A veteran of more than four decades as an adviser, Thomas Dedrick grew up 35 miles from where he now works.
After graduating as an art major at Morris Brown College, an historically Black institution in Atlanta, he wanted to work in graphic design and applied to several companies in the city, including Merrill Lynch. A hiring manager said all graphics work was done in New York, but there was an opening in the local operations center, and Dedrick took it.
After working in the mailroom for a year and taking several training courses, he became a bookkeeper — or a “corrections controller,” as he called it — fixing operations mistakes for eight offices.
“To see if they were satisfied, I created and sent out surveys to all the offices I covered,” he said. They were more than satisfied; the office manager in Tuscaloosa was so impressed with Dedrick’s customer service that he asked him to move there and become a broker.
Being the town’s lone Black adviser was a challenge, but Dedrick persevered, becoming a Chairman’s Club-level producer and founding a firmwide group for African American advisers to share ideas and experiences.
After almost 33 years with Merrill Lynch, he joined Raymond James in 2014, taking a leadership role in its Black Financial Advisor Network. For his efforts in providing advice and guidance, the group has honored Dedrick with its Sage award, which recognizes the contributions of a Black adviser who shares his wisdom and insights with others.