Bernard (Bernie) Bowhuis is the founder and president of Benchmark Financial Design Group, Inc. (BFDG, Inc.) Bernie is a 1983 graduate of Hope College in Holland, MI. At Hope Bernie graduated with a Business Administration degree with an emphasis in accounting and earned honors as All-MIAA 1st team for football. Bernie has also been a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) since 1995 and continues to study in the financial field, adding the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation in 2018. He has been happily married to Karen (Connor) since 1984, and has two sons. Greg, the eldest, is an assistant principal teacher in Houston, TX, with a PhD in Educational Leadership and Curriculum Design. Chad is active as VP of Wealth Management who also holds a CFP and AIF designations at BFDG, Inc. Bernie and Karen currently have three grandchildren (Chad’s daughters, Braelyn, Isla, and Siersha), and enjoys cycling, baseball, Notre Dame football, trivia, and visiting craft breweries.