St. Louis Small Business Monthly has recognized Howard Held, CPA as a “Top Accountant” in the St. Louis region for their annual feature. Each year the publication features top accountants from the St. Louis area as chosen by readers of the magazine. Howard was one of only 13 people recognized this year by the magazine.

Howard is a Manager in Scheffel Boyle’s Highland office and has been with the firm since 1983. He graduated from Bradley University in 1978 with his Bachelor’s Degree and has worked in public accounting ever since. His specialties include audit and tax services for governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and the agricultural industry. Howard is extremely active in his local community and has volunteered countless hours of his own time toward a variety of causes, and has even won the Highland Chamber of Commerce’s “Person of the Year” award due to his community activism and professional dedication.

“I am very honored and touched for being selected for this award.  From my point of view, I don’t feel that I should be singled out as the recipient.  Whatever skills I have and whatever opportunities I have been given to utilize those skills are the direct result of Scheffel Boyle and my fellow employees. This award is proof of the cooperation and support that I have received from this professional team,” Howard said. “I have always taken pride in the completeness and quality of service given to clientele and that workman ethic, that I credit my parents for, is further enhanced by the firm.  It is part of the Scheffel Boyle way of doing things. And I would also like to thank any and all people who nominated and voted for me to win this award.  I hope they are reading this and that they know how special this is for me and I appreciate their efforts very much.”

Howard and the other dozen honorees will be featured in the August issue of St. Louis Small Business Monthly.

Larry Rose, CPA, Principal in the Bethalto, IL office, has officially announced his plans to retire on June 30^th of this year. Larry’s retirement will mark the end of his 40-year public accounting career.

Larry spent 40 years at Allison Knapp Siekmann, LTD before they joined with us in October of 2014. He is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Missouri CPA Society, Illinois CPA Society, and the Bethalto area Kiwanis club.

Larry is the Principal in charge of the Bethalto, IL office location. Along with Larry’s retirement, we will consolidate the Bethalto office location between our Alton, Edwardsville, and Belleville offices in order to provide a team-oriented service environment for Larry’s clients in his absence.

We are sad to see Larry leave the firm, but excited for him on this new journey is his life. If you’d like to wish Larry well, he can still be reached at the Bethalto location by calling 618.377.2171, or by emailing larry.rose@scheffelboyle.com.

Scheffel Boyle Principal Henry Siekmann, CPA recently accepted an award on behalf of his former firm Allison Knapp Siekmann (AKS) at the Southern Illinois Builders Association’s (SIBA) annual awards breakfast. This year would mark AKS’s 50^th year of membership in SIBA and Siekmann was honored on behalf of the entire firm for its dedication to the association and many years of support to their organization.

SIBA, in conjunction with the Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program (SICAP), annually recognizes those firms at the awards breakfast that have been members of the association for 50 years, those individuals that complete all five modules of the AGC Project Manager Development Program, and those firms that have demonstrated a commitment to safety excellence.

Siekmann is the former Managing Principal of the CPA firm Allison Knapp & Siekmann (AKS). When AKS joined with Scheffel Boyle in October of 2014, Siekmann and all of his AKS staff became part of the Scheffel Boyle team. He was also able to remain active in SIBA in his new position with the firm. Scheffel Boyle has been a member and supporter of SIBA for over 12 years and is a regular participant in the organization’s events and educational programs for contractor members.

“I’ve always seen value in our membership to SIBA and look forward to more years with the association,” Siekmann said. “When we joined with Scheffel Boyle in October, it was an easy transition for us because their team was already heavily involved with SIBA. It’s been a good fit for us all.”

SIBA was established in 1945 and currently represents over 500 construction companies throughout Southern Illinois. As the largest regional contractor association in Illinois, the association is focused on providing value to its members through networking opportunities, safety training, physical and online tracking of commercial projects out for bid, and continuing education, among others. For more information on SIBA and the benefits of joining, visit their website at www.siba-agc.org.

Pictured Below, left to right, is Bel-O Man President Jim Lugge and Siekmann, who both accepted their 50-year membership awards from SIBA at the awards banquet.

EDWARDSVILLE – Scheffel Boyle employees recently teamed up to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Southwestern Illinois at their annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser. So far, Scheffel Boyle’s teams have brought in over $3,000 in donations for the agency, and that amount may not be the final count as donations are still coming through.

Scheffel Boyle’s two bowling teams participated in the event on January 28^th at Edison’s Entertainment Complex in Edwardsville. Each of the firm’s ten bowlers had their own fundraising efforts involving lots of social media activity and networking to come up with every dollar they could for the event.

Scott Weber, CPA and Principal at Scheffel Boyle’s Edwardsville office, serves on the Board of Directors for BBBS of Southwestern Illinois and is always excited to see his coworkers rally behind an organization that he is passionate on supporting.

“We look forward to this event every year and usually make it our goal to raise more than we did the year before. I’m excited to say that we accomplished that again this year for BBBS,” said Weber. “This is something that is planned and promoted by our employees and just shows what great people we have working for this firm. Their commitment during tax season to take some personal time for this great cause is very appreciated by myself, everyone at Scheffel Boyle, BBBS, and all the kids they help in our community.”

BBBS has been changing lives of youth throughout the U.S. for more than 100 years. According to their website, they are recognized “as the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network.” Their mission to “nurture children and strengthen communities” is supported through donations and fundraising events, such as Bowl for Kids’ Sake.

Bowl for Kids’ Sake has five other event dates from now until mid-April. For information on how you can donate or participate, visit bbbsil.org/bowl.

Our team is extremely proud to announce that Crystal Bock, CPA, Supervisor out of our Jerseyville office, has graduated from the Jersey County Leadership in Action program!

This 8-month intensive program focuses on developing leaders in Jersey County through awareness, education, and community involvement. Crystal spent her own personal time attending classes and seminars to learn about all issues, both past and present, that affect her local area. The program provided education on variety of community programs, agricultural issues, economic development strategies, local infrastructure, and more.

Scheffel Boyle encourages all team members to participate in professional development efforts, both inside and outside of the workplace. Crystal is a great example of how to dedicate yourself to improving your local community through volunteer efforts.

Congratulations Crystal! Your Scheffel Boyle family appreciates your dedication to the communities we serve.