With a focus on Financial Literacy and Workforce Development, David Pickler leads APEF as an incubator of innovation and a facilitator of strategic partnerships to empower equity for all children.

Over the past few decades, David Pickler has supported the local scouting movement by developing, organizing, and executing plans that have raised over $10,000,000 in operations and capital support.

“If you build it, he will come.” As this iconic line was once whispered to Kevin Costner’s character in Field of Dreams, so too did David Pickler hear this voice when he first stepped foot on the hallowed ball field.

Pickler Companies has been a long-time supporter of the Germantown Charity Horse Show. Through years of service and sponsorship, our firms have proudly engaged to help foster the show’s heritage and excellence.

Since 2013, Pickler Companies and the Pickler family have supported JDRF and its heroic kids. We have been the Title Sponsor at the organization's Promise Ball, an annual event that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for Type 1 diabetes research, as well as sponsor of the One Walk.

Pickler Companies' partnership with Maui United Way (MUW) stems from David's long-standing relationship with Luke Bailey and has grown significantly through our financial management and support during the Maui wildfires in August 2023. Our efforts demonstrate a strong commitment to making a lasting positive impact on Maui County.

Under his leadership as president of the National School Boards Association, David created a national movement that gained more than 50 million members. He also initiated the “Stand Up 4 Public Schools” campaign and helped recruit celebrity spokespeople to carry the message that public education is a vital national security interest.

Pickler Companies believe in Main Street Values, admiring and serving those who have made an impact on our lives. The best example being with our military, both active and inactive. Since the founding of The Pickler Law Firm, David and his team have offered free estate planning for our heroes through the Planning for Patriots program.

Pickler Companies’ relationship with the Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) dates back to David Pickler’s time on the Shelby County Board of Education, but was reignited in 2020 when our firms were asked to help with a membership crisis. Since then, Pickler Companies has helped grow the mentorship program, and our firms’ leaders have delivered presentations to SCORE’s members.

David’s commitment to public education excellence was reinforced by his service to TSBA. Through the key relationships made to the imperative capital campaign he led, TSBA gave David the invaluable tools necessary to strengthen his love for the board members of Tennessee’s public schools.

As a proud graduate of Arkansas State University, David Pickler has donated his time, talents, and treasures to the school to support scholarships, academic development, and campus improvements.

The Pickler Companies suite of professional firms are engaged members of the Collierville Chamber of Commerce, helping with programmatic efforts and leading community initiatives to reenergize the organization.

As an advocate in the financial industry, and as a representative of the Financial Advisory Council, David brings his Main Street Values to this national organization for the benefit of our hard-working citizens.

Through his continued partnership with GEF, David Pickler has sponsored various initiatives including the horse speed signs and the city’s first Oktoberfest, benefitting Germantown and its incredible schools, teachers, and students.

David has served locally as well as nationally for Kiwanis, and even saved lives though his groundbreaking AED initiative. For his leadership and dedication to Kiwanis’ mission, David has been awarded numerous accolades. In 2022, David celebrated 35 years of membership with Kiwanis.

David and Beth Pickler have devoted years of service to Memphis Oral School for the Deaf, an organization dedicated to helping profoundly deaf children listen, learn, and talk. From organizing events to writing "Letters from Santa" to raising millions of dollars for the school’s permanent home, the Picklers have made MOSD a life-long passion project.

Growing up admiring, and participating in, the arts made a lifelong impression on David, ultimately leading him to serve on the board of the historic Orpheum Theatre. Through capital campaigns and partnering on the new Pickler Companies Broadway Club, Pickler Companies has supported the Orpheum for decades.

David proudly serves on the Board of Trustees for Porter-Leath, a Memphis-based, educational organization that bridges the gap between birth and Pre-K in high-need areas. As a member of this esteemed board, David advocates for exceptional education for young children, preparing them for school and, most importantly, a life of success and endless possibilities.

In 1998, David ran for and was elected to the Shelby County Board of Education, with the strong belief that every child deserves a quality education. For 12 years he served as Chairman, setting off a chain of incredible events, forever putting him in the national spotlight in the education space. 

Since 2019, Pickler Companies has proudly partnered with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, located in the Medical District in downtown Memphis, to provide engaging presentations for the organization’s residents and fellows. At no cost, we bring our resources to medical students serving our community.

As a member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee and as the Planned Giving Consultant, David continuously supports the initiatives that make Cecil C. Humphreys a school of excellence.

Through our work in raising funds for, and sponsoring, the new Collierville High School (including the Pickler Auditorium), our community’s youth are now empowered to dream bigger than ever.

Forever Young provides honor, healing, and hope to military veterans by granting their unfulfilled dreams, returning them to the places where they fought. We are proud to have assisted them with legal work.

For over 30 years, Pickler Companies has supported Germantown Municipal Schools. Through his service as Chair of the Shelby County Board of Education, David Pickler secured funding to build Houston High School’s first band room.

In one of David Pickler's most significant community engagements in public service to date, Leadership Germantown creates powerful civic opportunities for its residents. David’s work with this phenomenal organization has fostered a life of community service and impactful leadership.

Over the past few years in which David has served NBPTS, the organization's endowment has grown 20-fold. Additionally, because of David’s prowess in capital campaigns and finance management, the annual fund has tripled and the organization is operating with substantial surplus – positive financial growth in all areas, even in the face of the pandemic.

In 2016, David partnered with Collierville Schools and the Collierville Chamber of Commerce to create Partners in Education, a not-for-profit that’s sole purpose was to raise money for the new high school. David created partnerships with local businesses to develop groundbreaking student programs in the area of workforce development.

David and Beth’s service to the PTA marked the start of their commitment to community service, and was the lynchpin for David’s lifelong advocacy of public education excellence. Through various fundraisers, service projects, and Beth’s presidency for five terms, the Picklers unwavering support for the PTA has never wavered. The friendships made along the way will forever be cherished.

David Pickler brought Pickler Wealth Advisors into the Tennessee Business Roundtable (TBR) in 2018, after the organization connected with him and the Tennessee School Boards Association to work on a joint project. In November of 2022, David was asked to serve as Chair Elect for the state-wide organization.