My Story
It began Monday, September 10, 2001. I was a recent graduate of Ohio Northern University Law School. Wearing shorts and a pair of Teva sandals, I walked into an Army Recruiting to sign up to serve my county as an lawyer. At the end of the meeting, the Army Sergeant informed me “you can swear in today at the MEPS Station if you leave right now, it closes it 4:00.” Then, looking at me feet, he added “you can't wear open toed sandals, do you have any socks?” I told him I'd take care of it.
My 10 year old red ford pick-up was kept in typical college fashion, old candy wrappers, newspapers and various clothing articles littered the cab. I made it to MEPS with only a few minutes to spare, and started looking for socks. I found two, one white and one black with pictures of Micky-Mouse, a gift from a college friend.
The day prior to September 11, a guy with a Micky-Mouse sock walked into a room filled with computers and Army recruits taking the ASVAB test. Receiving the highest ASVAB score that day, I took a oath to serve my county as a 27-Delta, a paralegal in civilian terms. Two years later, after deploying to Iraq, I would receive a direct commission and serve as an JAG Attorney in the United States Army. One month later I would deploy to Afghanistan.
Upon returning from Afghanistan, I was pulled into my bosses office and asked if I would run the Tax Assistance Center at Fort Drum. This center is responsible for preparing taxes for the entire installation at Fort Drum. Without hesitation I said yes.
Deployments had taken it's toll on the soldiers at Fort Drum, there wasn't many Soldiers left to help run the tax center. The previous year there was 24 Soldiers which ran the center, I was given 12. Many of Soldiers were sent my way because they had physical problems which prevented them from deploying.
We started in late December, my Soldiers would meet me out in front of the center at 7:00 am to exercise and begin our day. Mornings were spent training. What was a W-2? What was a tax deduction? Many of my soldiers had never prepared their own tax return; now they would prepare returns for all of Fort Drum. Afternoons we spent cleaning the tax center, gather computers, loading software and moving files around. Most nights I left the tax center around 8:00 or 9:00 at night.
When we opened the center at the end of January, my Soldiers were ready. They spent endless hours leaning everything there was to know about taxes. All but two had passed all the tests the IRS gave us to certify they were ready to prepare taxes. The two who failed the tests, were assigned to check people in and make sure thing flowed smoothly.
The doors opened and we were busy beyond belief. I put in the video Finding Nemo for clients who were waiting to have their taxes return. The soldiers worked tirelessly. Many Soldiers worked beyond their required shifts to make sure all the taxes were prepared. The line “keep swimming” from Finding Nemo became our mantra.
With half the staff, we prepared more tax returns than any of the previous tax centers. This was proudly displayed in the waiting room along with the amount of refunds we had returned to the Fort Drum area.
By the end of the tax season we had prepared 3,200 tax returns returning $14 million to Soldiers and their families. Our hard work had paid off. My Soldiers left the tax center knowing that they were the best; they had out performed every other tax center in every way imaginable and we had the numbers to back it up.
After running the tax center, I met my wife, Joanie. She had recently returned from Iraq serving as an Executive Officer for a 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. My term ended just as Joanie came down on orders to move to Columbus Ohio. We moved here to Columbus where she pinned on Lieutenant Colonel and I opened a tax service.
I took what I learned in the military and incorporated it into my practice; treat people with respect and there is no substitute for hard work. My Soldiers worked harder than any in the business because they saw me working hard and they knew I had their back. Now I run a tax service and I have the best group of clients anyone could hope for. I look forward to seeing them and making sure they are taken care of. Because I know they would do the same for me.
I've staked my claim is providing an unmatched level of service to my clients. For my clients, I spend the time to craft an estate plans which serves their purposes better than any in the business bar none. Let me know what I can do for you.