Mike Lodes has been in Rotary long enough that he doesn’t remember exactly when he joined, but he remembers why. He was impressed with RI’s Four Way Test and with the friendship extended to him when he visited the Des Peres club as a guest.

 

Mike is a general partner at Edward Jones. He started with Jones in 1991 the way most new investment representatives do, by knocking on doors to meet potential clients. Mike says he knocked on every door in Des Peres at least twice. That’s how he heard about Rotary.

 

Since then, Mike has grown his business by attention to client needs and applying the Four Way test to every transaction. He focuses on individual investors with the objective of helping them to achieve their financial goals. He also manages retirement plans for small businesses.

 

Before joining Edward Jones, Mike traveled all over the world as a travel director for Maritz. His most memorable trip was a 21-day around-the-world journey, with the final stop in Paris before returning to the states. So why would anyone give that up? Mike was gone at least 200 days a year, and he didn’t want to be the road—even in some of the most coveted destinations in the world—as often.

 

Actually, there was one even more memorable trip, the one to Hawaii where Mike first met his future wife, Kathleen. She was also a travel director at Maritz, but they hadn’t met before then. As it turned out, that was Mike’s last trip and Kathleen’s first as travel directors for Maritz. Of course, there was no other destination to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary than the Hilton Hawaiian Village, where they met. Mike continues his traveling ways, with a recent trip he and Kathleen took to the Galápagos Islands with Edward Jones.

 

Kathleen and Mike have been married 14 years and live in Webster Groves. They are the proud and busy parents of MaryClare, Audrey, Perry and Fitz. Mike enjoys coaching soccer for the kids’ teams. Besides coaching, Mike still plays soccer. He also collects wristwatches.

 

Currently, Mike serves as the club’s foundation chair. He also chaired one of the club’s auctions in the mid-1990s and made a video about Educare that cemented our relationship with the preschool for a number of years. Mike is also proof that Rotary can attract and retain younger members—he was only 27 when he joined!

Updated: December 2006