OKLAHOMA CITY— At the recent 2010 Oklahoma Tax Institute, hosted by the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants, an announcement was made that a new scholarship and award had been created honoring Rick Kells, CPA, JD, LLM.
Kells passed away of cancer in March 2010.
Mike Miers Jr., CPA, an attorney with Gable & Gotwals in Tulsa, delivered the news to attendees and presented an award to Linda Kells, Rick’s sister, saying “Rick has been a key figure to the Oklahoma Tax Institute. He has given the Oklahoma Tax Update presentation every year since before 1996.”
Kells served on the OSCPA Tax Committee for 14 years and had also served on the OSCPA Board of Directors. Miers added, “The Tax Committee is honoring Rick today for his significant contributions that he made, not only to the Oklahoma Tax Institute, but also for his endless dedication and service to the accounting profession.”
Additionally, the OSCPA Tax Committee established the Rick Kells Outstanding Tax Professional Award, to be awarded annually at the Oklahoma Tax Institute to a CPA who “exemplifies the kind of character and work ethic Rick showed daily to his clients and his colleagues,” Miers added.
The Kells family established the Rick Kells Memorial Scholarship to be awarded to students working their way through school, as Rick Kells had done. Janice Gray, CPA, a managing partner with Gray Blodgett & Company PLLC in Norman, Okla., said, she and her husband, Rodney Gray, CPA, a tax partner with Gray Blodgett & Company, “were so saddened when Rick died, and we just wanted to do something special for him to be honored. What better way to honor an individual that spent a lot of his time learning, teaching and helping others than to have a scholarship fund in his memory. He was such a good friend, colleague and our personal attorney. With this scholarship, Rick will be honored and remembered for many years to come. We give special thanks to the Kells family for believing this was also a good way to remember Rick.”
The scholarship is open to OSCPA student members. Additional information is available online at http://www.oscpa.com/?804#oscpa. To join the OSCPA, visit http://www.oscpa.com/?1061, or call (800) 522-8261, ext. 3809.
With more than 6,000 members in public practice, industry, government and education, the OSCPA is Oklahoma’s only statewide professional association of CPAs. Since 1918, the organization has continued to provide professional education, conduct quality reviews and promote and maintain high standards of integrity and competence within the accounting profession.
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