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Tom Vaughn

  • B.S. Marketing '81

Biography

Born a fourth-generation Escambia County resident, Tom Vaughn was the son of a low-ranking civil servant father and a stay-at-home mom. While his current circumstances bear no resemblance to his upbringing, his environment growing up was instrumental to his later success in life. 

From an early age, it was very apparent to Vaughn that if he was to have anything, he would have to earn the money himself. His first job was at 12 as a worm digger. At 15, Vaughn got an exception to work at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Before he was 18, he had bought and sold three cars, with the third one being brand new and ordered custom from the factory. No one in his family had previously owned a new car. 

With the Vietnam War still going strong, Vaughn saw this as an opportunity to learn a trade, follow a patriotic family tradition of service, and be able to eventually get to college. Therefore, at 17, Vaughn joined the Air Force. 

This was a real turning point in his life. Vaughn found that he could get tuition assistance from the military and thus started at Pensacola Junior College. Being part of a special operations squadron made attending school very difficult for Vaughn. On several occasions, he would get deployed in the middle of the school term and be forced to drop a class and retake it the next term. 

After a couple of years, he learned about a commissioning program being offered to persons working on technical degrees and so he enrolled at Troy State’s Eglin campus as an engineering major. He was, at the same time, completing technical training classes in electronics through the Air Force. These combined classes led to him earning his Associate in Applied Science degree through the Community College of the Air Force. With his six-year enlistment coming to a close, Vaughn decided to leave active duty and pursue the completion of his education on a full-time basis. 

Upon his discharge, Vaughn worked the midnight shift at Lewis Bear, loading trucks all night. With help from PJC’s placement office, Vaughn interviewed with several insurance companies before accepting a position with John Hancock. Having earned his associate degree, he was now able to go to UWF but changed his major to Marketing, with an emphasis on Economics and Finance. 

Before graduating from UWF, Vaughn joined Northwestern Mutual as a college intern. Following his graduation, Vaughn continued with Northwestern Mutual, where he continues his now 43-plus-year career. 

After over 45 years working as a financial advisor, Vaughn could retire comfortably. However, having co-founded Vaughn Brinkley Wealth Strategies Group, he and his business partner can both enjoy their personal lives and continue to contribute to the financial well-being of their clients and the community. 

With all that Tom has learned, his upbringing and the price he’s paid for his success, he continues his desire to help others and impact his community. He’s learned that poverty is mostly a state of mind, and that true success is measured not by your balance sheet, but by helping others to reach their own levels of success they had previously not imagined. His life’s purpose is to always pay it forward and teach others to do the same.