Long-time donor to BYU-Hawaii Frank Peck [on the left] taught students in an Honors Program and Students In Free Enterprise forum about success that goes beyond making money held in the Little Theater on Friday, Nov. 7. Peck, founder and CEO of American Money Group, Inc., out of California, is also a member of the LDS Church and he said that families and the Gospel are important contributors to success.
Peck told a story about the importance of his own family. On a vacation one summer, he lost sight of his son while shopping in a store. It was at a time of heightened child abductions in the area, and Peck said he and his wife were frantic.
“We were in a bad neighborhood, and although my wife and I searched all the stores on that street, we couldn’t find our son. We asked a woman who was passing by and she told us we would never see our son again. At that moment, there was nothing I wouldn’t give up to have my son back. All of my earthly possessions meant nothing to me,” he said.
His point, he shared, was that so many things are more important to us than just our earthly possessions.
Dennis Torres, senior in international business management from Henderson, Nevada said, “Peck provided me with a clear distinction of what matters most to us in this life—family—and everything else that stands in second place—earthly possessions. Placing our families first will most certainly allow us to achieve a great good with our finances and every other pursuit of happiness.”
Later Peck added, “Our Heavenly Father put us on earth to be successful, but not just financially. A lot of us get confused in that respect. You can work hard and have a lot of wealth, at the expense of your family. But if you work hard and have a great family, you don’t lose anything.”
Every individual person is responsible for his or her own success, taught Peck. “But sometimes, having what is truly important may mean owning a smaller house, a cheaper car, or not buying things on credit.”
Frank Peck, front row left center, with participants in the 2008
American Money Group Asia Pacific Basketball Classic
Elder Michael Hogge, a senior missionary from Rigby, Idaho, attended the forum and saw the relevance and truth of Peck’s advice in his own past. “Peck’s candid response to placing personal family success as the focus for everyone to achieve has certainly been the basis leading to the successes I have experienced in this life. All of the other personal goals Peck reviewed, including financial success, career goals, personal health and spiritual progress are linked to your primary successes as husband, father, teacher and mentor for the ones you love within your family.
Peck and the American Money Group are largely responsible for the Asia Pacific Classic, which brings basketball teams from the Pacific and Eastern Asian nations together in a spirit of competitive brotherhood. The classic, hosted by the Seasiders, this year featured a women’s team from the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics in China, and a men’s team, the New Zealand Saints.
-Photos by Monique Saenz