About us...
IN THE BEGINNING...
Ardean Nordgren accepted a teaching position at Mintie White Elementary School in Watsonville. He and his wife, Lucille (also a teacher) and their young family moved to La Selva Beach from Whittier, California in 1962.
WHY TAXES???...
In 1970 Ardean and Lucille decided to take a course in Income Tax Preparation to supplement their modest teaching incomes. They each began with 10 clients, -- clients who were supplied by the instructor of the tax class. By the second year, Ardean, -- somewhat argumentative and cynical by nature, -- decided that he couldn’t stomach the tax code, and stepped down as a tax preparer.
PERSONALIZED TAX SERVICE WAS FOUNDED IN 1972...
Lucille then established Personalized Tax Service and the business multiplied from the original 20 clients, to 200, over the next thirty- plus years. Her business was a “pick-up and delivery” service. She visited clients homes and calculated the tax later in her own home. The finished tax was totally hand-written on government forms, which she ordered from the IRS. After the first several years, a more professional looking copy was in order. After gathering the info, and doing the calculations, she sent the rough draft – again, a pencil copy -- by courier to southern California. It was returned by courier the following day and Lucille then delivered it to her clients to sign and file.
USHERING IN THE AGE OF COMPUTERS...
This was a time-consuming and cumbersome system, especially as it was “moon-lighting”, along with full-time teaching. After a few years, with improvements in tax preparer’s software and the availability of personal computers and small office printers, she was able to cut out the courier service and do in-home production of the finished product using Drake Software. Retirement from teaching in 1988 facilitated things even more. Her tax clients became like family, and over the years, she has frequently helped their children and their grandchildren file their first tax returns
AND THEN ALL HECK BROKE LOOSE...
Lucille’s son, David Nordgren, retired from a long career as a computer programmer with FedEx in 2008. He was not yet at so-called retirement age, but since the FedEx Data Center where he worked was moving out of state, he decided to hang-it-up and stay in Santa Cruz. There he hoped to pursue his love for music, with supplemental income from part-time seasonal tax preparation. During the summer and fall of 2009, Dave and his daughter, Sally (Ginger) completed comprehensive Tax Preparation Course in Hollister. Ginger was a natural and graduated top of the class. Completing her work at lightning speeds, she often had to tell her slow-poke Dad, she’d wait out in the car while he finished up his exams. Dave and Ginger joined in with Lucille working out of Lucille's home in Aptos starting the 2009 tax season.
MEANWHILE EVEN MORE ALL HECK BROKE LOOSE...
Julie Fant, formerly Julie Nordgren, had spent years doing collections for a Credit Bureau, and had been a real estate underwriter at the time of the housing boom, but was unemployed in 2010. She lived on Whidbey Island up in Washington at that time, but it seemed feasible that she might come to Aptos for three or four months during tax season and help with the growing business.
ENTER, APTOS TAX SERVICE...
In the fall of 2011, Lucille received notice that Aptos Tax Service was for sale. Lucille, David and Ginger, (who was a student, but needed part-time work) considered the idea. The offer came with a local and equipped office already in place and would triple the clientele. It seemed the thing to do, so thus was born Aptos Personalized Tax Service. Everyone took their tax courses and became certified. Julie came on board in time to open our doors for the 2012 tax season.
