Veterans Day is the perfect time to spotlight the ongoing service of Cōpare cofounder Eric J. Candelori, CIMA®, who recently received the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from Invest in Others for dedicating more than four decades of leadership and service to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.
Eric said his service to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is a way to honor the legacy of his late father, who was a Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves. The Foundation provides scholarships for the children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen in-need to recognize their parents for their service. Established in 1962 in the spirit of Semper Fidelis — always faithful — the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is the only military scholarship provider to make an award to every single eligible student who applies.
Eric, who is the Foundation’s vice chairman, has also served in the roles of fundraiser, treasurer and acting president. He has helped grow the Foundation from a small, informal organization awarding a few scholarships a year to a vibrant fund that provides 2,500+ scholarships collectively worth more than $8 million annually.
“I am extremely honored to receive this award from Invest in Others,” said Eric. “One of the best things about this recognition is the $55,000 that comes with it — every dollar of which is going to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. It’s exciting and gratifying to be part of a group like Invest in Others that devotes its entire mission to helping people in need, whoever and wherever they might be.”
Eric has always invested in his own health and is passionate about helping others. As a former competitive bodybuilder and current triathlete, he is very aware of how to fuel his own body to achieve optimal performance. When he examined the weight loss business, he saw an industry overly focused on selling food and too many doctors recommending surgery. He knew there was a better solution. Eric decided to become a steward for the weight loss community — bringing the same discipline and personalized service he practiced for so many years in the Marine Corps to the weight loss market.
In addition to his leadership within Cōpare, Eric is a Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor in Vienna, Virginia. He began his financial services career in 1987 and has continued to assist clients by helping them manage their individual wealth to meet their individual needs. He focuses on offering a comprehensive approach to managing wealth that begins with listening to a client’s needs and helps to ensure every strategy is grounded in understanding what each client wants to achieve.
Invest in Others recognizes individual advisors and firms that are making a difference by donating their time and money to causes they care about. By sharing their stories and awarding funding to these organizations, we build critical visibility, encourage others to get involved, channel additional resources to those in need and highlight the important work being championed by the financial services community. To learn more, visit https://www.investinothers.org.
