at any time. Here's a screen shot taken this evening from that vantage point:
Essentially, Roccy DeFrancesco, Jr. never stops looking for ways to do things better, make things better, help a broad array of people from all walks of life, and enjoy his many-faceted business ventures. He may very well be the most interesting man in Michigan's Great Southwest that many of you have never actually met!
