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Once again, with feeling

MACPA gives volunteers an emphatic ‘thanks’ at ’06 Annual Meeting

By Bill Sheridan
Statement Editor

COLUMBIA — Thanks.

That message was delivered time and again on June 20 as part of the MACPA’s Annual Meeting, and with good reason: At an event designed to highlight the association’s annual accomplishments, the people responsible for those accomplishments – the MACPA’s volunteer members – should take center stage.

“The time you devote as MACPA volunteers strengthens this association,” Lou Satchell, chair of the MACPA’s 2005-06 Board of Directors, told the volunteers. “We couldn’t do nearly as much without the help of our volunteer members, and for that we thank you. In case you were wondering, you really do make a difference.”

For a second consecutive year, the meeting included a roundtable discussion that allowed volunteers to review issues of importance to CPAs and examine the opportunities that are available through MACPA involvement.

According to the volunteers, those opportunities are priceless.

“It is well worth your while to become involved as an MACPA volunteer,” said Ricka Neuman of Neuman and Associates. “Your efforts will be returned a million times over.”

Welcome aboard

Highlighting the meeting was the election of the MACPA’s 2006-07 officers and directors. That slate is headed by new Chair Tamara Basso Bensky, who outlined the MACPA’s priorities for the coming year. They include:

• Growing the association’s membership. The MACPA’s voice becomes stronger, its message much louder, with each new member who joins, said Bensky. “We have focused on growing the membership for several years and it has been quite a challenge,” she said. “We work very hard to overcome these obstacles because we know there is strength in numbers. Our collective voice gives us the ability to have a greater impact on the profession.”
• Addressing potential regulatory threats and expanding our legislative advocacy. “The MACPA has developed strong relationships with our legislators and has become a source of information and advice on issues related to tax and finance,” Bensky said. “This reputation has taken a long time to develop and we will work hard to maintain and enhance the value we bring to our legislators so that we can continue to protect the interests of our members.”
• Developing and promoting the involvement of our younger members. The MACPA’s New / Young Professionals Network is still in its infancy, but it has quickly become one of the association’s most visible and active volunteer groups. The goal is to continue the NYPN’s momentum and encourage more young CPAs to become involved in their profession. “Firms and businesses need leaders. The MACPA needs leaders. This group is full of exactly the people we need to lead us in the future,” Bensky said.
• Expanding our efforts to increase the financial literacy of all Marylanders. Financial literacy is seriously lacking in every income group, not only in Maryland but across the country. Alarmed by this crisis, the country’s CPAs have vowed to help Americans become more financially astute, and the MACPA has joined this fight. “The MACPA is making a great effort toward educating the general public on matters related to personal finance,” said Bensky. “Whether it is talking to high school students about how to manage future credit card debt or advising National Guard troops on how to handle their finances when they are overseas, the MACPA’s efforts have certainly improved the lives of many and we want to continue that trend.”

With those priorities came Bensky’s plea to the volunteers: Stay involved.

“We are a flexible and fluid organization, led by volunteers and management who are dedicated to this profession and committed to making a difference,” she said. “I challenge this group to stay involved, to make a difference, to give back to the profession that has been so good to us. Help the MACPA achieve its goals of connecting members, protecting members and achieving success by continuing your involvement as an active member. Our success translates to your success.”

Honoring excellence

Some of the MACPA’s most dedicated volunteers were honored at the meeting for their work, including:

• 2006 Public Service Award winner Arnold Williams, managing partner at Abrams, Foster, Nole & Williams, P.A., who was recognized for his nearly 30 years of community service. He has been active at the board and executive level in a wide range of non-profit organizations, from Bon Secours Hospital to the Boy Scouts of America, from the Associated Black Charities to the United Way of Central.
  
  Williams also has served long tenures on the boards of three organizations that unite local business interests with community outreach and development — the President’s Roundtable (20 years), the Baltimore Development Corporation (18 years) and the Industrial Development Authority of Baltimore City (16 years).  For the past 10 years, he has been a member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, a 100-year-old brotherhood of black leaders committed to community service. He has further lent his business wisdom and insight to such high-profile Baltimore City organizations as the Lexington Market and the National Aquarium.
  
  He also pioneered the role of CPA as financial literacy educator long before that activity became a national professional commitment.
  
  “Williams has been called ‘a quiet giant among us in the profession,’” Satchell said. “For him, giving back to the community is a natural extension of his career as a CPA.”
  
  Accepting the award on his behalf was Helen Holton, the firm’s marketing and recruitment manager.
• Max Teichmann Outstanding Committee Chair Award winner Ricka Neuman, chair of the Chesapeake Tax Conference. Neuman has been a member of the CTC’s committee for 17 of the conference’s 36 years and has served as committee chair for many years and multiple terms.
  
  “Ricka is principal in her own firm (Neuman and Associates) and so has more than enough to keep her busy,” said Satchell. “Still, she has given to this committee, to the MACPA and to the profession of her endless energy, time and talents. The committee will tell you that Ricka’s organizational expertise has allowed their time to be used in the most beneficial way, planning the program with a minimal amount of face to face meetings and utilizing technology to finalize the details.”
• Members of the MACPA’s State Taxation Committee, who were honored with a special Chairman’s Award in recognition of their legislative efforts in Annapolis each year. The committee was especially active in 2006, when it worked closely with the Comptroller’s Office on an important e-filing bill and closely examined reforms to the state’s tax laws.
  
  “What may not be obvious,” said Satchell, “is that these professionals work on these types of things on behalf of all CPAs and business in Maryland during what is no doubt their busiest time of year. 
• Winners of Baltimore SmartCEO magazine’s 2006 “Smart CPA” awards, 50 of whom are MACPA members.