Bert Arrowood is a Managing Director of Wealth Management with UBS Financial Services and a Certified Financial Planner™ with more than 25 years of experience serving high-net-worth families and nonprofits. He has been recognized multiple times by Barron’s, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes as a Best in State and Best in Nation Financial Advisor, reflecting his national reputation in portfolio management, estate planning, and financial planning. 

A graduate of Bob Jones University, Bert speaks nationally on leadership, stewardship, and financial wisdom, equipping audiences to think biblically about resources and influence.

Bert leads the college ministry at Palmetto Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, where he teaches and disciples more than 150 college students on a weekly basis. He is passionate about mentoring the next generation to live with purpose, integrate faith into their vocation, and lead with conviction in every sphere of life.

Thomas Bates is Chief Revenue Officer at Correct Craft, a 100-year-old company with global operations. Correct Craft’s subsidiaries include eight boat brands, four engine brands, three water sports parks and entities devoted solely to vertical integration and innovation. The company has manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and distributes into about 70 countries.

As the Chief Revenue Officer, Thomas oversees all Correct Craft brands’ sales, marketing, and product development, as well as overseeing Correct Craft’s boat brand portfolio. With a relentless focus on optimizing future market-driving product development, he actively seeks opportunities to enhance revenue generation and expand the company’s global footprint.

With Correct Craft, Thomas has held various key positions, including Director of International Sales, Director of Sales and Marketing, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and his current role as Chief Revenue Officer. Throughout his tenure, he has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and a deep understanding of the industry.

Thomas brings a strong academic background to his executive role. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in church ministries from Clearwater Christian College and holds a master of business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Committed to continuous learning and personal growth, he has also attended prestigious institutions such as Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business, Villanova University, Singularity University, and Stanford University for Executive Education programs in areas such as behavioral economics, negotiation, pricing strategies, disruptive innovation, and design thinking. Thomas is Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is also certified in both Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and DISC.

Additionally, in 2021 Thomas was recognized by Boating Industry Magazine as one of the industry’s “40 Under 40” leaders.

Beyond his professional achievements, Thomas actively contributes to his community and serves on several boards. He served on the Clearwater Christian College board from 2013 to 2016 and is currently on the board for the Clearwater Christian College Foundation and Freeway Ministries Orlando.

Thomas is married to Mindy; they have two children, Ella and Owen. They reside in Orlando, Florida.

Michael has flourished in the business community analyzing new markets and establishing start-up businesses with his partner Roland Thompson. He spent 10 years in marketing and advertising for financial organizations, and his background includes a unique mix of financial, marketing, sales, customer service, and business analysis.

Michael co-founded and currently serves with Thompson & Blackstone, Inc., a business think-tank located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

In 1998, Michael Blackstone co-founded Frontline Education, best known for Aesop, an automated substitute placement and absence management system for K-12 school districts.

Michael also co-founded CF InFlight, LLP, a specialty camera sports broadcasting company (best known for the Skycam camera) that was sold in 2004.

In 2010, Michael, along with Roland Thompson, started a charitable foundation called SEED (Stewards Equipping Evangelism and Discipleship) and currently serves as a board member.

He also sits on the board for Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa.

Michael lives in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Julie, and has three children and four grandchildren.  Michael is active in his church, Bible Baptist Church of West Chester, and has served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.

Jeff and his Nancy live outside of Philadelphia and have two children and seven grandchildren. 

Jeff started Buckman’s Inc. 55 years ago selling ski equipment and packaging pool chemicals. In those startup years it was himself and one part-time employee. God has blessed and now there are over 500 employees, seven ski and snowboard shops and six internet sites. The pool chemicals side of the business has grown to serving the eastern third of the USA. 

Having the right relationship with employees over the years has played an important role in Buckman’s Inc.’s success. 

Jeff is also a deacon in his local church and leads one or two mission trips a year serving missionaries all over the world. 

Jeff also wrote Making Your Business God’s Business which goes into detail on how God has led him to use his business for the Lord.

Colin Eicher brings more than 50 years of experience as a Christian entrepreneur. Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Colin’s early work included farming, oilfield seismic exploration in Canada and Alaska, and selling life insurance. At age 26, despite having no prior business experience, he borrowed $450 to start his first carpet-cleaning company. Over the years, he founded, acquired, developed, and sold businesses across several industries, including leadership at JuneWarren Publishing Ltd. Through both successes and setbacks, the Lord has used these experiences to shape his life and faith.

Beyond business, Colin has invested in his community through Board service, mentorship, and faithful involvement in the local church. He is passionate about using business as a platform for eternal impact. Colin and his wife, Lila, are passionate about supporting missions and seeing the Gospel advance worldwide.

Colin will speak on the importance of strong relationships between business leaders and their pastors, drawing from his long-standing friendship with his former pastor, Dr. Jim Tillotson. 

Additional Information

Family

Married to Lila 42 years

Education and Professional Development

• Life Underwriters Training
• Dale Carnegie Sales Training
• High School Diploma (USA)
• TEC The Executive Committee (Vistage)

Business and Professional History

2017 to present – retired from business

2012 to 2017 – Owner Allwest Office furnishings

2008 to Present – CEO Eicher Corporation / Investor

1984 to 2008 – Owner / CEO – JuneWarren Publishing Ltd.

1980-84 – Owner – Pruden Building Construction Limited, Edmonton 

1981-83 – Owner – Striker Oil Inc., Edmonton

1977-80 – President – Aqua Clean Manufacturing, Edmonton

1974-84 – President – Universal Carpet Cleaning Ltd., Edmonton

Childhood jobs – Delivering papers, shoeshine boy, mowing lawns

Directorships (Past)

• Board of Governors Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
• Board of Directors, Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation
• Board of Directors, Hope Mission
• Board of Directors in several industries, educational, public, and service organizations

David Hoffeld is the author of the best-selling books The Science of Selling and Sell More with Science and the founder of Hoffeld Group. For years, he has helped business leaders and sales teams around the world improve results through practical strategies grounded in behavioral science and a deep understanding of how the brain forms decisions. Because of the results his work produces, David has lectured at Harvard Business School and has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily, CBS Radio, Fox New Radio and other major outlets.

David believes the strongest customer relationships are built through Christ-honoring service, integrity, and a deep commitment to creating meaningful value. He attends Fourth Baptist Church in Plymouth, Minnesota, where he teaches Sunday school.

Chris Pearson grew up on a farm in southwest Iowa. His upbringing fueled a passion for agriculture that led him to spend his career building and running farmer-owned cooperatives in Iowa and the Dakotas. He has served in senior executive and board roles spanning the Grain, Agronomy, Precision Ag, Feed, Energy, and Ag Services sectors since 2002.

In 2017, he led the merger of two of the largest agricultural supply cooperatives in the United States. The result of the successful merger vote by the cooperative members was the formation of Agtegra Cooperative, based in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He served as CEO of that organization for nearly 5 years.

Agtegra’s purpose is “To do something great for farms and farm families that nobody else will do.” That mission is executed by 850 fulltime employees that work at over 70 locations across a large portion of the production areas of North and South Dakota. Total revenue when Agtegra formed in 2017 was projected to be $1.8 billion and in 2021 revenue had grown to $2.5 billion. Agtegra is currently the largest locally owned agriculture supply cooperative in the nation.

In 2022, Chris became Vice President of Crop Nutrition and Cooperative Alliances for Winfield United, the crop inputs and insights business of Land O’Lakes, inc., which is also an agricultural cooperative. In this role he operates the fertilizer business for the United States and Canada and also serves a role with local cooperatives, assisting them with Mergers and Acquisitions, strategic planning, CEO and Board advisement, and promotion of the farmer-owned cooperative business model.

In 2024, Chris became President of Purina Animal Nutrition, another division of Land O’Lakes which delivers $5 billion a year in top-line revenue. The animal nutrition team distributes a full line of nutritional solutions for farmers, ranchers, backyard hobbyists, zoos, and labs through a national distribution channel that is made up of independent Purina dealers, large farm and ranch stores, and cooperatives as well as maintaining on online presence.

Chris accepted Christ as his savior at a young age and was fortunate to be raised in a Christian home. While working at the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp, Chris met Rachel Holub and they were married the following year after attending one year at Faith Baptist Bible College. The Lord has blessed them with 5 children and 6 grandchildren.

Roland has spent his career applying Biblical principles of leadership and decision-making to business. His experience spans from startups to Fortune 500 companies operating in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Roland currently co-operates Thompson & Blackstone, Inc., a business think tank and investment evaluation platform. His background includes a mix of entrepreneurism, business analysis, engineering, and design. He was also the co-founder of both Frontline Education and CF InFlight, LLP. Frontline Education is an Ed-Tech platform used by most school districts in America, and CF Inflight engineered and introduced the Emmy award-winning Skycam (www.skycam.tv) to the sports broadcasting world (Skycam is used all over the world and is featured on almost all major market American football broadcasts, including Monday Night Football). He has a tremendous amount of experience analyzing new markets and establishing and growing businesses. Prior to these ventures, he spent 10 years building an IT services organization focused on delivering services and software for stock and currency trading applications, as well as developing mobile technology solutions for Fortune 500 companies.

Roland lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Lisa, and has three children: Christopher, Stephen, and Alicia. Roland is active in his church, Bible Baptist Church of West Chester, and has served as deacon, the chair of deacons, a Sunday school teacher, and a youth worker.

Roland also sits on various foundation, and educational institution boards. He also enjoys mentoring young Christian entrepreneurs as well as flying.

Dr. Jim Tillotson has faithfully served in ministry leadership for over three decades, currently as President of Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary since 2015. During his time at Faith, the Lord has brought meaningful growth—spiritually, numerically, and financially—along with the completion of several building projects and the celebration of the school’s 100-year anniversary.

Prior to coming to Faith, Dr. Tillotson pastored Meadowlands Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta for 18 years, where God used his leadership to plant multiple churches, establish a Christian school, and develop a Bible institute to train future servants for ministry.

Drawing from years of pastoral and institutional leadership, Dr. Tillotson will speak on leadership as a calling to serve others and steward what God has entrusted.

He and his wife, Joan, are actively involved in their local church as they continue to invest in the lives of others for the cause of Christ.