Over at the Wood County Senior Center they still call her their "Best Norma."
At 95, Norma Best is a whirlwind of energy, known for helping fellow seniors – often decades younger than
she – make sense out of a sea of tax-season confusion.
For the past quarter-century, Best has been an AARP volunteer tax preparer for the Wood County Committee
on Aging. CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
Last week she was honored by AARP for her
25 years of service in that capacity and presented with a plaque in recognition of her ongoing efforts
to help county seniors, including those with low incomes, get their taxes filed without having to pay
someone for the service.
Ever since 1988, when she turned 70 and retired from Bowling Green State University, Best has continued
to take an exam and get recertified annually to prepare other people’s taxes. But she never does it for
money; smiles of gratitude – and the occasional unsought plate of cookies – are sufficient payment.
She began doing tax preparation for the older generation "because my mother was a senior. That’s
what started me on it."
But, as she told the Sentinel-Tribune in February, 2012, she kept on "because I enjoyed doing it,
meeting the people."
The AARP tax assistance project, currently headed by Tom O’Brien, started in an upstairs room at the Wood
County Senior Center in Bowling Green and has expanded over the years.
Currently, "we have a room set up in our basement, where we have four, five appointments going on at
the same time," explained WCCOA staffer Holly Canfield. "It’s set up kind of like
cubicles."
Two years ago Best switched from doing the actual taxes for senior center AARP clientele to filling out
the seniors’ "intake interview" forms, which still call for one-on-one counseling and
explanation. CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

It’s not that doing taxes – even
complicated farm and business taxes – is a problem for her at 95. She only made the change because the
local program had switched from paper to online "and my eyesight isn’t" up for computer
filing.
Nevertheless, as the 2012 story pointed out, you won’t find a better-educated tax preparer in town.
Best, a BG native, holds a law degree from George Washington University.
She and the other intake volunteers are sited on the main floor of the senior center every Wednesday and
Thursday now through April. As seniors come in for their appointment, it’s their first stop before
heading downstairs.
A second AARP tax preparation site in Wood County is located at Way Library in Perrysburg.
Since Best is so well known among local seniors, others ask for her assistance in preparing taxes outside
of the formal AARP program setting.
"The last few years I would go out to people’s houses almost totally, and I made friends" of
many people she was helping with their taxes.
Best, who still drives her own car, found the home visits served a double purpose.
"If they’re shut-ins, and even if they’re not, they’re kind of lonely. And it’s kind of nice that
you’re not limited to an hour. If it takes an hour and a quarter, so what?" .