Alexia Smaller

Alexia co-owns Core Financial with her husband, Dave Menard. She came to the financial services industry in a roundabout way having owned a hardware store in Canon City, CO. She graduated from Colorado College in 1977 with a BA in biology, continuing a few years later to get her MA in Special Education with an emphasis in Gifted and Talented education in 1984 from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She used what she had learned to help improve the education of the brighter students in the Fremont County area. The hardware store was a family-owned Ace Hardware, starting with six employees and growing to over one hundred employees at the time she left the business. This store was one of the Ace Hardware corporate flagship stores when they were rebranding in the early 1990s. Many store owners from around the country came to see the new features which had been incorporated in the newly built 25,000 sf store. Alexia was key in all the marketing and kitchen design, as well as, responsible for many of the daily operational duties. You might have even caught her in a national Ace ad with John Maddon.

Alexia began in the financial services industry in 1994 with a marketing firm that sold only life insurance and fixed annuities. She began recruiting and building an agency in southern Colorado. Alexia met Dave, who lived in northern Colorado in the same marketing firm. By 1998, they decided to join forces and Alexia moved to Fort Collins. The owners of the marketing firm sold in 2001 to Life Investors. This firm offered securities to clients so, in addition to her current Life and Health and Long-Term Care licenses she added FINRA series 6 and 63. In 2003, while on a new agent training appointment, she was seriously injured in a car accident which (ultimately) forced her, sadly, to leave working in the field. She transferred her block to Dave and now helps manage the business office and the backside of their business. Alexia has helped to bring impressive talent into the Core Financial firm to fill office staff positions and bring in licensed representatives.

Alexia has three wonderful sons, Morgan, Kane, and Brett who all live in Colorado. She has two amazing grandchildren, Evan and Nomi. When not working or supporting charitable organizations, Alexia spends as much time as possible with her grandchildren as they change so much between visits. She loves to garden, inside and out, loves to cook, can and dehydrate foods, and is an avid reader. She also dabbles in real estate investing and loves to travel the globe with Dave and others. She loves to drink her morning coffee while watching the beautiful colors appear on her mountains out back.