Chicago Chapter - APA
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Sep/Oct, 2007 Volume 1, Issue 3 |
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Newsletter of the
Chicago Chapter of the American Payroll Association |
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2007 Calendar
January No Meeting February 3 – CPP Review Class 17 – CPP Review Class March 3 – CPP & FPC Review Class 17 – CPP & FPC Review Class 30 – Chapter Meeting Compliance Priorities What’s New for 2007? 31 -- CPP & FPC Review Class April 7 – CPP Review Class May 22 -26 – 25th Annual Silver Safari Congress, Las Vegas June 21 – Chapter Meeting Tax Day –All Day Meeting July No Meeting August 3 – Chapter Meeting Officer Elections September 3-7 National Payroll Week Celebration 19-20 14th Annual Illinois Statewide Bloomington, IL October No Meeting November 1 – Chapter Meeting Preparing for Year End 9 – Holiday Party Official newsletter of the Chicago Chapter |
Relay for Life: Lights, Camera Take Action!
Rick
Miller came and helped setup our compound and walked with us. Pat Gaughan
came to support our efforts. We had 4
tents, several tables and more than a dozen chairs. There were coolers of
beverages along with snacks for everyone.
We were selling Walking Tacos in one tent and bracelets, beads, blinkies,
glow necklaces, cards, ties and belts in the other tent. There were 2 tents
for changing clothes or sleeping in. We did not sleep. We walked; we talked
and got to know each other a little better. The
event opened at 6pm with the survivor walk.
I admire the strength and courage of each and every one of them. It is
not an easy journey for those who have been diagnosed |
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The
luminary ceremony began at 9 pm.
Kathy Mizejewski, Carolyn Kerkman and Jamie Deehr volunteered to read
the names on the luminary bags. The people whose names where on the bags have
all heard the same 3 words “you have cancer”. The bags represented those who
have lost there lives to cancer, those who are currently fighting cancer and
those who have survived. There
was a hypnotist from 10 pm to 11 pm.
I volunteered to be hypnotized and was quickly asked to leave the
stage as I was an uncooperative subject.
Imagine that. Each
hour had a different theme to it. Some of the themes were sports, country
& western, the 70’s, Pajama hour, purple hour and garbage hour (clean up
time). My personal favorite was the
crazy hat hour at midnight. Picture
this, if you will, big hats with lots of feathers in a rainbow of colors with
a large purple dome. Now picture 7
crazy women wearing them, walking the track with a full moon beaming down on
us. Gabriel had his own special manly shocking pink fedora to wear. Our
donations total over $3,000.00 and there is still money coming in. We are a small team, dedicated to a large
cause. Just think about how much more
money we can raise next year with a larger team. Think about it for next year.
You will not regret it. Katie
Staffeldt, CPP Team
Captain |
Chapter Holiday Party
2007 ‘Spin into Silver’ November 9th, 2007 We’ve
thrown the hat up and come out with different things for this year’s event.
To start with we have moved the date up by one week so those with
Thanksgiving plans can still attend our holiday event. We’ve changed the location. It is being held at ‘The Empress Banquets,
200 E.
Lake St, Addison, IL. We’ve changed our entertainment and have a surprise for those
attending. We’ve
kept some things like recognizing our new CPP & FPC, our vendors and
special members. We’ve kept our raffle
with first rate prizes. We will once
again collect toys for The Off The Street Club, which Hank Mazik, Treasurer,
has been involved with for many years. You
should be receiving your invitation shortly.
We hope that all our members can attend and help the Chapter ‘Spin
Into Silver.’ |
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2007
Chapter Officers
President Chris O”Hara, CPP Vice President Mary Kazmierczak, CPP Recording Secretary Gabriel Vergara, CPP Treasurer Hank Mazik, CPP Gov. Liaison Katie Staffeldt, CPP Correspondence Secretary Mary Weiner, CPP Education Director Patricia Bradberry CPP |
Chicago Chapter News FPC
and CPP Classes The Chicago Chapter Review Class for the Spring
2008 CPP Certification test will be held at ADP, 100 Northwest Point Blvd,
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 on the following dates: April 12, 2008
8:30-5:00 Payroll
Source, 2007 FPC
Review Class March 1, 15, 29, 2008 8:30-5:00 Payroll
Practice Fundamentals, 2007 Continental
breakfast begins at 8:30, class begins at 9:00 See
the chapter website for more information. Committees: Please Volunteer We
need volunteers for the following areas: Meeting Planning – (Pat Bradberry) We
are looking for volunteers that can help with planning the meetings including
choosing topics and finding speakers, as well as finding locations for next
year’s meetings. National Payroll Week – (Mary Kazmierczak) We
are looking for volunteers that can help with obtaining proclamations from
the various cities and the State. We
also have the privilege of talking with radio stations, newspapers and educational
institutions to promote National Payroll Week. Membership – (Chris O’Hara) This
group will help promote membership in the Chicago Chapter. |
Committees: (Continued) Nomination Committee – (To Be Assigned) This
group of volunteers will verify the membership and credentials of those
members wishing to run for election in August 2007. Vendor Sponsorship – (To Be Assigned) This
group will help solicit donations from organizations to help provide quality
programming to you, our members. Holiday Party – (Chris O’Hara) Volunteers
will help plan this special event including entertainment, soliciting door
prizes and location for next year. Charities We
have several events happening this year for various Charities. 1.
At
the March 30th meeting we collected Christmas Cards. We will be sending them to St. Jude’s
Research Hospital. The kids will make
new Christmas Cards from the ones that are sent to them. Thank you for bringing your old cards for
this worthy cause. 2.
At
the June 21st meeting we will be collecting for the
Servicemen. Please read separate
article for more information. 3.
July
27 we will be a Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. This event happens overnight. We are looking to build our team for walking
and for donations. See article elsewhere in the newsletter. 4.
At
the August 3rd meeting we will be collecting old cell phones. During your spring cleaning if you find an
old phone or two think about bringing them to our meeting. 5.
On
Going: We are collecting soda can
tabs for the Ronald McDonald House.
We started the collection during the CPP/FPC classes. We will be collecting these at our
meetings all during the year. Page 2 |
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Upcoming Chapter
Meetings
March 30 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Ceridian Riverway Complex 6133 N River Rd Rosemont, IL Continental Breakfast 8:30 am Christmas Cards June 21 9:00 am-4:00 pm White Eagle Banquets 6839 N, Milwaukee Niles, IL 60714 Continental Breakfast 8:30 am Mid Day Lunch Servicemen Collection July 27 6:00 pm-6:00 am Relay for Life American Cancer Society Oak Brook August 3 9:00 am-12:00 pm Officer Elections Continental Breakfast 8:30 am Location: TBD Cell Phones November 1 9:00-12:00 pm ADP 100 Northwest Point
Blvd Elk Grove, IL Continental
Breakfast 8:30 am November 9 Holiday Party |
Last Meeting Recap ‘Put Your Thinking
Caps On!’ our August 24th meeting on
Garnishments. Speakers – Bob Fisher,
CPP our resident expert on garnishment did an outstanding job in bring us up
to date on the latest developments with garnishments. Bob is well known within the payroll
community In 1989; Bob became a
Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), receiving the highest test score in the
United States. He is often asked to present at payroll industry conferences and lead educational sessions. Bob recently
retired from Hewitt Associates. A native of Bronx, New York, Bob
earned a BBA from the University of Toledo. He is married, has two grown
children, and enjoys reading and taking cruises. Patty D’Andrea from
the State’s Disbursement Unit also had a presentation about SDU. She stayed to answer questions. Collection – We collected Cell phones to be given
to a Women’s Shelter. We were amazed
at the number of phones that were sent in.
Thank You. Chicago Membership News Congratulations to Linda Lowe,
CPP! She recently changed jobs and is working closer to
home. She is enjoying sleeping in now that she doesn’t have that
long commute. We are so jealous! Also, Congratulations to Jenny
Ross, CPP. She has been promoted to Payroll Manager at ACCO
Brands. Having a CPP can help with your career. Have you changed your
job, title or e-mail address? If
you recently changed jobs, title or your email address, please email the
chapter email box. |
Next Chapter Meeting Chicago Chapter APA Next Meeting Preparing for a “Smooth Year End” 2007 New Educational Grant The
two winners of the Educational Grant for our CPP/FPC Class for 2008 are: Georgina Mondragon and Jerry Davis. You can pick a free FPC Class or CPP Class
registration for the February, 2008 classes.
Please send an email to the chapter mailbox with your choice. Chicago_chapter_apa@hotmail.com
Chapter New Officers Welcome
aboard to our newest Chapter Board member-Carolyn Kerkman, CPP. Carolyn will
be taking over as the chapter’s Educational Director. We are excited to have her on the board
and look forward to working with her for many years. Also, congratulations to our returning
board members, Katie Staffeldt, Government Liaison and Hank Mazik, Treasurer.
Katie provides the information that we have in our Government Update
Column and Hank keeps our finances in order. A Fun Day at the Zoo We are in early September and school is back in
session. But before school started,
the Chicago Chapter hosted a field trip to Lincoln Park Zoo for the Department
of Children & Family Services (DCFS).
The agency we worked with was Kaleidoscope. Did you know that in the state of Illinois there
are currently 16,160 children in foster care? Children are placed in foster care due to abuse, neglect or
dependency. Our goal was to provide a group of children an
opportunity to have a fun and enjoyable trip to the zoo. As payroll professionals, we volunteered
our time to help these children experience a different environment at least
for one day. Continued on Page 4 |
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Mailing Address: Chicago Chapter APA PO Box 836 Chicago, IL
60690-0836 Phone: (773) 631-8480 {24-hr.
Recording) NPW Corner : Tell us what
you are planning for NPW. |
Two Years of Lobbying by American Payroll Association Pay Off San Antonio-More than two years of
lobbying by the American Payroll Association have paid off as the IRS
declares it intends to redirect its efforts to penalize employers for name
and social security number mismatches on Forms W-2 to focus only on
"those employers with the most egregious mismatch rates." In 2002, the IRS stated its intent to
impose a $50 penalty for each incorrect Form W-2 filed by an employer. APA
opposed this stance because of the increased burden it would place on the
employer's payroll department. "Employers are dependent on the employee
for the name and social security number information that is reported on Form
W-2," says Scott Mezistrano, senior manager of government
relations for the association. "Assessing a penalty against the
employer when it's the employee who, intentionally or not, has provided
incorrect information is an inappropriate way to address the issue." In a July 13 letter to APA, the IRS stated,
"... in lieu of a systemic penalty program the IRS intends to continue
focusing its efforts on those employers with the most egregious mismatch
rates." The letter also quoted the March 10
testimony of IRS Commissioner Mark Everson before the Oversight and Social
Security subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means
Committee. With regard to widespread enforcement of the W-2 penalty, Everson
said, "These activities would require a significant rededication of IRS
resources to increase compliance in an area that is already, in general,
compliant. Absent added funding for such activities, this would likely come
at the expense of other compliance activities and with the attendant risk of
a decrease in tax revenue from those other compliance activities." At the same time, the letter
announced that the IRS is in the process of updating its Publication 1586,
Reasonable Cause Regulations and Requirements for Missing and Incorrect
Name/TINs, to include formal guidance on penalties for Forms W-2 and how to
get the penalties abated-an issue for which the APA has repeatedly requested
more detailed instructions. The IRS' letter states, "Many of the issues
and comments raised by the American Payroll Association will be clarified in
a question and answer format in the revised publication scheduled for release
later this year." Subsequent conversations between APA and the IRS have
confirmed that the revised publication will help employers better understand
the benefits of correct information, how to solicit the information from
employees, and what to do if an employee does not provide the information. Photos
School
Supplies
Ice
Cream Social
Seminar
Attendees
A
Day At The Zoo |
A Fun Day at the Zoo,
Cont. At the zoo, the children learned about the seals,
reptiles and farm animals. They also
got an opportunity to pet the goats in the petting zoo. But what they enjoyed the most was to play
in the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo.
We all had a fun and enjoyable time at the zoo, especially since we
got an opportunity to put a smile on a child’s face. The children not only had a good time but they also
received a bag filled with school supplies.
We collected 60 bags with supplies for the children in foster care. This event was a success. Thanks to our volunteers and sponsors: La Que Buena 105.1 FM, Jewel Osco, Rehabilitation
Institute of Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times, and Crate & Barrel. NPW Celebration! I
scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream! If you missed our NPW celebration you missed a lot of good ice
Cream, games and networking. A fun
evening was held by all at the ‘Brown Cow’ on September 6th. We hope that everyone had a fun week
celebrating NPW. Once again we would like to offer a contest for our
members. Just send a quick e-mail
to the chapter mailbox at chicago_chapter_apa@hotmail.com tell us how
you celebrated NPW in your company.
The entries will be reviewed and a winner selected based on the most
original ideas. The winner will receive
a free entrance to our Holiday Party on Friday November 9th and
free chapter membership for 2008. APA Events October
11, 2007 - 070010 Executive
Compensation-How to Ensure You
Are Taxing Executives Correctly Audio November
15, 2007 - 070011 Auditing
Your Payroll Records For Compliance Audio November
29, 2007 - 070010 Your
Last Look At Preparing for 2007’s Year-End Audio Time: 12
Noon – 1:30 PM Registration: For more
information visit www.americanpayroll.org
or register online at www.payroll.org. Page 4 Vendor Corner We
would like to thank the following vendors for contributions to our chapter: Jackson-Wabash
for sponsoring our breakfast at our tax meeting. Chris Colton of Ajilon Finance Invites You Please be sure to save the
date! I personally wanted to invite you to join us on October 10th
in Chicago. Here at Ajilon Finance,
we want to help your business and better your relationship with your
employees. Recently, Bruce Tulgan, was included in the Financial
Times listing of the World's Greatest Management Thinkers.
Bruce and his writings have appeared in the Harvard Business
Review, NY Times, LA Times,
USA Today and BusinessWeek.
I included all the information below
for our upcoming networking event. This will be a great event and a
top-notch evening for sure. We hope you can make it. Please send
me a message now if you would like to be included on the guest list.
The cocktail reception starts at 6:30pm and the guest speaker, Bruce Tulgan,
begins at 7:00pm at the Intercontinental Chicago. Cocktail Reception at 6:30 pm Each person who attends gets a
complimentary signed copy of Bruce's new book, It’s OK To Be the Boss. I hope you will be there with me for a
great night! It will be a fun & informative
night! Please call me with any
questions (847) 607-0550. Chris Colton Ajilon Finance - Account Executive "Accounting & Financial
Staffing Specialists" office (847) 607-0550
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Chicago Chapter -APA PO Box 836 Chicago,
IL 60690-0836 |
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