Athens, Ga. – A team of family financial planning majors from the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences placed second in the Ameriprise Financial Planning Invitational April 23-24 in Minneapolis.

This was UGA’s first time entering the national competition, which included nearly 40 colleges nationwide that offer degrees registered by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. The UGA team was one of eight chosen for the finals based on a comprehensive financial plan developed for theoretical clients. The finalists had the opportunity to present their plans to a four-judge panel and to compete in a three-hour quiz bowl that tested the students’ knowledge of core areas of financial planning.

“It was our first time to compete in Minneapolis. We were one of only two schools that had not been to the competition in previous years, and we were also the ‘youngest’ financial planning program competing,” said Joseph Goetz, the team’s adviser and a FACS assistant professor. “These are the factors that make it that much more impressive that our students finished second nationally.”

The family financial planning major was established in the FACS housing and consumer economics department in fall 2006 and had its first graduates in May 2007.

The silver-winning team included graduating seniors Matt Barber from Alpharetta, Jon Birdsong from Atlanta, and Jason Eagle from Grayson.

Each student received $500, and the college received $5,000 to support the financial planning program.

For more information about the family financial planning major, contact Lance Palmer, director of the program, at lpalmer@fcs.uga.edu or at 706/542-4916.

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Note to editors: Photos of the team are available by contacting Wendy Jones at 706/542-6927 or wfjones@uga.edu.