I attended public schools in Roundup, Montana for 11½ years and graduated from Billings Senior High in 1957. I attended Eastern Montana College for 3 years starting in 1960. I finished my college education at the University of Denver graduating with a degree in accounting in August of 1964.
I coached Little League for 6 years. Served as Treasure of Rocky Senior League for 3 years. Served as Player Agent of Big Sky little league for 3 years. Served as Treasure of District 1 Little League for 10 years. District 1 is the eastern half of Montana. Served on the EMC alumni board for 5 years. Served on the Billings Sheltered Workshop and CORE board for 18 years. I was the WM for Rimrock Masonic Lodge for 2 years. I am currently on the board of the Billings Masonic Charitable Fund, the Billings Masonic Center and the Scottish Rite Language Clinic. I am a member of Rimrock Masonic Lodge, York Rite, Scottish Rite and Al Bedoo Shrine.
I love the clients most of all. I now have the grandchildren of some of my original clients and I find it very enjoyable to see how the various families have progressed over the years. I love helping people make a success of their businesses by consulting with them on taxes and finances. I love the variety of work; you never seem to do the same thing two days in a row. This job may be many things but it is never boring.
I worked for a CPA in Denver from September of 1963 to August of 1964 when I graduated. I worked for Ray Lathom, CPA and Birdie Lathom from September of 1964 to January of 1966. On January 1, 1966 I took over the Lathom accounting practice and started my own CPA firm. At that time I had one part time employee. On January 1, 1980 the firm became Summers McNea, CPA’s with me and Mel McNea as the two shareholders. From that time until 2005, when I semi-retired, two other partners were added. I now work about 40 hours per work during tax season and about 25 hours per week the rest of the year. These numbers may be subject to refute by the existing partners of Summers McNea.
The ability to gather a large amount of information, analysis this information and come to the correct conclusion. To be able to combine this with an excellent knowledge of income and estate taxes along with business sense and common sense is a great strength. Being able to communicate this to clients in a way they can understand and get the greatest amount of good from is an even greater strength. The ability to always be looking for ways to save the client money, or help them make more money, while working on their account is another strength. This strength is perhaps the most important of all. There is much more to public accounting than taking the client’s numbers and putting them on a sheet of paper or a form. I also have a network of knowledgeable people, both inside and outside the firm, to call on if needed. I also have a great deal of experience from being in public accounting for over 45 years in the same community.
My children and grandchildren are the most important use of my time. My wife and I attend nearly all of our grandchildren’s sporting and school events. With three active grandchildren who participate in baseball, softball, basketball and football this occupies a great deal of our time. We also see our children and grandchildren nearly every day and get together all the time for some form of family function. My wife and I also enjoy traveling to Las Vegas to visit our money. We spend about 6 weeks each year in Vegas. Between the above two activities and working on the various boards and charities the remaining time is spent trying to relax and remembering how old we really are.
