ABOUT
Our Purpose
Our goal is to help empower you to plan your financial future and help you live the life you dream about. It’s this experience, tailored to our clients individually, that we aspire to bring to financial services. We want the process to be simple yet energetic, engaging, and most of all, effective. Get to know us by reading further.
Meet the founder
Kevin M. Grunawalt*, CFP®
Founder & CEO
Verso FinancialOffice Phone: (574) 271-3860
Kevin has been involved in the financial services profession since 1987. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Financial Planning and Counseling from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and has earned his Certified Financial Planner™ Certification from the College for Financial Planning. Kevin is the CEO of Verso Financial as well as the Senior Advisor on the team that serves our clients.
Kevin assists business owners and families to help keep more of what they earn. To accomplish this, he acts as their personal financial advisor and utilizes a five step wealth management process to help them determine where they are, where they want to go, and identify any gaps that need to be filled to get them there. He works with a network of other professionals to help his clients make informed decisions and achieve what is important to them.
Kevin has served as President of the Michiana Estate Planning Council and North Central Indiana Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. In his community he has served on the board and as President of Reins of Life, Inc. (Therapeutic horseback riding).
Kevin and his wife, Kimberly, are the parents of three daughters and reside in Granger, Indiana. In his leisure time he enjoys spending time at the family lake house, golfing, skiing, and ballroom dancing.
Meet the team
Kelby K. Wendzel*, CFP®
Certified Financial Planner
Office Phone: (574) 271-3860
Kelby joined the firm in 2013. He graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Planning and Counseling and holds the Certified Financial Planner™ designation. During his time at Purdue, Kelby served as President of the Financial Planning Club and won Outstanding Senior of the Year.
Kelby is a lead advisor at Verso Financial where he helps families and business owners make smart decisions with their money. He develops and implement strategies in the areas of investing, tax minimization, risk management, charitable giving and estate planning. Kelby has found that many clients want to focus on lifestyle planning to build wealth to enable them to spend more time doing the things they enjoy.
Kelby and his wife, Samantha, reside in Fort Myers Florida. In his leisure time he enjoys spending time with friends and family, golfing, skiing and traveling to new places.
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Johnny Basham
Lead Advisor
Office Phone: (574) 271-3860
Johnny joined the firm in January 2024. Prior to joining Verso Financial, he was with another firm in the industry for 17 years. Johnny graduated from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in business majoring in Finance and receiving a minor in Economics.
Johnny is a lead advisor at Verso Financial where he helps families and business owners make smart decisions with their money. He develops and implements strategies in the areas of investing, tax minimization, risk management, charitable giving, and estate planning. Johnny has found that many clients want to focus on lifestyle planning to build wealth to enable them to spend more time doing the things they enjoy.
Johnny, his wife, Jessica, their 2-year-old son, Beckett, and yellow lab, Arty, all reside in Mishawaka, Indiana. In his leisure time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, cooking (especially BBQ), fishing, hunting, and traveling.
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Nicole Witherspoon*
Client Relationship Manager
Office Phone: (574) 271-3860
Nicole has been in the Financial Services industry since 1998 and is Securities registered with Ameritas Investment Company, LLC. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a Concentration in Management and a Master’s of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership from the Indiana Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the firm in 2008, she worked as a Registered Paraplanner with an Advisory Firm in Merrillville, IN.
Nicole is vital to the advising team in servicing the firm’s clients. Her experience in client service has played a significant role in the design of our service model. As liaison between our clients and the firm, she executes all transactions and service requests with the utmost professionalism.
Nicole and her husband, Keith, reside in South Bend and have four children. In her leisure time, Nicole enjoys singing in her church choir and spending time with her family.
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Matthew E. Boughner
COO
Office Phone: (574) 271-3860
Matt joined the firm in 2020. Prior to joining the firm, he spent his career as an entrepreneur. He owned a service business for 19 years. After selling it, he continued to serve his and additional company territories, for 10 more years.
Matt earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana. Matt’s role as Office Manager is ongoing – currently, he is processing client meeting notes, creating workflows, and building and assisting with retirement programs.
Matt and his wife Lori have both a daughter and a son and reside in Granger, Indiana. Matt enjoys bike riding, weightlifting and running.
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Mark D. Abel
Director of Marketing & Communications
Office Phone: (574) 271-3860
Mark has spent his career in a variety of sales and marketing positions since 1979. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Advertising from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. His role at Verso is Director of Marketing & Communications.
Mark works with the Verso team to put together events for our clients. He also manages Verso’s various social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Verso Financials’ website, keeping them updated with the most recent activities of the company.
Mark and his wife, Marybeth, are the parents of a son and a daughter and reside in Granger, Indiana. In his leisure time, Mark enjoys golf, cooking, reading, riding either his Peloton or his bike, and hiking the National Parks throughout the country.
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Jay Jarvis
Agency Business Development Manager
Office Phone: (513) 954-6704
Jay’s role with Verso Financial is working with the agency helping as it relates to financial products and agency development. Jay grew up and still resides in the Cincinnati, Ohio area where he graduated with a degree in Political Science from Miami University in 1989.
After graduating from Miami Jay started his career in the financial service industry, obtaining a Series 7, 63, 66 and 24 securities licenses. While progressing through his career Jay had the opportunity to develop his knowledge in financial products holding positions as a mutual fund research analyst, he has been part of multiple corporate investment committees, worked with industry leading financial service representatives in a business development capacity and case design.
The favorite part of his long career in the financial services industry has been the opportunity to work with dedicated individuals in a team environment who are committed to excellence and the success of their clients.
Jay is married to his wife Kim and has two sons. Tyler lives in Cincinnati and Ian is a Family Therapist in Chattanooga. Jay and Kim are active in their church where their son Tyler leads worship. To relax Jay enjoys picking on his guitars, playing golf with friends, and hanging out at the gun club.
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Lynn Olson
Service Operations Specialist
Office Phone: (574) 271-3860
Lynn is the newest team member to join the Verso Financial Team. Lynn brings over 25 years of experience working in the financial industry. Lynn currently holds her Series 6, 7, 63, 66 and 24 Licenses. Lynn takes pride in providing lop notch customer service and going the extra mile to help our clients.
Lynn is a remote employee, living on Sand Lake in northern Wisconsin. In the summer you can find Lynn enjoying time out on the lake and during winter you can find her out on the snowmobile trails. Lynn and her husband Todd also love to travel whenever they get a chance. They also spend time volunteering with their snowmobile club and at horse shows.
Lynn’s family includes Todd, their son Ben and his fiancé Melody, and her 4-legged child, Stella the wonder horse.
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