Staff Highlights – Summer 2021

Our continued efforts with developing and empowering female professionals don’t stop with the members of our firm but expand through the community. We were proud to support and connect professional women in business at our annual networking event at the RubberDucks (pictured above). We connected individuals from various backgrounds and professions, including business, the arts, nonprofit, environmental, culinary, leadership, finance, marketing and legal. Another “suite” night at Canal Park!

Firm Updates

• Congratulations to our newest partner, Mindy Marsden!
• We have been awarded 2021 Best of Accounting® Award!

New Associates

We are excited to announce the following additions to our professional staff:

• Jonathan Abbotoy, CPA/ABV joins us as a Senior Analyst in our Valuation and Litigation Practice. He graduated with a degree in accounting and finance from Tennessee Tech University. Jonathan brings 4 years of experience working at a top U.S. business solution and consulting company where he served an internship being becoming a full-time senior consultant. Jonathan and his wife recently moved to northeast Ohio to be closer to family and he is excited to grow his career with BMF. Welcome to NEO and #teamBMF!
• Sarah Fulton joins our administrative team (“A-Team”) with more than six years of experience in professional services. Sarah will provide support to our audit team and assist with client and firm growth initiatives. An outdoor enthusiast, Sarah enjoys hiking in Hocking Hills, bicycling and embracing her creative side through writing and scrapbooking.
• Salvatore Rasicci is returning to us as a full-time Staff Accountant in the Tax Department. Before graduating from The University of Akron with an accounting degree, Sal served an internship with our tax department and is excited to begin his full-time career with BMF. Welcome back, Sal! (He also has one heck of a golf drive!)
• Megan Troyer joins our Assurance & Advisory team as a Staff Accountant after kick-starting her career at a Big 4 firm. A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Megan enjoys DIY projects and volleyball. During quarantine, she mastered her chili recipe. (Do I smell a chili cookoff this fall?)
• Ashley Wade joins us as a Senior Accountant in our Tax practice, bringing more than eight years of public accounting experience at regional firms. A Hiram College alumnus, Ashley loves Cleveland baseball and enjoys playing volleyball several times during the week. (You can bet we’ll have a stacked team this season!)
• Kyle Wilkinson joins our IT Team as a Desktop Support Technician, supporting both our Akron and Cleveland locations. A graduate of Old Dominion University, Kyle spent quarantine furthering his Japanese language skills in hopes of visiting Japan someday. Kon’nichiwa, Kyle.

Staff & Community Updates

Help isn’t just defined in a business context. We encourage our teams to invest in our communities, in each other and in ourselves. Here are some of the ways we’re enhancing our efforts to support our local charities by continuing our roles as nonprofit agency leaders and investing in our individual growth and development.

• Jonathan Abbotoy has joined the board of directors as treasurer for Project Outrun, an organization that provides custom designed shoes for pediatric cancer patients.
• Sara Martin has passed the certification for the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) designation. The certification, awarded by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), signifies those individuals who possess the theoretical knowledge and practical experience in human resource management, demonstrating a mastery of the body of knowledge in the field. The PHR designation is the human resources profession’s equivalent of the CPA.
• Jim Merklin rejoined the board of United Way of Summit & Medina. Jim previously served on the UW board for nearly ten years which included various leadership roles, including Board Chair, Annual Campaign Chair, and a member of the Strategic Planning, Finance and Executive Committees. From his leadership service with United Way, Jim was a recipient of the 2011 Pillar Award and the 2014 Leadership Akron Distinguished Alumni Award, both in recognition of his work as a nonprofit board executive.
• Stephanie Smith participated in BVU’s Business Partner Breakfast on Internal Advocacy for Community Engagement and Employee Development. An advocate of connecting people, resources and community, Stephanie was elected to the board of Summit Artspace, an organization that connects artists and artist-serving organizations with the community and the resources they need. Along with her local community involvement, she is also active in the broad Accounting Marketing community and presented on the topic of migrating to the new .CPA domain for some of the leading associations in the country related to the accounting profession, including Allinial Global, the AICPA and the Association for Accounting Marketing.