Officers of The Friends of U.S. Military Families, Inc.
The board of directors of Friends of U.S. Military Families, Inc., are volunteers who do not receive compensation. The board meets monthly to determine donation recipients.
Kent Paro, PRESIDENT
Kent retired from the US Navy after more than 30 years as a Navy SEAL Captain. Having served with the best sons and daughters our nation can produce, he’s proud to be part of the Grow Financial Team and excited to serve as President for Friends of U.S. Military Families, Inc. His involvement in the organization gives him the opportunity to continue promoting and supporting military personnel and their families.
John Flores, 1ST vICE president
John Flores is a Business Relationship Manager for Grow Financial Federal Credit Union headquartered in Tampa, FL.
John serves on the board of directors for Friends of U. S. Military Families, LLC a national non-profit that serves our military families in need. John has also served on the YMCA Advisory Board in Trinity, FL., volunteered as an Assistant Scout Master with the local Boy Scout Troop and also volunteered as a mentor for Take Stock in Children through the Pasco Education Foundation.
He is a proud father of 3. His 2 oldest children Kane and Taylor both serve in the U.S Military. Kane currently serves with the U.S. Air Force and his younger sister, Taylor served 4 with the U.S. Army and now she is in the Reserves.
John enjoys spending time with his family, traveling the world, and running with his friends.
ROLAND L. RODRIGUEZ, Treasurer
Roland was born and raised in Ybor City, Florida, attending local schools and graduating with a BA from the University of South Florida. He currently resides in Tampa.
He is a retired banker, working for 34 years at Bank of America and its predecessor companies in both Operations and Corporate Audit. He then went on to work in Internal Audit at Grow Financial FCU, leaving the organization as Audit Director in early 2019, after a 13 year tenure. He held CFE and CBA professional certifications.
In 1999, he was sent to Moscow and Omsk, Siberia by a USAID-funded project to help various Soviet era banks adopt contemporary risk management models.
Roland is currently on the Board of the Centro Asturiano de Tampa as well as the Finance Committee of Mary Help of Christians Church in east Tampa.
He is quite proud of his father’s service to the USMC, who was seriously injured in the 1945 assault on Iwo Jima. His sister’s family gave 20 years of service to the US Army.
Bernadette Hogsett, 2nd Vice President
Bernadette (Berni) Hogsett is the St. Petersburg Branch Supervisor for Grow Financial Federal Credit Union.
She is a proud mother of seven wonderful young adults through her blended family. Berni enjoys volunteering in the community through work, Great Tampa Bay Blue Star Mothers and with Family Support Services (FSS) alongside her daughter, Christina. Berni is always seeking ways to be involved in the local communities and giving back.
Berni is particularly proud of her military background. Her grandfather served in the US Navy, and her father, as well as several uncles, retired from the military after serving 20+ years. In 2011, her middle son, Stephen enlisted and is currently still serving in the USAF, Redhorse division.
Johanna o’Brien, 3rd Vice President
Johanna currently works for Grow Financial Federal Credit Union as a Relationship Specialist and has assisted many of our military and former military members with their finances.
Formerly she has served in the United States Marines and Marine Reserve and is familiar with much of what our military and their families encounter and must overcome.
Being a parent of three children, one of which having served in the U. S. Navy and another whose spouse has served, understands perspectives both as a service member and as a parent and feels that serving through the Friends of United States Military Families will be an honor.
Kimberley clay, secretary
Kim is the Principal Agent and VP/Chief Operating Officer of Quorum Insurance, LLC, an independent insurance agency affiliate of Grow Financial Federal Credit Union. Kim has over 37 years of insurance industry experience, and is a licensed Life, Health, Variable Annuity and General Lines agent.
Kim is a graduate of Tampa College, with a degree in Marketing and Management. She is a member of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, Independent Agents of Tampa Bay, and the Professional Insurance Agents associations as well as a member and past president of the Insurance Professionals of Tampa.
A Tampa, Florida native, Kim’s roots and most of her family reside in the Tampa Bay area.
