Member Achievements Do you have a professional achievement or have you been recognized for your contributions to the tax profession? We want to know about it! Please forward us information on any recognition that you have received or of any recognition that another NATP member you know has received, and we'll publish it on this web page. You can e-mail it to natp@natptax.com, fax it to 800.747.0001, or mail it to: PO Box 8002, Appleton, WI 54912-8002. Go ahead you earned it, so why not share it with your NATP comrades! November 2008 - Chris Bixby Tapped Again for his Tax Expertise!
Neil O'Hara, a reporter for OnWallStreet, picked NATP member, Chris Bixby, to comment on how to plan for securities transactions in his article:Topsy Turvy Tax Planning. If you'd like to see the article and view Chris' advice, click right here: http://www.onwallstreet.com/asset/article/2591381/topsy-turvy-tax-planning.html?pg The article was picked up by FinancialPlanning.com as well as other outlets.
Chris is the cofounder and owner of Bixby & Associates Financial Solutions in Williston, Vermont. He is a Certified Financial PlannerTM, and Enrolled Agent, serving on the board of the Vermont Tax Preparers Association and the University of Vermont Extension Tax School Advisory Council. Chris is an instructor for NATP as well. That was noted in the article. Thanks for the "plug" Chris, and congratulations again! November 1st Marks the 10th Anniversary of LoreFrank, Inc, a Successful Tax and Accounting Practice in Hempstead, New York. NATP congratulates Francisco and Loretty Esquivel and their proud team of accountants for ten years of service to the Hispanic-American community of Hempstead, New York in western Long Island. Francisco and Loretty started their dream of founding their own company in November of 1998. They became members of NATP in 2002. They've grown their practice to include a variety of small and large businesses that they have guided from a financial and tax perspective. We wish them continued success for many more years to come!
October 2008 The Small Business/Self-Employed Division of the IRS bestowed its "Partner in Excellence Award" on Larry Gray on Thursday, October 16, 2008. Larry was recognized before all the stakeholder partners for his considerable personal dedication, initiative and contribution to service and innovation within the IRS. Larry has been so instrumental in bringing real life practitioner experience to the attention of IRS regulators so that they are able to incorporate practical considerations into their products, services, audits and training. Congratulations on recognition well-deserved, Larry. NATP thanks Kathy Olson, Kelly Nokleby and Vivian Sangunett for representing NATP in the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE) development process for 2008. They gave of their time and expertise to meet with other EAs in St. Paul, Minnesota this month to conduct a complete item pool review for the SEE development process for test delivery in 2009. Anyone who has participated in this grueling process will tell you that it is not a "Sunday picnic!" These professionals use their creativity and their considerable expertise to challenge one another in bringing a rigorous, yet meaningful, test of competence to the EA credential. We salute Kathy, Kelly and Vivian for their dedication to their profession and their wise preparation of the ground to be covered by those who will follow. Barbara Gilliland of Pendleton, South Carolina achieved a significant milestone this month! After practicing taxes for 17 years, she decided to become an EA! So she passed the exam this year and achieved that coveted status before the Internal Revenue Service. Barbara joined NATP sixteen years ago, not long after she got her start in this business. She now has a successful tax practice with 10 employees. Did we mention that she's fluent in the Russian language? No lack of talent there! We are proud of you Barbara, congratulations! We love to see our members continually raise the bar in terms of the dedication they show to their profession. The American public benefits.
September 2008 Jeffrey A. Schneider, EA, CFDA of Royal Palm Beach Florida named to CCH Tax Research Advisory Board for 2008/2009! Jeffrey was approached by CCH for this very prestigious service and agreed to serve for the coming year. Jeffrey joined NATP four years ago. He has a successful tax and accounting practice with offices in Royal Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie, Florida. Congratulations, Jeffrey. We're proud to see our members named to serve at stalwart industry organizations like CCH.
July 2008 In July at NATP National Conference, the following NATP members and Chapters received recognition for their outstanding achievements. Please join us in congratulating the following award winners: Tax Professional of the Year
Denise Madeira, EA - Bernsville, PA Chapter Person of the Year
Richard Rottkamp, EA - Baldwin, NY Chapter Person - Community Betterment Activities
Vernon Graber, EA - Broadway, VA Chapter Person - Chapter Leadership
Diane Skop, EA - Houghton Lake, MI Chapter Person - Education
Colette Taylor, EA - Haddonfield, NJ Chapter of the Year
Arizona Chapter - Membership Growth & Retention
California Chapter - Communication
Florida Chapter - Special and/or Community Betterment Activities
Minnesota Chapter - Education
New Jersey Chapter - Administration
New York Chapter - Honorable Mentions
Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia
April 2008 Chris Bixby hits the airwaves…on NPR in Vermont
Jane Lindholm, host of the Vermont Edition, picked NATP member, Chris Bixby, and a local CPA to answer tax questions on the air for an afternoon, right during the height of the tax season! You can hear highlights from the show by clicking here: http://www.vpr.net/episode/43226/. Chris is the cofounder and owner of Bixby & Associates Financial Solutions in Williston, Vermont. He is a Certified Financial PlannerTM, and Enrolled Agent, serving on the board of the Vermont Tax Preparers Association and the University of Vermont Extension Tax School Advisory Council. Chris is an instructor for NATP as well. Way to go Chris! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help others in your community and to represent NATP so admirably.
2007 Chapter Award Winners - Arizona – Chapter of the Year
- Minnesota – Education
- Michigan – Membership Growth and Retention
- New Jersey – Community Betterment Activities
- New York – Communications
- Virginia – Administration
- Florida and California – Honorable Mentions
2007 Chapter Person Award Winners - Carol Thomas – Chapter Person of the Year
- Sherry Diamond – Relationship With Other Taxing Bodies
- Delmar Gillette – Chapter Leadership
- Ralph Sommers – Education
- Darrell McDaniel – Community Betterment Activities
March 2008 Marilyn Ayers selected to represent NATP at special New Jersey Tax Forum – The State of New Jersey recently instituted a homestead rebate program that is the subject of much debate and concern. Tax professionals have had difficulty getting answers to administrative and technical problems including representing their clients in trying to resolve issues. Marilyn was one of few people invited to the Forum for the purpose of learning how the new rebate was to work and be implemented. She, in turn, was charged with the responsibility to get the correct information out to professionals around the state. Congratulations Marilyn! And thank you for your professional representation of NATP and your Chapter before the state of New Jersey! Darrel Shinn and Teddy Prioleau Make the Washington Post! That's good news for them as they get tapped to comment on "How '07 Changes Affect Small Business." It's in the Sunday edition on March 12. You can look it up on www.Washingtonpost.com. Great public relations, gentlemen! Teddy Prioleau also testifies before the Maryland legislature! The state of Maryland is considering a bill, SB 817, that would regulate paid tax return preparers. Teddy testified before the House recently and made such a good impression that he was asked back to testify before the Senate on March 19. Thanks for your dedication to your profession, Teddy! What a remarkable sacrifice during a very busy tax season. Thank you for representing NATP and all of our Maryland members in this critical issue.
February 2008 Manuel Alvarez … He's in the NEWS!
Look for NATP member, Manuel Alvarez, on Univision, the largest Hispanic TV Network in the United States. Manuel, President of Latino Taxes of Oakland CA, and NATP member since 2005, has been invited to appear on Univision Noticias News as a financial expert. During the past month, he has been featured several times on nationally broadcasted evening segments. You can view one of Manuel's appearances by clicking here. Keep up the great work Manuel! Gregory Blanchard Selected to Serve on IRS Panel
Gregory Blanchard, Tennessee NATP member, has recently been selected by the Treasury Department to serve on the nationwide IRS Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). He is one of 98 volunteers serving on the panel and will represent local taxpayers, as well as work on national issues. Panel members listen to taxpayers, identify issues, and make suggestions for improving IRS service and customer satisfaction. In addition, Greg is owner of Favored Financial Services located in Cordova, TN and is a Compensation Advisor for FedEx Express in Memphis. Congratulations Greg! NATP commends you for your service and dedication to taxpayers!
January 2008 NATP congratulates Larry Gray upon being named by the Internal Revenue Service to serve on its Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC)
Gray was appointed to IRPAC's Office of Professional Responsibility Subgroup. The IRPAC provides an organized public forum for discussion of relevant tax administration issues between IRS officials and representatives. Larry will serve a three-year term on this Committee. He is not a newcomer to such distinguished service either, having previously served on IRPAC and ETAAC. Larry works closely with Kathy Stanek, Paul Cinquemani and Cindy Hockenberry as a Government Liaison with the IRS for NATP. Gray is the owner of Alfermann, Gray & Co., a tax and financial advising firm located in Rolla, MO. He has been a member of NATP since 1986, serving as a national president from 1999 to 2002, and on the Board of Directors from 1994 until 2002.
November 2007 Through January 2008 The following EAs distinguished NATP with their very professional assistance to Prometrics in the development of the 2008 Special Enrollment Examination. They gave of their time and expertise over the past three months to help develop questions and to review the exams that came about as a result: - Peggy Beasterfeld
- Debbie Destro
- Jo Ann Schoen
- Ted Watkins
- Dee Prieto
- Dianne Webb
- Dave Nieset
- Anedra Lewis
- Philip Garafalo
- Vivan Sangunett
- Bonnie Lewis
- Delores Stiffler
- Jeff Simpson
- Gerald Machek
- Bruce Harlow
- Georgianna Adkins
- Glen Warnstaff
- Steve Odem
- Anna Mayer
- Randy Lawshe
- Laura Strombom
- John Phillips
- Pat Bracy
- Pat Rudd
- Linda Lueck
NATP is deeply indebted to these tax professionals for their dedication, their responsiveness, their selfless volunteer spirit, and their excellent performance to task. Beside the legacy of giving to those who will follow in this industry, these individuals are responsible for a donation from Prometrics to NATP toward its education of leaders in the tax profession. We salute you all!
September 2007 North Carolina member Kevin Huston was recently accepted by the National Speakers Association as a professional member. It's the leading organization for experts who speak professionally. To become an NSA member, Huston had to provide documentation of his professional speaking experience, credentials, and agree to a strict code of ethics. NSA currently has more than 4,100 members in 23 countries. Kevin's name should be familiar to many of our members because he's one of our valued instructors! He'll be teaching our Famous 1040 series in several states this fall. Further, Kevin was one of our Pioneers in helping develop and evaluate questions for the very first outsourced online Special Enrollment Examination for Prometrics. He's an EA and holds a Master's Degree in Business. He's also a Chartered Financial Consultant and a Chartered Life Underwriter. Congratulations, Kevin!
August 2007 Connecticut NATP member Bill Veits was recently picked as the Democrat candidate for Treasurer of the City of Bristol, Connecticut. He's been a self-employed income tax specialist for more than a quarter century and a planning commissioner for fifteen years. He had been chairing the city's Planning Commission for the past nine years. Bill got his bachelor's degree in accounting from Quinnipiac University in 1972. He is a past president of the Connecticut Chapter of NATP. Congratulations on the nomination, Bill, and good luck in November!
July 2007 Maryann Capone, CFP®, a resident of Massapequa, has been installed as Chairperson of Career Development committee of the Financial Planning Association® - Long Island chapter (FPA®-LI) at the organization's June meeting, held at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
May 2007 Nick Costantino, CPA, has been elected vice president of the New Jersey Society of CPAs for a one-year term that begins June 1, 2007. Nick is a senior partner in the firm of Costantino, Specht, Templeton & Co. in Secaucus, New Jersey. He's been a member of the New Jersey Chapter of NATP since 2002 and he is very active in his community. He's served as a member of the NJSCPA State Taxation, Federal Taxation, Committee Chairperson and Health Care committees and he was a trustee, Secretary and chair of the NJ-CPA-PAC Committee. He is the chair of the board of trustees of the Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, treasurer of the board of trustees of the Liberty HealthCare System and co-founder and director of the Harmony Early Learning Center. Congratulations Nick!
April 2007 NATP member, Gene Utterback, EA, RFC, ABA, has been busy with the press helping the public better understand tax law and tax law changes. He has been quoted in the Baltimore Sun and the Baltimore Examiner and has been on four different radio broadcasts.
February 2007 NATP extends its congratulations and gratitude to the following NATP members for representing NATP in the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE) development process for 2007: Peggy Beasterfeld, EA; Hope Brunelli, EA; Rob Casey, EA; John Crandell, EA; Gary Hoff, EA; Shelia Johnson, EA; Gloria Kuhn, EA; Byron Otto Kuxhaus, EA; Bonnie Lewis, EA; Christina McClish, EA; Cheryl Morse, EA; Steve Odem, EA; Marcene Powell, EA; Barb Steponkus, EA; Carol Thomas, EA; and Doug Yentsch, EA These individuals gave their time during February and March to participate in the Item Writing and Form Review Workshops. They worked hard to develop new exam questions, review them for content and appropriateness, and build forms for pretest. This sacrifice of time during the busy tax season is a testament to their character and the high esteem they place in their industry. It is also a selfless act of succession planning for those who will follow in this profession.
January 2007 Congratulations to NATP members Larry Gray, CPA; Wanda Samek, EA; and Harold F. Krieger, Jr., EA who are amongst the Top 100 Most Influential Practitioners of 2006, according to CPA Magazine. The Top 100 were selected on the basis on nominations from CPA Magazine readers and recommendations from other professionals in the area of specialty. Read more about Larry, Wanda, and Harold, along with the other Most Influential Practitioners by clicking here: http://www.cpamag.com/index.htm.
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