Four Lincoln Financial Network Advisors Receive Prestigious 2017 Women's Choice Award®

John Bonnemort, Karen DeRose, Charlotte Dougherty and Myra Slaybaugh All Recognized as Highly Recommended Financial Advisors for Women

Lincoln Financial Network (LFN), the retail wealth management affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group LNC, announced today that four registered representatives of LFN have been honored with the Women's Choice Award® for well-qualified advisors who are committed to the women's market and serving their female clients. Karen DeRose, Charlotte Dougherty and Myra Slaybaugh are all members of Lincoln's WISE (Women Inspiring, Supporting, and Educating) Group, an organization founded in 2015 to better support the unique needs of female financial advisors and clients. John Bonnemort also received this year's award.

"We are thrilled that the Women's Choice Award has recognized the outstanding achievements of John, Karen, Charlotte and Myra, including their commitment to serving in the best interest of their clients and addressing the unique financial needs of women and their families," said Nicole Spinelli, director of The WISE Group. "We are very proud to have so many Lincoln Financial Network advisors included in this prestigious group and acknowledged for their significant individual contributions."

Created by WomenCertified Inc., the Women's Choice Award is the only recognition program for well-qualified advisors who are committed to the women's market and serving their female clients. Based on rigorous research, 17 objective criteria and additional points of reference that obtain feedback regarding the advisor's service and practices, the award identifies advisors who are committed to providing quality service and commitment to their clients.

John R. Bonnemort II is a Private Wealth Advisor with Sagemark Consulting Private Wealth Services, based in Salt Lake City, UT. With over 15 years of financial services, banking and technology consulting experience, Bonnemort provides cross-disciplinary fee-based financial planning serving affluent families and successful business owners both in the creation, distribution and transfer of wealth.

Karen DeRose, CFP©, CRPC©, is president and managing partner for the DeRose Financial Planning Group, a firm she founded in 1996, specializing in comprehensive financial to help her clients take their financial planning to the next level. DeRose is the past chairman of The Resource Group, comprised of the top 200 financial advisors at LFA and is a member, and past chairman, of The WISE Group at Lincoln Financial Network, an initiative aimed at supporting the unique needs of female financial advisors and clients. DeRose is a member of the Financial Planning Association of Chicago, the Executive Guild & BNI Wildfire Chapter and a Collaborative Law Fellow with the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois.

Charlotte A. Dougherty, CFP®, is the president and founder of Dougherty & Associates, specializing in meeting the financial and wealth management needs of affluent professionals and business owners. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, Dougherty has more than 25 years' experience in growing and protecting wealth and in creating family and community legacies. She is a current member and was a chairman of the investment committee of the board of directors of The Resource Group, a prestigious group of leading financial planners within LFA. She is a former member of the board of trustees of the St. Luke Hospital Community Foundation and past chair of the Finance Committee and the Planned Giving Committee.

Myra Slaybaugh is the founder and president of Phoenix Wealth Partners, based in Arlington, TX. Slaybaugh has over 12 years of experience in comprehensive planning and helps clients make wise financial choices that align with their values and principles. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, Slaybaugh proudly served in the US Army as an Air Defense Artillery Officer for five years, attaining the rank of Captain, before transitioning to financial services. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Chartered Financial Consultant® designee, and a Chartered Leadership Fellow® designee.

About Lincoln Financial Network

Lincoln Financial Network is the marketing name for the retail sales and financial planning affiliates of Lincoln Financial Group and includes Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and Lincoln Financial Securities Corp., both members of FINRA and SIPC. Consisting of approximately 8,900 representatives, agents, and full-service financial planners throughout the United States, Lincoln Financial Network professionals can offer financial planning and advisory services, retirement services, life products, annuities, investments, and trust services to affluent individuals, business owners, and families. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (LNC) and its affiliates.

About The WISE Group

Lincoln Financial Network's WISE Group aims to inspire, support and educate female colleagues, clients and future advisors in the pursuit of knowledge and services within the financial planning industry. WISE assists women financial advisors in the growth and recognition of their practice. This includes support and assistance to advance the technical skills of women advisors, recruiting and developing new women advisors, and providing insight into the female investor to increase financial planning opportunities for all advisors, regardless of gender. The WISE Group also promotes sharing ideas as well as collaboration with financial planning, wealth and risk management to drive increased client retention, dedicated focus on attracting and keeping women as clients and advisors, practice expansion and networking, efficiencies in practice management, and technical expertise.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170727006591/en/