Well, it’s February and most of us are in the midst of busy season. Hope yours is going well!

As a chapter, we try to coordinate the majority of our activities during the April-to-December timeframe to meet the schedules and needs of our members. However, we also try to provide resources to our members throughout the year. So I really would like to impress upon you the importance of checking the New York State Society of CPAs’ website for ongoing CPE along with other services and events that are being provided during even our very busy busy season.

One of the newest initiatives that our chapter has developed is the Military Service Committee, which is chaired by Lori Jansen. Lori relates the following commentary on the newly formed committee:

“I am very excited to be able to help our military and their families in this way. They have sacrificed much for all Americans and I feel it is our duty as Americans to try to give back in whatever ways we can.

“The mission of the Military Service Committee is to provide income tax filing assistance to U.S. armed forces personnel who are New York state residents and who have served in a combat zone or qualified hazardous duty areas in 2002 or 2003, or their spouse. The committee intends to accomplish this by matching up CPA volunteers from our chapter with qualified military personnel in their respective areas.

“More detailed information about the program is available on our chapter’s page on the NYSSCPA website, www.nysscpa.org. Members wishing to volunteer will be able to sign up online. Military personnel will also be able to sign up at the site to request the offered services. There are also helpful links to information on related topics.

“We are planning a series of informative seminars about the services offered and the various new tax benefits, exclusions and extensions now available to military personnel. These seminars will be open to military personnel as well as chapter members who wish to volunteer. I hope you will check out the website, attend a seminar, and do what you can to help.”

In addition to having Lori Jansen as chair of this new committee, the Mid-Hudson Chapter benefits in having Jennifer George as a committee member. She adds a very unique perspective to the committee. Jennifer’s husband, Shawn George, recently served our country as part of an Army Reserve military police company in Iraq for four months and in the United States for 14 months. Jennifer is very proud of her husband and happy to have him back in the United States.

As Jennifer said, “The stress of having a loved one in a war zone is tremendous. This committee’s goal is to eliminate some of that stress by helping military dependents take advantage of the wide range of benefits available to them from the government. Our military and their families are making sacrifices for us every day; providing this service is our small way of giving back to them.”

We are pleased to provide these new military-assistance-related services to our members and the community. Here’s to a wonderful and successful busy season.

Deborah Bailey-Browne can be reached at 845-567-9000 or dbb@vddw.com.