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Shepard Schwartz & Harris was founded in 1935 by Irving W. Shepard, a well-known and successful real estate investor, entrepreneur, CPA, attorney and tax expert. Mr. Shepard had a passion for business and while he enjoyed practicing as a CPA and tax advisor, he had many other business interests. He was an active real estate investor, owning shopping centers and apartment buildings scattered throughout the Chicagoland area and the Midwest. He also owned interest in several businesses, including a homebuilding company and a screw manufacturing facility. Mr. Shepard's zeal for business transferred into his personal interests. His enthusiasm for fishing led him to the Arctic Circle several times. He was also an avid golfer, bowler, sculptor and an early member of Chicago's Lyric Opera. Mr. Shepard was a passionate supporter of charities, contributing time, effort and funds. Mr. Shepard recruited Morris Schwartz to join him in private practice. At the time, Mr. Schwartz was an auditor for a national public accounting firm who desired an opportunity to work in a more entrepreneurial environment. He found that in partnership with Mr. Shepard. Mr. Schwartz was known for his work with manufacturers and built a client base in that industry, which complemented the work the firm did in the real estate arena. Mr. Schwartz was an avid golfer and bridge enthusiast. We were often reminded about his bridge expertise by his former clients many years after he retired. With respect to the firm's development, Mr. Schwartz set the standard for academic and professional excellence and facilitated the recruitment and retention of top professional talent. Through the years, several of the firm's partners and staff received recognition from the Illinois CPA Society as a result of their excellent test scores on the CPA exam. Mr. Schwartz was a noted scholar in his own right, earning the Illinois CPA Society Gold Medal in November 1939 for receiving the highest score on the Illinois CPA exam. Jerome Harris, a B-17 navigator during World War II, joined the firm in 1947. Mr. Harris was responsible for growing the firm and was widely known in the real estate community for his work with homebuilders and commercial developers. Mr. Harris helped many aspiring homebuilders get started in the industry. Over time, several of the firm's homebuilder clients, with Mr. Harris' guidance, grew to become among the largest in the Chicagoland area. Over his 56-year career with the firm, Mr. Harris built Shepard Schwartz & Harris into what it is today - leveraging all of his skills and business acumen, as well as those of his founding partners - into a highly talented tax, accounting and business advisory firm designed for the needs of privately held companies. Together, these three leaders forged a business advisory practice built on core values of ingenuity, integrity and professional excellence.