MINOT — AARP volunteer tax preparers from the seven income tax sites in the Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin Counties District were honored on Monday, April 20, at a volunteer appreciation meeting held at the West Minot Grange Hall.

The free AARP tax preparation sites in this district are located in Bridgton, Fryeburg, Lewiston, Norway, Poland, Rumford and Carrabassett Valley.

Connie Benwitz, a volunteer tax preparer in Poland and a member of the West Minot Grange, organized the potluck supper.

Speakers included AARP TaxAide state coordinator Joan Jagolinzer of Portland, district AARP tax instructor Carole Ressler of Auburn and district coordinator Frances Lodge of West Minot. Letters of appreciation from Sen. Angus King and IRS Regional SPEC tax consultant Therese Armstrong were read. A slide presentation showed volunteers during their training sessions and working at the tax sites, and highlighted some of the statistics for this past tax season.

IRS Certificates of Recognition were presented to volunteer tax preparers Nancy Tapley and Chery Gallant from the Rumford AARP tax site; Marty Corey and Connie Benwitz from the Ricker Memorial Library in Poland; Steve Veazey, Arias Wan and Pat Peabody from the Norway Memorial Library; Gloria and Jerry Maduzia, Caroline Leroy, Rebecca Tracy, Larry Flaherty and Katherine Reilly from the Bridgton Community Center; and Ronald Bunker of Minot and Sue Goddard of Greene, who volunteered at the Lewiston Armory.

Client facilitators, greeters and schedulers who received certificates were Pat Cummings, Mary Lou St. John, Mary Emerson and Dr. Tere Porter of Norway; Lorraine Goldrup of Bridgton; and Mary Hunter of Carrabassett Valley.

Not in attendance but also receiving certificates were volunteer tax preparers Peg Robbins and Katherine Reilly from the Fryeburg Library site and Diane Copeland, Helen Poulin and Jaine Jacobs from the Carrabassett Valley Public Library site.

Androscoggin County AARP TaxAide volunteers who served at the Lewiston Armory were honored in a joint session with Lewiston-Auburn VITA volunteers at Davinci’s Restaurant in Lewiston, where they received IRS Certificates of Recognition presented by VITA site coordinator K.C. Geiger.

The AARP volunteer tax preparers at the Lewiston Armory were local coordinator Paul Blanchard, Lisa Bolen, Ronald Bunker, Kate Cooper, Tom Coulombe, Yolande Gay, Lorna Healey, Gerald Langelier, Andy Michaud, William Randall, Antoine Tolton, Robert Wailus and Teresa Austin.

The AARP TaxAide program provides free state and federal income tax preparation for low to moderate income taxpayers of all ages, with special attention to those 60 and over. All volunteer tax preparers are trained, tested and certified annually by the IRS.

This year, the seven AARP sites in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties prepared and electronically filed more than 1,400 federal and state returns. Nearly 700 of those taxpayers were age 60 or older. The Norway Memorial Library site had the largest volume in the district, preparing 450 returns. Taxpayers served by AARP volunteers in these three counties received more than $1.4 million in refunds.