Gary W. Wood is a partner at Compere Robinette CPAs (CRC) in Ozark, Missouri. At the young age of 31; Gary left a safe, secure job to acquire a 30-year old CPA firm in his hometown. He has led his firm through a transition from its co-founders to a second generation of leadership. He has honed his firm from a 30-year old traditional firm into a modern firm of the future. AICPA recently chartered a networking group for young CPA firm owners and Gary was asked to be a charter member. The networking group meets to discuss hot topics and strategic planning for small firms across the United States. Gary is energized by the, "circle of life" prominent in his group. "At small firms, we learn stuff the hard way—trial and error. We then give back to our community of other small firms by sharing our successes—and more importantly our failures—within the group," Gary explains. Gary Wood, CPA was one of only 41 CPAs honored by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) as a member of the 2018 Leadership Academy. He will be representing the state of Missouri for the Class of 2018. Gary is also a member of the 2018 Springfield Business Journal's 40 under 40 class. In addition, he has served as the president of the Ozark Rotary chapter, a board member for Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland, hosted a free accounting seminar for non-profits, and other community activities. He is an avid Shark Tank follower and enjoys the Netflix series "Ozark" which is rooted near his hometown. During this time of year he enjoys Cardinals baseball the most.