Posted by John Ester on May 14, 2019
Benzie County native Tia Kurina-Cooley was the first of three new members to describe their life histories in a nutshell.
 
After graduating from Benzie Central Tia went to NMC, initially studying aviation and massage therapy.   She took a break and worked in Cadillac.  Then it was back to school and the study of accounting.
 
Armed with a bachelor's degree in accounting (and a license as a massage therapist) Tia looked for employment in Benzie County.  She found it at Gillison Excavating, where she worked  for three years.
 
In 2010 Tia married Adam Cooley, which led to son Tyler and daughter Allison.  Additional job stops were at Food for Thought and Graceland Fruit.  In 2018 after considerable soul searching Adam decided to pursue a career in real estate and Tia became a financial advisor At Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
 
Tia is interested in helping people in the community through Sunrise Rotary and several other service clubs.