The Observer Newspapers | Dellinger Wealth Takes Residence at Fully-Restored 719 Pine St. House

June 26, 2009

Dellinger Wealth Takes Residence at Fully-Restored 719 Pine St. House

By Leslie Perales

Observer Staff Writer

The house at 719 Pine St. in historic downtown Herndon has seen many tenants and residents throughout the years. Earlier this month, the building welcomed perhaps its most caring resident. Dellinger Wealth Management moved in after a long and complete restoration process.

The building has been the home of many local businesses over the years, including scrapbook store Artfully Scribed, an antique store called Sir Isaac Gallery and The Observer way back in the 1980s. Tom Dellinger, LPL financial planner and president at Dellinger Wealth Management, said the building at 719 Pine was exactly what he was looking for: an old house that was not in a residential area and which was part of a small town.

"I was a small town kid," Dellinger said. "I grew up in Vienna." He said although Vienna is not that small anymore he still wanted to be in a place that focused on community. He said the ambience of the home attracted him to it. "I always wanted to find an old house to fix up to have our practice in," he said.

Dellinger said he chose to relocate his business from Great Falls because his business grew out of its last space and he wanted a more permanent location. Finally moving into the property is "exciting and overwhelming at the same time," he said.

But before moving in, Dellinger had to renovate the historical building, a process that took quite some time, he said. He said when he purchased the building it was in decay. Eventually he hopes to have before-and-after photos in the lobby. He said those who had been in the building before it was renovated would not believe the changes they have made.

Dellinger said he has been amazed at how friendly people have been and is looking forward to becoming a part of Herndon's business community.

Dellinger said he wants his business to be involved in the community and to support youth sports, such as Little League and Herndon High School sports teams. He said giving back to youth through sports has been something he has always been interested in and he hopes to get a message out to the students.

He said when he places ads in programs to support high school or youth sports programs, he uses John Wooden's Pyramid of Success, which focuses on qualities such as loyalty, team spirit and confidence.

"You can't run with the crowd in order to be successful," Dellinger said. "Hopefully every kid will see one thought or one idea on there to apply." He said he has been at events and watched people tear out copies of the Pyramid of Success that he prints in his ads.

Dellinger said his company's advisors focus on education, and he wants to offer that education to the community. He said he hopes to offer educational seminars so people can learn more about managing their finances. "The idea is educating people on everything," he said.

Dellinger Wealth Management offers services through LPL Financial. "There's unbiased fee-based advice with no proprietary products," he said. He said LPL Financial is the 5th largest financial advisor in the country and is growing because of its stability.

He said he hopes to be doing his job when he's 92 years old because it is what he loves. He said many people get into the industry to make money and retire early but he does it because he enjoys working with clients and what he does for them, which includes investments, financial planning, insurance and tax planning. He said he hopes he can get community members to begin to think about how they can address their finances and plan for the future. "We're not going anywhere," Dellinger said. "There's some permanency."