BOCA RATON, Fla. – Investment Centers of America, Inc. (ICA) presented Jennifer Strong, Certified Financial Planner and owner of JE Strong Financial Network located in Lakeport, Calif., with the Courage Award at the company’s national conference in Boca Raton.

The annual event, held April 27 to 30, provided an opportunity for attendees to share strategies for developing effective solutions to assist clients with their financial goals.

The Courage Award is awarded annually to someone who leads effortlessly during times of crisis, ensuring the safety of their clients, business operations and human resource capital.

When the Valley fire broke out in Lake County in September 2015, Strong was attending a conference in Colorado. Upon receiving the news, she immediately went into action.

From her cell phone, she called on her fellow Lakeport Rotarians to set in motion the establishment of the Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund.

She began dispersing information to neighboring Rotary Clubs, business and personal contacts as to the existence of the Fund.

The donations began flooding in to her office, and to date, the fund has raised nearly $750,000 for the residents and businesses that have been affected by the devastation of the 2015 wildfires.

Her office staff also quickly mobilized to contact every one of their clients that lived in the affected area and assisted them in finding temporary housing within their own homes as well as that of fellow Rotarians and community members.

In addition, her office quickly created a master list of available rentals in the area which was shared countless times throughout the community with local organizations working with fire victims, individuals and anyone that lost their home in the fire.

Finally, Strong is the ride director of the annual Konocti Challenge cycling event sponsored by Lakeport Rotary and held every year on the first weekend in October.

The 2015 event was just two weeks after the Valley fire broke out. Not only were she and her fellow Rotarians successful in producing an incredibly successful event that brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars of benefit to the fire ravaged community, she was also able to garner the donations of over 200 new children’s bicycles and helmets for the kids that lost theirs during the fires.

The bicycles were given out to these kids and their families the afternoon of the ride and all of the cyclists in attendance were able to spend time with the kids by helping them locate their bike and size their helmets.

“Jennifer showed true leadership this past year during great adversity,” said ICA Regional Manager Debbie Chandler. “Even the best laid plans become obsolete when life throw storms your way. It was truly inspirational to see this office thrive in the face of one of the biggest hardships in life.”