GARY HUDSON was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida. He obtained his bachelor's degree in business from Florida State University, where he enrolled in the NROTC program, and, after graduation, he received a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. After his release from active duty, Gary used his GI Bill benefits to obtain a master's degree in health services administration from the University of Florida. His first job in healthcare was as a special projects coordinator/financial analyst at a large Miami hospital. He enjoyed his work there, but his ultimate goal was to return to Pensacola as the manager of a smaller healthcare business, where he would have more responsibility and authority. After five years in Miami, Gary became the chief operating officer of Panhandle Surgery Centers, an investor-owned chain of ambulatory surgery centers with six locations in the panhandle area of Florida.
Immediately after assuming his new position, Gary has to face several decisions. First, the company currently has $100,000 in its cash account, but its target cash balance is only $50,000. Thus, Gar}' wants to temporarily invest the excess $50,000 in marketable securities, which typically consist of low-risk, short-term securities such as Treasury bills or money market mutual funds. One alternative that Gary is consider