Steve O’Neal Is All ‘Heart’ At The New RealSense Prosperity Heart of Putnam Volunteer Area Tax Site RealSense is proud to commend one volunteer, Putnam County native Steve O’Neal, who went above and beyond the call of duty for the people in his community as a tax preparer in the new Putnam County Heart of Putnam site. In February Heart of Putnam administrator Kathy Thomas was out for a week for her father’s funeral. Steve assumed her responsibilities. The new RealSense Prosperity Campaign volunteer tax site had just opened and was experiencing startup glitches that included electronic transmission issues. Steve spent many hours on resolving issues so that clients wouldn’t have to wait for their refunds. “Steve’s positive attitude, reliability and initiative are characteristics that make him a VIP volunteer,” said Jeff Winkler, RealSense Prosperity Campaign Associate Director. “Neither Mark Browne [IRS specialist and RealSense Prosperity Campaign IRS Liaison] nor I ever had to go to Putnam to help with these issues. He really took it upon himself to be the problem solver and was still able to continue helping other clients in the process.” Steve O’Neal, a retired CPA, began serving as a volunteer at the site in January. He has nearly 15 years experience as a tax preparer and is a tax specialist licensed by the IRS. He became disabled about three years ago and was pleased with the opportunity to continue his career as a volunteer. “When I called to volunteer initially, I let them know that I’d have to play it one day at a time due to my health, and when this family crisis happened with Kathy, I had only been working at the site for a very short time (the site was only open about three days prior to that situation),” said Steve. “I was able to take over for her for a week or two. So, what started out as three to four hours a week serving as a volunteer, turned into two to three days a week.” Not only did Steve prepare taxes while he was in the office, but also spent many hours making sure the returns were finished accurately. Steve, 41, has lived in Palatka his whole life. He believes that the free tax service provided by the RealSense Prosperity Campaign to community members is an invaluable service to Putnam residents. “I wholeheartedly believe this service is something that Putnam really needs,” Steve said, “particularly with the low wages across the board and the high cost of filing taxes that continues to go up every year.” The new tax site has already exceeded the goal they set for completing tax returns. The site is open at Heart of Putnam United Way at 820 Reid Street on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday each week through April 15.