LOCAL NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS GAIN KNOWLEDGE

MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Judy Murphy
(301) 475-5671

LOCAL NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS GAIN KNOWLEDGE
AT SEMINARS ON TAX RETURN REFORM

Askey, Askey & Associates, CPA, LLC provides valuable education on the significant changes to the Form 990 and required schedules to our local Not-For-Profit Organizations. In two recent seminars located in Leonardtown and La Plata, the Askey team detailed what’s new and when it takes affect. The two hour seminar helped the attending Organizations discover the many changes on the 990 and required schedules. The new information disclosures have moved from complex to convoluted, adding pages to Form 990 and an alphabet soup of new required 990 schedules.

Tara Ghrist, Tax Specialist, kicked things off by reviewing how and why the form got revised; the enhanced transparency of the new form; and introducing who might be affected and when.
Christa Mudd, Audit Supervisor, detailed how the form went from nine pages in 2007 to eleven pages in 2008. She clearly explained to the group how the core 990, representing eleven parts will need to be completed by every Organization.

Janice Rohme, Tax Manager, presented how the new 990 schedules have changed, explained that where there were two possible schedules in 2007, now there are 16 possible schedules in 2008. She explained how the Organization’s responses to questions in the Core Form determined which additional schedules were required.

Glenn Frank, III, Tax Manager, identified key action items that each Organization must face. From the increased time demands on the employees and volunteers of each Organization to the budgetary issue faced with the additional costs to comply with the additional information disclosures.

“We always enjoy the opportunity to lead discussions for Not-For-Profit entities to inform them of the new tax law changes” said Glenn Frank, III, CPA. “The questions and comments from the participants really make the experience enjoyable.”
Keep an eye out for Askey, Askey & Associates, CPA, LLC! Their team members are accomplished speakers on a variety of tax, accounting and financial matters and will gladly speak for your Organization.

Walking Tour of Leonardtown Now on Podcast

Walking Tour of Leonardtown Now on Podcast: http://www.csmd.edu/About/campuses/leonardtown/building/WellnessCenter.html

Family Skate Night at Leonard Hall

All are welcome every Saturday evening, year round from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Leonard Hall for Family Skate Night. The cost is $3 per person, and skate rentals are availabe for $2.50 per person. Call Recreation and Parks at 301-475-4200 ext. 1800 for more information.

Farmers Market Comes to Town Square

Visit the "new" Farmers Market in Downtown Leonardtown, in front of Jeannie's Park, each Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Delicious home baked goods are sold by "Ma's Pastries." You can purchase a variety of yummy cookies, pies, cinnamon rolls, and breads - mmmm! Beautiful flower baskets and local produce are also sold at the stand right next to "Ma's." Fresh tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and corn are just some of the vegetables on display, and the flower arrangements are gorgeous! The Farmers Market will also be set up at various events throughout the summer such as Downtown Tunes, Beach Party, and First Friday. For more information, call the Town office at 301-475-9791.

An Abstract Eye on Leonardtown

Leonardtown Geocache to Premiere April 29

To increase public awareness of Leonardtown’s participation in the Maryland Municipal Leagues’ Geocache Trail, St. Mary’s County Government Channel 95 will broadcast a four and a half minute video entitled “Leonardtown Geocache” beginning Wednesday, April 29 at 9:00 a.m. It will be scheduled periodically on Ch. 95 each week; check the county’s website for the schedule at www.stmarysmd.com or call the Public Information Office at 301-475-4200, x1340.

“Geocaching” is a game of hide and seek played by participants all over the world. A geocacher hides a small box of trinkets, posts its GPS coordinates online, and then other geocachers search for it with the use their own GPS units. The program explains geocaching and how to participate in the search. It features comments from Leonardtown’s Mayor J. Harry Norris, and from local geocachers.

The Maryland Municipal League (MML) is an association of cities and towns in Maryland that works to support the interests of municipal government. To attract visitors to its various municipalities, the MML is sponsoring a series of geocaches all over the state, and one of those caches is hidden somewhere in Leonardtown. The Maryland Municipal League (MML) Geocache Trail, Celebrating Maryland’s Cities and Towns, was launched in January. A trackable, highly coveted geo coin will be given to the first 500 geocachers who locate a minimum of 22 city/town caches throughout the state.

The trail is comprised of 78 participating cities & towns with a total of 79 cache hides. The caches are located in 11regions throughout the state.

To be eligible for the coin, geocachers pick up a passport at participating visitor centers (the Welcome Center in Charlotte Hall has a supply), use the stamp in each cache on their passports and write in the cache code word. After at least two municipal caches in each of the 11 districts are discovered, geocachers may return to any one of the participating county visitor centers and have their passports validated to receive a collectable coin. Passports may continue to be used even after all coins have been claimed as a way for geocachers to keep track of their discoveries.

Many geocachers are discovering Leonardtown via the program. “This popular new game is drawing visitors from all over,” said Carolyn Laray, Tourism Manager, St. Mary’s County Government. “Many are discovering our community for the first time.”

For more information on the Maryland Municipal League Geocache trail, visit www.mdmunicipal.org/programs/geocache.cfm. For more information on St. Mary’s County Tourism, contact Carolyn Laray at 301-475-4200, x 1404 or log on to the website at tour.co.saint-marys.md.us