Our partner Melinda “Mindy” Ward, who has previously ran several marathon races, completed the Joplin Memorial Half Marathon on May 18 in 2 hours 16 minutes. Not bad for a working mother of three at the ripe old age of— ? The Joplin Memorial Run was created as a way to honor the 161 people who lost their lives in the May 22, 2011 tornado and to provide hope to the Joplin community while at the same time staging a first class event that runners will come back for again and again. Melinda Ward joined Van Osdol & Magruder in July 2003, bringing expertise in taxation and estate and business planning. Prior to joining us, she practiced with a large area firm specializing in complex estate, business, gift and tax planning issues including preparation of Wills and Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, S Corporations, Irrevocable Trusts, Charitable Trusts and many other sophisticated estate and business planning devices. In addition, Mindy advises clients in all types of fiduciary controversies, administers estates and trusts and prepares federal and state individual, estate, gift, corporate and generation-skipping tax returns as well as fiduciary income tax returns for estates and trusts. Mindy is recognized for providing excellent service in a timely manner while giving the client the personal attention they deserve.