Know Your Neighbor – Kirk Klein
Kirk Klein is a managing partner at wealth management and investment firm Koss Olinger. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Practitioner and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Klein specializes in comprehensive financial planning, business continuation and estate planning in closely held family businesses. He was named in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “Who’s Who” of Florida Certified Financial Planner ® Professionals. Klein is currently a board member of Junior Achievement, Oak Hall School, a member of the Gainesville Rotary Club and has served on other boards over the years.
I was born and raised in Illinois and graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Marketing. Three years after starting my career in financial planning, I decided to move across the country to work for Koss Olinger in Gainesville.
For nearly 30 years, I have enjoyed counseling individuals and business owners in estate and business transition planning. Greater Gainesville is a special community that has allowed me to be involved, make an impact and get to know many wonderful people. The Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Gainesville Program taught me a lot about the area and gave me many opportunities to become a better leader.
The year we moved here, Gainesville was featured on the cover of Money Magazine as the best place to live in America. My wife, Michelle, and I did not want to live somewhere with traffic and congestion. We always knew we wanted to raise our children in a college town. Our daughter Shailey is a junior studying sports journalism at the University of Florida. Our daughter Mackenzie and son William attend Oak Hall High School.
Greater Gainesville is a perfect place to live with great entertainment, especially in sports and the arts. We love to go to Gator football, basketball and baseball games. The weather allows us to golf and walk outdoors year-round. We like the proximity to Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and the beaches. The friendly people and atmosphere remind us of the Midwest.
Favorite Restaurant: Embers (Fine dining), Satchel’s Pizza (Casual)
Favorite Activities: Watching Gator sports, Golfing, working out at Go Primal Fitness
