Meet the professionals who can help you Pursue Your Goals
We help individuals and families work toward achieving their ideal retirements.
Meet The Team
The team behind Preservation Specialists, LLC is made up of qualified financial professionals who are passionate about helping individuals and families achieve their ideal retirements.
Leadership
Patrick Strubbe Founder & Managing Partner, ChFC®, CLU®, RFC®
Patrick StrubbeFounder & Managing Partner
For over 25 years, Pat has taught retirees and pre-retirees how to preserve their assets and increase their income.
His own family's struggles influenced Pat to enter financial services. Pat vividly remembers being in high school when his grandfather needed nursing care. His mom had to handle the bills and coordinate payments while his grandfather had to depend on someone else to take care of him, both physically and financially. The situation wore down his entire family. Today, Pat hopes to help others avoid the problems his family faced by showing them how to be proactive with their money.
Pat is a recurring guest on the WIS-TV (NBC) news with anchor Dawndy Mercer Plank. He was the financial columnist for the Lexington Chronicle for many years and has been featured in USA Today, Columbia Business Monthly, Investor's Business Daily and other national publications, as well as on numerous radio shows around the country for his knowledge in the field of financial planning. Pat is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) and Registered Financial Consultant (RFC®).
You can listen to Pat host the radio show "Save Your Retirement®" on WVOC-AM. He is also an avid writer. In 2012, his book "Save Your Retirement from Mass Destruction by the 7 Retirement Villains!" became a best-seller on Amazon.com. In March of 2021, he reached best-seller status again with his most recent book, "The Retirement Secret."
Pat lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with his beautiful wife, Janelle. He is the proud father of four children: Carter, Ava, Gabriella and Isla. Pat enjoys watching NBA basketball games with his friends and family. He loves to see his favorite team, the L.A. Lakers, whenever he can. An active member of Hope Lutheran Church in Irmo, Pat has served as an elder of finances since 2003.
John FarleyPartner & Financial Advisor
John FarleyPartner & Financial Advisor
You may know John as your local meteorologist, but you may not know that he has been involved in the finance world for many years. John joined Preservation Specialists in 2016, and in 2022, he became an equity partner.
John earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts in business administration with a concentration in finance. He ran a hedge fund for six years, where he and his team developed and implemented statistical models for trading commodities. John is a fully licensed financial advisor. He holds the Series 7 and 66 exams, as well as the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) on the security side, and holds life and health insurance licenses in South Carolina.
John has a Master of Science degree in meteorology from San Jose State University. While in graduate school, John worked with a team to create mathematical models that forecast fog at San Francisco International Airport. The team was awarded the Excellence in Aviation Award from the FAA in 2002. John relies heavily on his modeling/math background to evaluate potential investments for our clients.
John is also an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist and certified meteorologist with the American Meteorological Society and believes there are a lot of similarities between investing and meteorology. He explains, "No one wins them all, but it's usually prudent to stay grounded and have a process for how you approach investing — much like forecasting the weather."
John and his wife, Maura, have been happily married for over 30 years. They moved to Lexington in 2010 and have three children: Grace, Rosemary, and Jack.
Matthew Terry
CFP®, EA, Partner, Financial Advisor
Matthew Terry
Partner & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
Matthew is our youngest advising partner. He joined Preservation Specialists in 2019 and in 2022 became an equity partner. He graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Financial Planning and loves helping clients develop a comprehensive financial plan as they work towards their retirement endeavors.
Matthew is our only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ on staff. In addition, he holds his Securities Industry Essentials (SIE), Series 7 and 66 licenses through FINRA. On the insurance side, he is a life and health insurance agent in multiple states.
Growing up, he always knew he wanted to enter a field where he is able to help others and make a lasting impact on their lives so that is why he chose finance!
Before attending Clemson, Matthew played two years of collegiate golf at Spartanburg Methodist College and never passes up the opportunity to play a “quick 9”.
He was born and raised in Jefferson, South Carolina and enjoys hanging out with his beautiful wife (Sydney), family, and friends in his free time.
David Elliott EA, Financial Advisor
David ElliottFinancial Advisor
David is super excited to join the team at PS. He comes to us from another financial planning firm in Lexington, SC, and is looking forward to helping clients succeed as they continue to walk their financial journey.
David and his wife, McKenzie have lived in Columbia for the last 6 years and just recently welcomed their son, Ben, in early March 2024. David was born and raised in China, where he spent the first 16 years of his life while his parents served as medical missionaries. Having grown up in a foreign culture, David loves to try new things and travel to new places as often as possible. He found a kindred spirit in his wife, McKenzie, and they have been to 11 countries together since getting married in June 2020.
He looks forward to meeting and serving each of the PS clients and working with them as they seek to accomplish their goals.
Support Team
Margo PendleburyDirector of HR & Operations
Margo SimmonsDirector of HR & Operations
A member of our team since 2018, Margo is our resident "Brit" with a heart for helping people. She has a diverse background, including experience in children's ministry, retail buying and web development.
A joyful multitasker, Margo enjoys the daily rhythm of engaging with our clients and meeting their needs & supporting the amazing PS Team!
When she is not working, you can find Margo spending time with her two kids, antiquing & serving her community.
Grace Blackburn
Marketing Coordinator
Grace Blackburn
Marketing Coordinator
Michaela Castillo
Client Service Specialist
Michaela CastilloClient Service Representative
Michaela is excited to start her new role and hopes that her knowledge and experience of helping clients through their retirement journey will be continued for years to come. She looks forward to working with all of Preservation Specialists' new and existing clients and their families.
Michaela and her husband, Victor, have lived in South Carolina for six-plus years and have three beautiful children, Olivia, Eva, and Savannah. They like to visit different parts of the state and surrounding areas on the weekends and spend as much time as a family as possible. Michaela also enjoys cooking all her favorite British dishes and baked goods and spends time listening to audiobooks whenever she can.
Janelle Strubbe
Client Service Specialist
Debbie Simmons
Front Office Coordinator
Debbie SimmonsFront Office Coordinator
Hi, my name is Debbie Simmons!
My husband Dan and I have been married for 46 years, we have 4 grown children and are immensely blessed to be Pop and Mimi to 8 beautiful grandbabies and one great-grandbaby! We are also blessed to be raising our 11-year-old granddaughter who has been with us since she was 2 ½! I call her “our little blessing” and parenting the 2nd time around has been so much fun!
I just recently joined the team here at PS, as the Front Desk Coordinator and am so excited to be here!
My favorite thing about being here is meeting our clients when they come in for a meeting. To me, it is very important that they feel they are not only “a client”, but a part of our PS family! I love meeting our clients, having conversations with them and making them feel at home when they come here!
Ready to Take The Next Step?
For more information about any of the products and services we offer, schedule a meeting today or register to attend a seminar.
Or give us a call at (803) 798-1988