Sandra Nesbit and Greg Willsey
photography by win wolloff
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Sandra: Learn from your past, but don’t live in it.
Greg: My father told me that you learn how to become
a good parent after most of the work is done.
Why do you do what you do?
Sandra: I love our business and how fulfilling it is
taking care of our families’ financial lives.
Greg: Making a difference in the lives of the people
we have the opportunity to serve.
What don’t people know about you?
Sandra: My first job was a DJ at a small radio station
as a band promoter.
Greg: I was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
What are your favorite words of wisdom?
Sandra: “There is no limit to what a man can do
or where he can go if he does not mind who gets the
credit.” Ronald Reagan
Greg: “For myself, I am an optimist. It does not seem
to be much use in being anything else. “ Sir Winston
Churchill
What do you consider to be your greatest
achievement?
Sandra: Still to come!
Greg: Parenting five children.
What is your motto?
Sandra: Understanding is easy; execution is hard.
Greg: “Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda from
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
What provides you with pleasure?
Sandra: Spending time with my husband and family.
Greg: My wife and my work.
What would you like to do that you have
never done?
Sandra: Sail the Mediterranean.
Greg: Sail the eastern seaboard to Maine.
How would you describe yourself?
Sandra: Strong, passionate, intuitive and loving.
Greg: Hard working, energetic and fun-loving.
How do you relax?
Sandra: Being on our sailboat.
Greg: Sailing and cocktails on the back deck with my
wife.
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Ohio native Sandra L. Nesbit grew up in south central
Florida, where she learned to love animals, boating and
water skiing. She began her over 20 year career in wealth
management with IDS before becoming an advisor at
Merrill Lynch, developing and spearheading financial
planning training. She is a Certified Divorce Financial
Analyst™, and a Certified Estate and Trust Specialist™.
Greg Willsey, who grew up in a Cherry Hill, New Jersey,
a suburb of Philadelphia, is a Certified Financial Planner®.
Following his graduation from Ohio State University,
he enjoyed a 25-year career in the brokerage industry,
largely with Merrill Lynch including leadership roles,
such as the resident manager in the Clearwater and then
St. Petersburg offices.
Sandra and Greg, who became partners in 1997, founded
GFS Private Wealth, LLC, a fee-only wealth management
Registered Investment Advisor firm headquartered in
Clearwater, where she serves as managing partner. The
wife and husband team focuses on Total Wealth planning
for affluent individuals and their families, specializing in
the areas of legacy planning, including wealth transfer
and conducting family meetings.
Sandra and Greg are active in the community. They
served as co-chairs of Ruth Eckerd Hall’s 2015 fundraising
gala. Greg is a past member of the Hall’s Foundation board,
as well as a past president of the Florida Gulf Coast Art
Center and a past Commodore of Carlouel Yacht Club.
The couple enjoys music, sailing and boating, as well as
traveling and spending time with their combined five
children.
Why do you live here?
Sandra: The water, weather, the people and the culture.
Greg: The sunshine, the water, the people and the
incredible quality of life.
What is your favorite word?
Sandra: Passion – fully engaged in all aspects of life.
Greg: Freedom; how precious it is and not to be taken
for granted.
What provides you with pleasure?
Sandra: Spending time with my husband and family.
Greg: My wife and my work.
Who is your role model?
Sandra: My husband, Greg A. Willsey.
Greg: More hero’s than role models, Winston
Churchill and Ronald Reagan for the courage and
fortitude to preserve the freedom for much of mankind.
146 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016