It's official!

We're the family feature in Best Version Media's Neighbors of Walton magazine. Documenting it here and now so we will always have evidence for our kids that they were on the cover of a magazine.

Following article submitted by Gabrielle Dion:

The Darnell Family

Building Roots, Raising Dreamers, and Growing a Community

As juniors at Simon Kenton High School, Hank lived on a beef cattle farm in Piner, and Janice was a vegetarian with no interest in livestock but a strong interest in academics. The two shared only a handful of classes, but Hank made the most of them, tapping Janice on the shoulder every day in AP Biology to ask, “What page are we on?”

Advanced science might not have been Hank’s calling, but he knew Janice was. They began dating their senior year, maintained a long-distance relationship all through college, and eventually married on Janice’s grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Janice wore her grandmother’s dress.

Today, both 35, Hank and Janice are raising four children: Walden (8), Everett (6), and identical twin daughters Genevieve and Rosalie, who are almost four. Their home is lively, full of ambition, personality, and plenty of laughter.

Four Kids, Four Personalities

Walden and Everett stay busy with chess, piano, and baseball, but their interests don’t end there. Walden dreams of becoming a famous pianist and an architect, though he’s equally passionate about math, engineering, and cooking. He has already designed the tiny home he wants to share with his future wife one day. At home, he’s known for making excellent pizzas and corn dinners for the family, and he enjoys watching the show “Is It Cake?” as much as he enjoys eating the treats he makes.

Everett is their hands-on helper. He wants to be a construction worker and loves jumping into home improvement projects with Hank. He began reading independently before kindergarten and brings a perfectionist’s eye to everything he does. In Everett’s world, every task has a right way and a wrong way, and he’s happy to explain the difference. He also gives some of the best hugs, laughs, and song recommendations.

As for the twins, they may share DNA, but their personalities couldn’t be more different. Rosalie is gentle, affectionate, and content. She loves quiet activities, colors neatly within the lines, and adores everyone she meets. Genevieve, on the other hand, is bold, spirited, and fiercely loyal. She approaches life with gusto, colors across the entire page without concern for rules, and isn’t afraid to tackle someone she loves. She will also be your most loyal friend.

With four imaginative kids, budgeting has become one of the family’s biggest practical challenges. When the boys were younger, they didn’t know what they were missing. Now, with growing appetites and growing dream lists, they ask to eat out often and request big-ticket experiences. Janice jokes that they’re always trying to balance being practical with nurturing big dreams. On Walden’s Christmas list, he wrote “a finished basement” and then “pants.” Everett asked for “a tablet, a real wand, and a time machine,” hoping he could bargain his way to the tablet.

Down to Business: Building Proverbs Wealth Management

The Darnells’ commitment to their family is central to every decision they make including their careers. Hank and Janice own Proverbs Wealth Management in Independence, where they help clients plan for and pursue their life and financial goals. They offer comprehensive financial planning, investment management, retirement strategies, education savings, life insurance, long-term care options, budgeting guidance, and more.

Hank knew early on that financial planning was his calling. After earning a Finance degree with an emphasis on Financial Planning from Eastern Kentucky University in 2012, he completed his Series 6 and 77 registrations and later earned both his CFP and CFPA designations. 

The path hasn’t been easy – nearly 90 percent of independent financial advisors leave the field within the first year¹ – but Hank powered through. Still, throughout those early years, he and Janice often wondered, “Are we doing the right thing?” For Hank, the drive to help people always pulled him forward.

Janice spent six years teaching at Twenhofel Middle School before an opportunity came to step into the corporate world. After moving through several roles at Milacron, she ultimately found herself in financial planning and analysis. 

By 2024, both Janice and Hank were working intense careers in finance but craved something different. Their kids were growing quickly, and they wanted more time – time together, time with their children, and time to build something meaningful. Opening Proverbs Wealth Management gave them the chance to do it.

Roots and Relationships

Opening their own business has allowed Janice to attend school field trips, volunteer with the WVES PTA, and spend more time in her children’s classrooms. Both Hank and Janice also help her in-laws with HLF Auction Services, and Janice has earned her Auctioneer’s Apprentice License. Hank stays active in the Independence Business Association and has been a long-standing member of BNI River Cities.

The Darnells are also engaged citizens, attending Boone County Comprehensive Plan meetings, Kenton County Fiscal Court sessions, and Planning Commission meetings. They value their community connections deeply through Nicholson Christian Church, their neighborhood in Aosta Valley, and Janice’s local book club. Through it all, they’ve met many wonderful people around Walton.

Their business may focus on helping others build wealth, but they believe life is measured in more than dollars. They see money as a tool, one that works best when people learn how to use it wisely.

Working Together, Growing Together

What is it like working together as husband and wife? In many ways, it mirrors working together at home. It requires respect, patience, flexibility, and compromise. They’ve learned to put each other’s needs first, an important lesson in marriage but a new challenge in a shared office.

As parents, they want their children to thrive financially and personally, though they recognize that the economic landscape is changing. Still, they try to create a life rich in experiences: local sports leagues, trips to the Cincinnati Zoo and Children's Museum, evenings reading Harry Potter aloud, cooking and baking as a family, slow mornings, and memorable travels. Last year, with both self-employed for the first time, they fulfilled a dream of visiting Frankfort, Michigan in all four seasons where Janice’s extended family lives. One of their favorite vacations so far was a trip to San Diego and Legoland.

At home, the family dog, Kitty, named by the twins after the pet they initially wished for, keeps everyone on their toes.

Eighteen years after that AP Biology shoulder tap, Hank and Janice still know exactly what page they're on. And now with their financial planning business, they get to help others stay on the right page, too. 

¹Finance Band. What Is the Survival Rate of Financial Advisors? FinanceBand.com, 2025, https://financeband.com/what-is-the-survival-rate-of-financial-advisors.

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Family photos at Honey Locust Farms provided by Emma Jones.