Our Team

David S. Coult - "The Business Owner's Wealth Manager"

When I was eight years old, I discovered the magic of combining two lifelong passions: business and fishing! My wonderful mother spent many dark, rainy nights outside holding a coffee can and a flashlight while I learned how to catch nightcrawlers I could sell to local anglers and supply my own fishing habit! I have never met a fish I didn’t like, from the salmon of Alaska to the peacock bass of Brazil, but I feel most at home fly-casting to trout on the creeks and rivers of Pennsylvania and New York. Whether a gurgling brook or the sound of the surf, I have always found peace on the water.

As a kid growing up, I found out that if I looked for a job in the yellow pages and started calling from “A”, there was generally work to be had. I delivered newspapers for Berks-Mont News, labored for Bratt Tree Company and Dane K. Masonry, and started my own landscaping business in college. I learned from early on how to recruit and manage a high-performance team!

I was raised to value continuous learning. I started kindergarten at 4 years old, skipped 4th grade, and no one was more surprised than my parents when I was named high school valedictorian at 16. I attended Bethel College for my undergrad and continued my financial education at the American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. My father is an optical engineer and Lehigh grad with multiple patents who has worked for AT&T Bell Labs, Infinera, and other tech companies. Education and the ongoing drive to learn remains a core value at our firm today and may be why we work so well with engineers, business owners, and people who love to learn, solve problems, and overcome obstacles.

I started my career more than 25 years ago at a large financial services firm in Philadelphia and returned to the Lehigh Valley to found Milestone Financial Associates in 2003. Seeing the meteoric rise of health insurance costs, I developed two divisions of the company – one providing comprehensive wealth management for successful families and the other providing group health benefits. The health insurance business allowed me an inside look at well over 100 unique businesses. I got to see how they delivered value to their customers, the impact a business’s culture has on team dynamics and performance, and levers they could pull to increase profitability. I found that many owners are frustrated by the fact that they only keep a small percentage of the dollars that move through their hands in their business, and in their personal lives. It is incredibly rewarding to help business owners set personal financial goals, develop leaders in their companies so they can spend more time on what matters most, and maximize, not just profitability, but net worth and passive income to them personally. My team and I have helped many business owners through transitions to next-generation owners, key employees, or outside sales of their company, and the transition to “what’s next” while ensuring lifelong retirement security for their families. This is my passion, and I’ve been through it myself! I’ve founded or co-founded several successful businesses, take great pride in their success, and in 2009, I sold that health insurance division of Milestone Financial to National Penn Bank, now Truist. That successful exit allowed our team to have the freedom to be selective in working only with clients we like, for whom we believe we can have a meaningful impact. That was a game changer.

I’ve had my share of failures and disappointments as well. I am divorced and have lost several close friends, clients, and family members to cancer at young ages. As I reflect on the pain of those experiences, I realize that I am able to relate and have tremendous empathy for all who have suffered loss and who must now try to revise their financial plans for a future that seems impossibly different than the one they envisioned. I embrace widows, widowers, and divorcees in my practice.

The greatest joys in life are my three boys: Ben, Nate, and John. Over the years, the activities have evolved from sports practices and games, to Boy Scout campouts, food drives, and hikes, to college visits and Penn State football games (where Ben attends)! There is never a dull moment!

I am also passionate about The Wildlands Conservancy, a local organization working to conserve natural land, clean air, and water, and provide environmental education. I am a past Chair of their Board. I am also a past president of a local Rotary Club. Rotary is the largest service club in the world, working to eradicate diseases such as polio, and to provide food, clean water, shelter, and education to our friends and neighbors worldwide. Together with a group of fellow CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, I volunteer on the Kutztown University Personal Financial Planning Advisory Board, helping to guide young people entering the financial services profession.

I am very thankful for my “old school” childhood. When it snowed, my parents kicked me out the door at 7 a.m. and gave me a sandwich and some water at lunchtime.  I would come inside after dark to eat dinner.  Over the summer, we were outside most of the time. Other than periodically checking in with them, we were free to wander around the neighborhood and woods.  I developed a strong sense of independence.  With freedom came no shortage of responsibility and discipline.  A common phrase used by my father was, “You know what will make you [fill in the blank with anything that was important to us at the time - stronger, better at swimming, etc.]???  If you weed the garden!!  Or mow the grass!!”

My parents preached commitment while I was growing up. I started swimming at 10 years old and I stopped after graduating college- walking away as a 9-time collegiate All-American. There were plenty of times I wanted to quit, plenty of days I did not want to practice, plenty of days I thought I hated swimming. Well, they pushed me to keep showing up...usually by saying “just go to practice today and let’s talk about it tomorrow”. At some point, I grew up and no longer need the conversations about commitment, discipline, work ethic. I took it upon myself and it is something I cherish.

There are endless mentors, awesome coaches, and great friends I have met throughout my swimming career. The amount of support I received still shocks me!

While learning the standard of responsibility, discipline, and hard work came an interest in being helpful. At age 10, I helped my dad disassemble a friend’s deck and while loading up some of the boards, I sent a 2x8x12 through his vehicle’s windshield. About a year later, my dad decided to turn an old pop-up camper of ours into a trailer and asked me to assist. He learned that day that it is all about the details. The job was to “demolish” the existing camper while leaving the frame intact. The first thing I “helped” with was smashing all the taillights. I was told later, in the form of a joke, the taillights were the only thing on the whole rig that was necessary to keep. In both cases, there was no yelling, no punishment, no hard feelings. His response was a simple pat on the back and a non-sarcastic, “Good job, Sam.” Today I look back and see the great value in the amount of encouragement he offered and the patience he had with me. He made it okay for us to fail and make mistakes. Failure and mistakes are always an opportunity to learn.

Throughout middle school and high school, I worked a couple of different jobs. From my own venture selling sodas at the local school ball games to landscaping and later life guarding. Looking back, I see the value and impact of what seem to be small decisions. Around my sophomore year of high school, I developed a strong desire to understand how businesses function, how money is transferred, and how taxes are or are not paid. That led me to make My decision to study accounting and swim at Bloomsburg University an easy one. I seek to understand things. I was THAT annoying kid who ALWAYS asked or wondered why. I found accounting to be a profession/science that can always keep a record and explain why. To give context to why small decisions are important, I taught swim lessons to the kids of the gentleman who hired me and exposed me to the world of financial planning after graduating college!

When I am not working you will find me spending time with family, friends, or my wife Laura, in the gym, hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, or anything outdoors!

I currently hold the SIE, Series 7, and Series 66 securities registration. I have earned my ChFC® designation and I am studying to earn the CFP® designation.

I feel I bring a unique perspective to the world of financial planning, especially on the business succession side! So now that you know about me, I’d like to learn more about you!  Let’s get together to see what we can accomplish!

Carl Landis - Financial Planner

Carl earned his BS (cum laude) in secondary education from Lock Haven University in 1970 and an MA in mathematics from West Chester University in 1973. Carl’s career started in education where he was a math teacher and instructor at the college level. He also had a vast career in engineering, engineering management, and electronics. Carl proudly served six years in the U.S. Navy, stationed out of Norfolk, VA, on destroyers. In 1987, Carl entered the field of financial services, obtaining the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. Carl addresses all facets of financial planning but specializes in retirement planning.

During the span of his career, Carl had the pleasure of serving on various boards including the Visiting Nurses’ Association of Pottstown, Berks County, Green Valleys Watershed Association, Schuylkill River Greenway Association, and Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Association. He was an active and founding member of the Pottstown Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) chapter for more than 25 years, as well as an active member, of the Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce. 

Carl is a lifelong resident of the Pottstown area. He’s lived in North Coventry since 1974 with his wife, Sylvia, a retired Pottstown school teacher.  His interests include gardening, fishing, biking, kayaking, 5K road racing, and competing in National Masters track and field competitions.

Kelly Cannone - Office Manager

As the office manager at Milestone Financial Associates, I am enthusiastic and dedicated to ensuring a welcoming environment and a high level of service for our existing and future clients.

I graduated from Lock Haven University with a BA in international studies. During my junior year, I was extremely fortunate to participate in its exchange program and studied abroad in Paderborn, Germany. While there I was able to travel, meet many amazing people, and quickly learned how to be independent and resourceful – I did not have a cell phone, GPS, or Siri to rely on!

I strive to use my 20 years of experience in the financial services industry with both large and small institutions to deliver the best experience possible to our clients. Over the course of my career, I have developed strong relationship-building and technical skills. I have worked extensively with corporate executives, business owners, retirees, and retirement plan administrators.  

My husband, Brian, and I are both originally from New Jersey, but in 2000 we moved to Macungie, PA, and have laid down deep roots here.  We have two boys, Nick and Johnny, who are students at the University of Rochester and Emmaus High School, respectively.  We enjoy supporting them in their diverse extracurricular and educational pursuits. As a family, we enjoy vacationing at the Jersey Shore or anywhere else warm and sunny.  In my free time, I like to unwind by reading, cooking, and gardening. I am also guilty of binge-watching reality TV and listening to Bruce Springsteen (or any '80s music).  Our two rescue dogs round out our family and live for their walks and trips to various parks on the weekends.

Jeffrey Hegedus - Financial Planning Assistant

I was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA. I grew up right next to Yosko Park where my friends and I played sports, rode bikes, and swam from morning to night in the summertime. My core group of childhood friends and I are still very close to this day.

My father was a Teamsters Union truck driver and instilled a strong work ethic in me. My mother worked odd jobs but was mostly a stay-at-home mom. They divorced when I was young but maintained a great relationship to make sure my sister and I were well taken care of. My parents have had a profound impact on my life and have taught me what it means to be a good person, even when nobody is watching.

My path in the financial services industry was a little unusual. After high school, I obtained an associate’s degree in electrical maintenance and construction technology. I landed a job in the energy industry as a power plant operator where I worked for 10 years. In 2016, my father was diagnosed with cancer and it really made me reevaluate my life. I decided that I didn’t want a “job” where I just counted down my days to retirement; I wanted a career that I loved. I had a strong interest in investing and the stock market, and I loved helping my friends and family with their personal finances. With that in mind, I decided to pursue a degree in finance. I graduated from DeSales University with a bachelor’s degree in finance with a financial planning concentration. While finishing my degree, I started my career as a client relationship associate in the investment services department at Vanguard where I obtained my FINRA SIE, Series 7, and Series 63 securities registrations. At Vanguard, I gained valuable experience in client service and operations.  When I was offered the role of financial planning associate with Milestone, I knew it was the opportunity I was looking for and was eager to join the team.

Outside of work, I enjoy a wide range of activities and hobbies. I love to travel – most recently to Madeira, Portugal, with my amazing wife, Victoria, for our 10^th wedding anniversary.  I enjoy golf, reading, hiking, spending time with my family, and listening to podcasts on a variety of topics, and I am a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan. I am also a member of Life Church Nazareth and a member of their “Fight Club” men’s fellowship group.

My wife is a registered nurse who graduated from Cedar Crest College with a BS in nursing. She has spent time working for St. Luke’s and Lehigh Valley Hospital in a variety of roles and is currently a post-anesthesia care (PACU) nurse for a private surgery office in the Easton area where she cares for patients before and after they have outpatient surgery. She is also a fitness enthusiast and instructs “hot yoga” classes in Bethlehem.  We live in Palmer Township with our dog Bella. We were both born and raised in the Lehigh Valley and love calling this place our home.