MID-CONTINENT COMPANIES - Key Persons
Carissa Cruse brings a combination of business and legal acumen to The Mid-Continent Companies, Ltd. Before becoming an attorney, Carissa worked for the nation's largest food broker. She managed teams and communication amongst large consumer packaged goods manufacturers including Minute Maid, Campbells, Georgia Pacific, and Starbucks. After law school, Carissa worked as a corporate attorney for a global law firm in Midtown Manhattan. She assisted on many deals within the capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and fund formation practice groups. All deals ranged in value from $125MM to $4B. She also led pro bono matters related to the creation of Supplemental Needs Trusts for low income individuals.
Carissa graduated from Georgetown University Law Center while serving on the editorial board of the Food and Drug Law Review where her legal research on food fraud was published. While in law school, Carissa held internships at a personal injury law firm, under the Honorable Jeff Bohm for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, under the Honorable Brett Busby (who now serves on the Texas Supreme Court) for the 14th Court of Appeals, as a legal fellow for Congressman Filemon Vela, at the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of the Student Honors Program, and as a pro bono intern at the Neighborhood Legal Services Program in D.C. Carissa earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver, majoring in International Business Management and minoring in Spanish. Carissa, originally from Colorado, resides in Houston, Texas with her husband and two pups. She enjoys time with her family, traveling, and scuba diving.
Carissa is admitted to practice law in Texas, Colorado, and New York.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder of the Mid - Continent Companies' Employee Benefits Practice
- Expert
As a co-founder of The Mid-Continent Companies' Employee Benefits Practice, Cody Hunter leads the team that consults with companies on all facets of design, implementation and administration of employer-sponsored benefits programs, with an emphasis on middle-market companies.
Cody is an expert in the design and funding of partially self-funded group medical plans, as well as retirement plan design, compliance and administration. He is particularly gifted in helping clients and their employees understand complex subject matters. Building on a career that began in underwriting and sales for an international insurance carrier, Cody's unique knowledge and insights are supported by 30 years of experience across all facets of the employee benefits arena.
Cody joined The Mid-Continent Companies in 2002 and has since overseen the ongoing growth of its employee benefits practice. He is a 1992 graduate of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas with a degree in business administration and a specialization in finance. Cody is an active member of the Retirement Plan Advisory Group and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Cody is a father of four and is active in his church and youth community activities.
Gary Ellison brings a diverse range of experience to his position as Sales Consultant at The Mid-Continent Companies. He has spent the last 10 years as a career development coach, as well as a consultant for small business owners. Through his own experience as a small business co-owner, Gary developed a passion to help family owned businesses succeed.
His relationship-building and leadership skills were honed in his role as Lead Pastor of Tomball Church. As pastor, he not only brought diverse groups of people together, he also was responsible for strategic recruiting and hiring, developing and meeting budgets, and annual reporting. While there, he helped a large congregation find its way back to serving a meaningful role in the community.
Gary's vision for community and his commitment to making sense of difficult situations are put to good use at The Mid-Continent Companies. A true people person, Gary is equally comfortable speaking one on one and in front of large audiences. He serves his clients well as a motivator, encouraging plan participation among employees, individually and in group meetings. As a communicator, Gary clearly conveys the importance of people being truly retirement ready, whether through estate planning or 401(k) plan education and involvement.
A graduate of Southwestern University, Gary is also pursuing a Master of Clinical Psychology from his alma mater. He serves on the Executive Board of Builder's International, a nonprofit organization that builds Bible colleges, orphanages, youth campgrounds and churches on every continent around the world. Gary and his wife are active members of North Central Church and proud parents of two children.
Patrick Van Pelt has dedicated his career to helping people, companies and communities thrive and succeed. As a proven managing advisor with a business degree from Marquette University and a master's degree from Rice University, his professional experience runs deep, encompassing financial consulting, data governance, risk management, real estate, residential construction and historic restorations. Patrick is widely trusted and admired for his insightful consulting and guidance for an extensive range of closely held companies in a broad range of industries in Houston, throughout Texas and across the United States.
Patrick brings energy, insight and enthusiasm to every endeavor he touches. His impressive history of rolling up his sleeves with a positive attitude to do what it takes for a successful outcome has inspired his peers, changed Houston's landscape and enhanced the quality of life for countless individuals.
Mary Catherine "Polly" Shouse is an amazingly innovative thinker and visionary senior manager with wide-ranging expertise in global institutional and personal asset management. As Senior Investment Advisor to The Mid-Continent Companies' Employee Benefits Practice, she is backed by nearly four decades of unparalleled expertise in asset allocation strategy.
Renowned as a true pioneer of investment management, Polly's professional center of gravity is with Mellon Capital Management (MCM) in San Francisco, where she served as a co-founder and Executive Vice President from 1983 to 2008. Under her direction, MCM grew start-up assets to more than $200 billion. With MCM, Polly serviced major institutional investors in the United States, while also securing MCM's first clients in Switzerland and Bermuda, blazing new trails through asset allocation across multiple currencies. She was also the first investment manager to arbitrage S&P 500 Stock Index Futures for an ERISA client and a public fund client.
Polly is a graduate of Stanford University and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Stoyan Petev's area of expertise is in risk management techniques and products. His deep technical knowledge of life insurance, annuities, Long-Term Care, Disability and investment products ensures that Mid-Continent Companies' clients can protect what matters to them most. Since every client, family or business has unique needs, his product knowledge, plan design experience, implementation, and monitoring play integral role in how a financial plan evolves during our clients' lifetimes.
Prior to joining Mid-Continent, Mr. Petev spent years as a product research and investment analyst, due diligence officer, insurance product and strategy consultant, advisor, speaker and trainer. He has worked with both clients and financial planning professionals on building and executing on various aspects of a holistic financial planning process.
After graduating cum laude with an undergraduate degree in Finance and Economics from Truman State University, Stoyan went on to earn his Master of Business Administration in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis. He has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designations. In addition, Stoyan holds multiple insurance licenses in various states.
Stoyan is passionate about improving financial literacy among immigrant communities. He believes that everyone should have access to quality financial advice. He has also spent time as an adjunct instructor at Lindenwood University teaching statistics, economics, finance and accounting. In his free time, Stoyan likes spending time with his family, fishing, reading, and playing chess. He currently resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife and 2 sons.
Bill Van Pelt, IV provides strategic leadership to The Mid-Continent Companies, Ltd. In addition to board and management responsibilities, Bill directly manages a significant number of client assignments throughout the country. He has more than 35 years of experience working with the most complex business and estate planning situations involving the owners of family controlled private and publicly held companies. Consequently, Bill is especially adept at identifying latent business planning, estate planning, people and tax issues, their likely impact on a company and its stakeholders, and devising strategies to effectively and efficiently preempt their manifestation. Bill possesses a broad, deep understanding of financial concepts, strategies and tools, and their creative application.
Bill serves as Chief Compliance Officer of the company's wholly-owned broker dealer, has extensive outside board experience and currently serves as a director of several market-leading companies in the financial services and marine products industries. An avid outdoorsman and conservationist, Bill participates in the leadership of several unique projects at the nexus of the natural environment and outdoor lifestyles: The High Lonesome Ranch, LLC, The High Lonesome Institute, Inc. and, from 2009-2013, Deep Water Cay Club.
Bill graduated cum laude from Boston College's School of Management Honors Program with dual degrees in accounting and finance. He holds Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designations. Bill is a member of Young Presidents' Organization, The C Club of Houston, Lochinvar Golf Club and The Holland Society of New York. He resides in Houston with his wife and four children and is a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church.
William Henry Van Pelt III of Houston, Texas was called home by the Lord on Wednesday, December 16, 2020.
Bill was born on June 23, 1943 in Rahway, New Jersey to Eva St. Claire and William Henry Van Pelt, Jr., and grew up in the then rural Colonia section of Edison. The activities in Bill's youth shaped the adult he became: a man who loved nature, excelled in business and placed his family above all else. As a boy, he explored the woods and fields near Ash Brook with curiosity and great wonder. As a teenager, Bill's entrepreneurial spirit gravitated to the golf course where he caddied and hunted down and sold lost golf balls to the pro shop for pocket money. Throughout his life, Bill loved to golf, fish, hunt, camp and explore.
Bill attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey as a student-athlete in the football program and supplemented his college expenses by working nights at the corporate headquarters of Johnson & Johnson. During his college career, Bill met Maureen Farmer, who became his bride in 1963. At the suggestion of his sister, Betty, Bill joined Metropolitan Life, where he enjoyed a nineteen-year career in management within the global giant's insurance and employee benefits business. His entrepreneurial aspirations advanced in 1983 when Bill acquired the boutique tax planning firm of John M. Shannon and Associates, which he rebranded as The Mid-Continent Companies, Ltd.
This venture brought Bill and his family to the Houston area, where they have established firm roots. Over a thirty-seven year period, Bill guided Mid-Continent as it built a national reputation and clientele. In all aspects of his life, Bill chose to focus upon developing and helping people: family, associates, clients, and friends. He led by strong example as husband, father, grandfather, advisor, partner and friend. And he stood alongside peers, clients, companies, churches and communities from coast to coast with an open heart and an open mind. Bill loved his family profoundly and was generous with his time. He valued his heritage and was a member of The Holland Society of New York and the Sons of the American Revolution. This man of great faith who stood by people will be missed and remembered.
Bill is survived by his wife Maureen Elizabeth (Farmer) Van Pelt; son William H. Van Pelt IV and his wife Amanda, son Patrick Scott Van Pelt and his wife Mirela, and daughter Jeannine Ellen Van Pelt Powers and her husband Breck, Sr.; grandchildren Breck Powers, Jr. (Isabel), McKenna Powers, and Paige Powers, Eva Van Pelt, Catherine Van Pelt, William H. Van Pelt V, Delaney Van Pelt, Bruna Gil (husband Nicholas; son Nick), Barbara Araujo, Bella Maureen Van Pelt and Benjamin Fitzpatrick Van Pelt; sister Elizabeth Brougham, sister Margaret Krychowecky and her husband Richard, and sister Barbara Gassaro and her husband Joseph; brother-in-law Walter F. Farmer, III.; nieces Barbara Nuss (Howard) and nephews Thomas Brougham, Jr. (Judy), Richard Krychowecky, Jr. and Michael Smith (Cara). He was preceded in death by his parents, Eva St. Claire and William Henry Van Pelt, Jr., his infant children Scott and Maureen Van Pelt, his sister-in-law Elizabeth (Farmer) Smith, his niece Monika Smith, and his brother-in-law Thomas J. Brougham, Sr.
A viewing and Mass of Christian Burial were held on Monday, December 21st at Holy Rosary Catholic Church (3617 Milam St). The Rite of Burial followed at Glenwood Cemetery (2525 Washington Ave).