May 6, 2010

Terry Harris, Managing Partner, Receives Housing Advocate of the Year Award

HARRISBURG, PA –McKonly & Asbury, LLP is proud to announce that Housing Development Corporation (HDC) presented its most prestigious recognition, the Housing Advocate of the Year Award, to Terry L. Harris, CPA, managing partner and director of real estate services for McKonly & Asbury. The presentation was at HDC’s annual Faces of Affordable Housing banquet on April 28, 2010.

A recognized expert in the real estate and affordable housing industries, Harris has a wide range of industry experience in other areas, including business consulting, construction, and manufacturing.

“I can think of few people who have spent so much time working on behalf of affordable housing,” said HDC President and CEO Michael R. Carper. “He has invested so much of his time and energy in issues that are vital to people and communities everywhere. His commitment to the mission of affordable housing – that is, ensuring that everyone has a quality home to live that they can afford – is second to none.”

This is apparent in Harris’ advocacy at all levels. He recently worked with the board of supervisors in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, to educate them on the need for affordable housing and the quality of affordable housing being built in other communities. He also worked with them, advocating changes to township ordinances to make it easier to develop affordable housing in the community.

“I am humbled by HDC’s recognition because the simple fact is this isn’t about me,” Harris said. “This is about the thousands of people – here in Central Pennsylvania and statewide – who either don’t have a home or who struggle to find a quality, affordable place they can call home. And I just happen to believe it’s the right thing to do to work on their behalf and educate others and remove the stigma about affordable housing.”

In the early 2000s, he was a member of a coalition of affordable housing advocates and professionals that successfully drafted a bill that became law in December 2003 that changed the way that affordable housing real estate is valued for real estate tax assessment purposes. Through the work of this coalition, low-income housing tax credits were eliminated from the valuation of real estate by appraisers of properties serving the affordable housing community.

At McKonly & Asbury, Harris founded the affordable housing niche that has grown from a one-man operation to more than 20 people working directly with the industry. The firm regularly promotes affordable housing education by annually putting on seminars with topics that educate and assist the affordable housing community in Pennsylvania and understands the opportunities for developing and improving senior and family housing in south central Pennsylvania.

Harris has been a speaker at various sessions on the topic of tax credits and other vehicles used to develop affordable housing through a long working relationship with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the Pennsylvania Housing Alliance and other organizations that support the industry.

Among Harris’ other work, he served on the board of directors of Cumberland Valley Habitat for Humanity, and was the founding treasurer where he served in 1993-94. In addition, he was involved in helping to build some of the initial houses in Cumberland County with Habitat for Humanity.

In addition, Harris is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American and Pennsylvania Institutes of Certified Public Accountants and serves in various capacities as an officer and board member of several community, business, professional, and civic organizations.

About McKonly & Asbury LLP
McKonly & Asbury LLP is a leading regional accounting and consulting firm with over 100 employees, 40 CPAs, and specialized professionals including CISA's, CIA's, and other certifications. The firm has offices in Camp Hill, PA; Lancaster, PA; and the Lehigh Valley area. McKonly & Asbury is ranked by the Central Penn Business Journal as the 5th largest accounting firm in Central Pennsylvania and named an All-Star by Inside Public Accounting in 2006, 2007, and 2008, ranking McKonly & Asbury as one of the ten fastest growing accounting firms in the nation for 2006, and as an industry leader in management metrics for 2007 and 2008.

For six years, McKonly & Asbury has been named a Best Place to Work in PA by The Best Companies Group. McKonly & Asbury has added to these accolades by being named a Best Accounting Firm to Work For by Accounting Today for two consecutive years.

McKonly & Asbury provides audit, tax, and consulting services to many of the region's largest and most well-known companies and organizations. The firm also has two affiliated companies: Anchor Financial Group provides investment advisory services for individuals and qualified retirement plans. Financial Outsourcing Solutions (FOS) is a provider of outsourced internal audit services to the banking industry. McKonly & Asbury is an independent member of IGAF Worldwide. For more information, please visit McKonly & Asbury at www.macpas.com.

###

For more information, please contact Melissa Roberson at 717.761.7910 or by email at mroberson@macpas.com.