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Meet
the Team
Mark W. Zion |
Meredith B. Cox | Linda Brown
Piper Goss |
Julie Zion | Sandy Dunlavy
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Mark W. Zion, EA, CFP®
Business & Tax Counselor
Mark W. Zion is President and owner of Zion & Company, Inc. The firm was established in 1973 by his father Hugh W. Zion and presently employs five professionals. The business counseling aspect of the practice provides business and financial management advice through financial statement analysis, with emphasis placed on developing tax planning strategies for clients to minimize income and estate taxes while maximizing a client's net worth.
Mark's credentials as an Enrolled Agent have granted him the right to practice before the Internal Revenue Service at all administrative levels. In addition, Mark is an Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP) and an Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA) by the Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation. In 2006, Mark received his CFP designation. The CFP® is a globally recognized standard established in the industry emphasizing a comprehensive approach to financial planning. Comprehensive financial planning encompasses all the personal and financial situations of clients, including, but not limited to, personal finances, investments, taxation, insurance, estate and retirement planning. Mark is one of two founding partners of Paragon Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm.
A hometown boy, native to Columbia, Mark attended Furman University in Greenville, SC as an accounting major. Mark is married to the former Julie K. Miller of Columbia and has three wonderful children and one grandchild. Mark is an active member of St. Andrews Baptist Church, serving as a deacon and as the church's Treasurer. He serves as a board member to the Harvest Hope Food Bank and also serves as its Immediate Past Chair. Fishing and automobile racing are vices that he pursues with vigor. |
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Meredith
B. Cox, CFP®
Business & Tax Counselor
Meredith has been a part of the Zion & Company family for 16 years. Meredith enjoys both mentoring and coaching clients. Before coming to Zion & Company she taught Accounting, Statistics, and Business Math at two junior colleges. With additional experience in retail management and manufacturing production, Meredith is well equipped to assist clients with a variety of business issues. Meredith is one of two founding partners of Paragon Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm.
Meredith was an "Army brat" growing up and traveled around quite a bit. This nomadic lifestyle suited Meredith just fine, and she still loves to travel. And even though she has established strong roots in Columbia, not many people can say they met their husband-to-be in Alabama, received an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, completed an MBA from Jacksonville State University, and even lived for a while in Alaska!
Meredith's family is very important to her. Her husband Brad and two children, Grant and Rachel, share her love for adventure. Chapel Hill and Tarheel basketball are still near and dear to Meredith's heart. "I follow the team on television and have even been lucky enough to make a few return visits to the campus since graduation." One thing you may not know about Meredith is that she is an accomplished pianist. In fact, the whole family loves music, and contributes to the music ministry of their church on a regular basis.
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Linda
Brown
Staff Accountant
Linda began her partnership with Zion & Company in 1997. Linda is our resident QuickBooks expert and works closely with Mark handling all of our corporate tax returns. She holds an Associates Degree from Midlands Technical College in Accounting and has been doing corporate accounting for 25 years.
Linda and her husband, Curtis, live in Lexington with their son, Christopher, and dogs, Dexter and Katie. Linda and Curtis are huge Gamecock fans. When it's not football season, they love to travel. |
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Piper Goss
Staff Accountant
Piper joined the Zion team in 2004. She has over 20 years of bookkeeping experience in a wide range of business industries. She services our clients with monthly bookkeeping, computer consulting, and corporate tax work.
Piper, and her husband Andy, enjoy working on new projects for their home in the Irmo area and collecting local artwork from their vacations and weekend getaways. |
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Julie
Zion
Staff Accountant
Julie has been part of the Zion team since the beginning. Although she has been a Staff Accountant since 1997, she has been in the background supporting ZCI as Mark's wife. Julie wears many hats at Zion & Company as not only staff accountant but business manager as well. She holds a teaching degree and taught high school chemistry before coming to ZCI.
Her most important job is that of wife, mom, and grandmother. Julie and Mark have three children: Renee, Matthew, and Sarah, and granddaughter Julia. She loves cooking and gardening in her free time. Julie also serves as the Women's Enrichment Ministry Consultant to the South Carolina Baptist Convention, coordinator at her church, and volunteers her time and efforts at Harvest Hope Food Bank. |
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Sandy Dunlavy
Practice Administrator
Sandy has been in administration her entire career. She has 30+ years of experience and finds her work at Zion & Company most enjoyable, diverse, and challenging. Prior to Zion & Company she spent 10 years working in the broadcasting industry. As "Director of First Impressions" Sandy is responsible for making sure our clients are considered first and foremost in everything we do.
Sandy is a mid-westerner, originally from Ohio and her husband Craig is originally from Texas. They have lived in a variety of U.S. locations including Knoxville, St. Louis, and Madison, WI. Now settled in NE Columbia, both enjoy running, triathlons, working in the yard, and traveling. |
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We
hope these short introductions give you a glimpse of the people
behind the names. Getting to know our clients is just one
of the ways we intend to serve you better.
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