Julianne Charlesworth
Facts
Juli Charlesworth has been a CPA since 1992 and started her own firm in Wanatah at that time. Prior to that, she worked in a Michigan City CPA firm and had also been an internal auditor with USX. She has been involved with several family businesses her entire life. Thus, she not only has tax and accounting knowledge, but practical business experience as well. Juli joined Avantax Investment Services℠ in 2005 after obtaining the Series 6 - Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative, FINRA Series 63 - Uniform Securities Agent State Law licenses. In 2006, she added a Life and Health Insurance license to be able to offer clients Life, Long Term Care and Disability Insurance as well as Variable and Fixed Annuities. In February 2018, an opportunity quickly arose to acquire an accounting practice in Valparaiso and so the Porter County adventure began. In 2021, Juli obtained FINRA Series 65.
Family
Juli and Ray met while both studying accounting at Purdue University in West Lafayette and were married three years after. Ray manages the family businesses and is chief handyman around the accounting offices. The Charlesworths have two children. Both Riley’s and Justene's bios can be read below.
Fun
Juli’s favorite pastime is watching and enjoying her family’s many activities. She enjoys boating, traveling, jet skiing, bicycling and all things lake Michigan with Ray, the kids and friends. She volunteers at her church, in the greater Wanatah community and at her children’s schools when they attended. She has been a 4-H leader, church council member and coach.
Mary Wherrett
Facts
Mary Wherrett received her accounting degree from Manchester College in 1988. She has more than 30 years of experience in payroll and bookkeeping for both public and private accounting and has worked locally her entire career. Mary, a long-time friend of Juli, was employed by the firm that Juli purchased in 2018 and she transitioned with her as they merged the two practices. She looks forward to greeting each of you by phone or at the front desk.
Family
Mary and her husband, Tom, were high school sweethearts and have been married for over 30 years. Tom is a RN and has been working in the emergency department at Methodist Hospitals for over 35 years. Together they have three adult children. Tyler has a degree in Energy Technology and works for a local electrical company. Kyle has a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology and works for a local engineering firm. Dana has a business degree from Indiana University South Bend and works in the office for local trucking company.
Fun
Mary and Tom love going on camping and boating trips with their family and friends. Camping weekends at Indiana state parks usually include all the kids and many friends. Mary also enjoys oil painting landscapes with Bob Ross, crocheting, gardening and spending lots of time in the pool during warm weather. Mary has spent most of her life helping out the local Lions Club and spending time supporting her kids while participating in sports and school activities when they were younger.
Meghan Major
Facts
Meghan Major is on her 5th tax season. After earning her Bachelor’s in the Science of Business from Purdue Northwest, she started preparing taxes while pursuing her Master’s in Accounting, also from PNW. Before preparing taxes, Meghan worked with local businesses in an accounting capacity, banking and as a pastry cook.
Family
Meghan has been married to Michael for more than 12 years. They have two daughters, the oldest pursuing her Master’s and the youngest in elementary school.
Fun
Meghan wasa Girl Scout leader of her daughter’s troop for over six years. As a leader, she has spearheaded a Beach Clean Up at the Dunes for years, where the Scouts have collected over twenty pounds of garbage in just two hours. She has also been a camp counselor for five years. Meghan also served as PTA treasurer at her daughter’s school. She enjoys making and baking cakes and other items for family and friends. She also enjoys bowling. As a family, they enjoy playing board games and spending time with their adopted cats.
Riley Charlesworth
Facts
Riley Charlesworth’s occupations change by the season. After he graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Agri-Business Management in 2016, he began preparing tax returns at Charlesworth Financial Services. His work with the firm is limited to tax season. During the summer, he can be found at farmers’ markets as an entrepreneur selling sweet corn. In season, How Sweet It Is can be purchased daily at the Valparaiso office as well as at the J-MARt BP in Wanatah. Riley farms during planting and harvest seasons. Throughout the year, he operates Riley Charlesworth Grain Hauling and delivers fuel for his family’s oil distributorship, Triple J-Mar Petroleum.
Fun
Riley’s favorite season is hunting season, followed closely by snowmobiling season. He enjoys basketball, the outdoors and tinkering with projects. Riley enjoys visiting with friends, clients, customers and fellow farmers at elevators in the fall and other local establishments during the year.
Justene Charlesworth
Facts
Justene Charlesworth has been involved with several family businesses her entire life. Thus, joining Charlesworth Financial Services after completing her undergrad in 2021 from the University of St. Francis in Accounting with a finance minor, is a perfect fit. She received her MBA from USF in 2022. She returned to USF for the 2022-23 basketball season and is gaining two certificates. She is a member of the Accounting Club, Student Business Association and Dean's List. While in Joliet her sophomore thru senior years, she interned with two accounting firms. Justene joined Avantax Investment Services℠ in 2022 after obtaining the Series 7 - General Securities Representative Exam and Series 66 - the NASAA Uniform Combined State Law Exam licenses. She plans to study for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam in the future.
Family
In addition to the family mentioned elsewhere on this page, she adds her feline family, Nala and Simba.
Fun
Justene enjoys wakeboarding, traveling, jet skiing, bicycling and most things outdoors with friends. She volunteers at her church and is a member of the Board of the Cheryl Lyn Welter Family Foundation for underprivileged children. She was a 10 year 4-H member. She is now playing her fifth year of basketball for the USF Fighting Saints and is a three year starter.
Jackie Abshire
Facts
Jackie Abshire joined us in late 2021 after 20+ years at South Central Community Schools where she was Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Director of Transportation. You'll find Jackie processing returns for pick up, checking clients in and out, answering the phones and more around our office. She is also the primary person in our fingerprinting department. Jackie does not assist clients with investments.
Family
Jackie has been married to Mark for more than 22 years. They have two daughters, Mandi and Kristin, two grandchildren, Nathan and Allison and one great-grandson, Chandler. Mark has operated the Wood Mill at Tonn and Blank Construction for 18 years.
Fun
Jackie and Mark love going on their motorcycles adventures. They've joined friends for a weekend getaway in Michigan for 25 years. Jackie enjoys gardening, going on long walks with friends, family get togethers and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchild. She volunteers at the Union Mills Mill Pond Festival and is a member of the Union Mills Cemetery Committee.
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