Sue Woebkenberg, a 2017 First Citizen nominee, moved to Oregon in the late 1970s and has been a resident of Wilsonville since 1991. After more than 30 years in the corporate and public sectors as a CPA and Controller, Sue began her volunteerism in Wilsonville. She is now well known as a dedicated volunteer, heading up the AARP Tax Program for years at the Community Center in Wilsonville.
This began when Sue read articles in the Spokesman about free tax service at the Community Center and the periodic requests for volunteers for preparing the tax returns. Unlike most people who hate doing their taxes, Sue always liked doing them. Eventually she became the Local Volunteer Coordinator for the Wilsonville site’s AARP Taxaide program.
Sue said, “After volunteering with this program it is difficult to leave. We target low to middle income and senior population. When I started with the program in tax year 2007 we did 2 tax appointments per hour. This year we will do 6 tax appointments per hour. We have always had to turn people away.” Sue trains a team of tax preparers, studies the new laws, recruits other volunteers, and also helps out at other centers when needed.
Her nominator said, “She spends hours at home filing tax forms for elderly clients, and is very professional and conscientious with all of these honored citizens. Sue puts her personal life on hold for these four months each years to offer invaluable help to seniors and others who can’t always afford the high cost of filing tax forms; and for whom it gets more and more difficult.”