Operation CPA hits close to home for volunteers: as any tax preparer will tell you, every minute between mid-January and April 1

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The program, conducted by OSCPA in partnership with tile Ohio National Guard, has helped nearly 300 military personnel and their families. Active military personnel who are Ohio residents deployed outside of the state qualified for the free tax preparation services from Operation CPA volunteers.

This year, 79 OSCPA members volunteered, serving 85 families.

"The Ohio Society of CPAs offers this much-needed service each year to support the men and women who are serving our country," said Clarke Price, CAE, Society president and CEO. "CPAs volunteer their time to prepare tax returns so that families who are missing a loved one have one less thing to worry about."

Jan Scheid, CPA, a sole practitioner in Dayton, prepared tax returns for four soldiers this tax season.

"I feel honored that I can help at least a few of our local soldiers," Sheid said. "One thing that really amazed me--when I first contacted one of the soldiers he was in Iraq. It was just surreal to me that I was e-mailing him back and forth about mundane filing issues, and he was thousands of miles away in a war zone."

Robert Buckley, CPA, principal with Holbrook & Manter, CPAs in Marysville, has participated in Operation CPA with his firm for the past two years.

"It's been a great experience to help our local military members and their families in preparing their tax returns," Buckley said.

"It's a great outreach program by the Society and we feel it's greatly appreciated by the service men and women we've been able to assist."

Buckley helps, in part, because he understands the challenges faced by soldiers and their families.

"My son has been deployed overseas twice with his Army Reserve unit so I have had a firsthand view of how being away from family is difficult for the soldier," Buckley said. "Being able to support a program like this one through the Society is really an honor."

Like Buckley, Holly Maloney, CPA, of Reinhard, Kopko, Keller & McDonnell, Inc., is the parent of a soldier. Her daughter and son-in-law, both members of the Navy, were deployed off the coast of Africa last year. She said she feels strongly about serving as a volunteer for Operation CPA because she sees the sacrifices her family members have made.

"It's important to realize we're free here, and our being free isn't free," Maloney said. "We have to do what we can to pay for our freedom."

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