|
Living the Dream of Ownership and Helping Others
(Mary Bethel Opens TAX ETC + After Retiring from IRS)
(910) 630-1766 or (910) 551-1284) |
 |
| Mary L. Bethel TAX ETC. + |
|
|
By Val Jones Staff Writer
Photo by JJ Jones
www.fayettevillepress.com
Never give up on your dream should be the motto of Mary L. Bethel. Retiring recently from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after twenty-seven plus years, Mary has finally gotten the opportunity to fulfill her dream…to start her very own business.TAX ETC. + opened it doors to the world on January 9, 2006, just days after Mary retired from the IRS. However, the vision for her dream started much earlier. A graduate of E.E. Smith High School, Mary continued her education at Durham Business School and graduated with honors. Moving to Maryland to work , she met her future husband, Leonard Bethel. Leonard joined the Air Force and Mary returned home to Fayetteville and started working at Ft. Bragg. Feeling she wanted more out of her career, she decided to go back to school and enrolled at Fayetteville State University. Dedicated and determined, Mary worked a full-time job at night and attended college during the day with a full class load. Always the achiever, she graduated with honors!
Shortly, upon graduating from FSU, an opening with the IRS became available. Mary says she initially didn’t like the job, but a co-worker convinced her to stay on and learn as much as she could. Says Mary: "Many people have a set block and don’t venture outside of that block. But that’s not me. I’ve always been the type of person to learn all I can. I don’t care who or what walks through the door. I want to be able to help. By doing my research in helping others, I learn things that I can use later on in life."
And Mary does enjoy working with and helping people. Just ask the many individuals she assisted while working at the counter in the local IRS office in the Systel Building. While employed with the IRS, Mary worked in several positions. She began her career with the IRS as a tax auditor in October of 1978 in the Fayetteville office. She later worked in Washington, DC and Wilmington, Delaware as a computer programmer analyst. After returning to North Carolina in 1990, she again worked as a tax auditor in the examination division in Raleigh. In February of 1992, she transferred to the Fayetteville office as a taxpayer contact representative. In this position, she had the opportunity to assist taxpayers who had a wide variety of tax problems — from tax preparation to collection.
In the year of 2003, Mary accepted a position as tax specialist. In this position, she worked with the different VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites in the southern counties of North Carolina. During all this time, Mary still had dreams of owning her own business and made a decision that, no matter what, she would retire at the age of 55 to launch her dream. "People always say go to school, get a good education and get a good job," says Mary. "And the older I got and seeing how everybody was downsizing, that’s not what I wanted to tell my children. Instead, I’d rather say go to school, get a good education…and get your own business. Then you can hire and help other people."
With the help and support of her family, Mary’s dream of ownership and helping others became a reality at the start of 2006 with TAX ETC. +. She handles everything from individual tax returns to business payrolls, bookkeeping to workshops on finances and tax tips. With her twenty-seven plus years of experience and training with the IRS, Mary’s goal is to help people with varied tax situations. She believes that whatever she does, she is to do it as unto the Lord. She believes in treating people as she would like to be treated. Fairly!!!
Mary L. Bethel is a wonderful example of the entrepreneurial spirit and being in service to others. She invites everyone to stop by and see how she can help you. She will hold an open house and tax tips session at the office on Saturday, April 1st from 1:00PM until 3:00PM. She will also be offering a 10% discount for all in attendance that schedule an appointment to have their return prepared by April 17, 2006.
TAX ETC. + is located in Suite B of the Tucker Building at 1201 Murchison Road in Fayetteville across from Fayetteville State University. You can call Mary at 910-630-1766 or email her at taxetcplus@earthlink.net.
|
|
|