By Timothy McCormally
“Sometimes, everything comes together.” That tagline from a turn-of-the century Volkswagen commercial was how Charles W. Shewbridge, III, TEI’s 1999-2000 International President, chose to open the Annual Report that summarized his year in office.
Chuck, who died in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, on February 3, was a 40-year member of TEI. That more than 20 years have passed since Chuck left active service in TEI means that a significant portion of the Institute’s 6,000 members never had a chance to meet him or know of his enduring contributions to the organization. My goal in the next few paragraphs is highlight Chuck’s accomplishments and show that his one-year term as president and four-decade tenure as a TEI member were both consequential and proof positive that, sometimes, everything does come together.
Born and raised in Richmond, Chuck Shewbridge attended Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, Chuck began his career with Dalton Pennell & Co., a public accounting firm in Richmond. His career as an in-house tax professional began in 1970 when Chuck joined the tax department of Universal Leaf Tobacco, a tobacco brokerage house. A decade later, he moved to Virginia Electric & Power Co. (VEPCO), which subsequently became Dominion Resources.
It was while he at Dominion Resources that Chuck joined TEI and became active in the new Virginia Chapter, which had been spun off the Carolinas-Virginia Chapter for years earlier. Chuck left his hometown in 1984 to become the become the head of tax from BellSouth Corporation in Atlanta, which has just formed following the split up of AT&T. He was BellSouth’s Chief Tax Executive for 18 years. Upon transferring from TEI’s Virginia to its Southeastern (now, Atlanta) Chapter, Chuck did what seemed natural (to him at least): He raised his hand, first locally and then at the Institute level.
As it happens, it was within a year of Chuck’s becoming a TEI member that I joined the Institute’s staff in Washington as its first Tax Counsel. We were at most nodding acquaintances between 1982 and 1988, when Chuck became president of the Atlanta Chapter. After that our interactions grew in number and significance. From someone to say hello to, he became someone to work with on a regular basis, especially after he became his chapter’s representative on TEI’s Board of Directors and later a member of the Executive Committee.
It wasn’t all work, of course. The orientation session for new chapter presidents in 1988 was held at Disney World in Orlando, and given its locale, the meeting drew not only TEI members (and staff) but also their families. Hence, it was at this meeting that my wife and daughters met Chuck and his wife, Jo. You can tell a lot about someone from how they interact with children, and what my family’s experience at that meeting showed me was that the Shewbridges were people I wanted to spend more time with. Courteous, yes. Cordial, yes, Kind, yes. But more than that, they connected with my daughters at their level, and they were cool.
A digression: At the opening reception in Orlando, I spied my older daughter, then 11 years old, with a TEI member she hadn’t met before. He was speaking earnestly, and she was listening intently, occasionally responding, and nodding in assent. I approached to rescue either him or her (I’m not sure which), and as my daughter and I left to meet up with her mother and younger sister, I asked what they had been talking about. “I really don’t have a clue, dad. Something about . . . methods of accounting and the difference between amortization and depreciation.” She was proud that he had treated her as an adult, and her ability to hold her own in the conversation, I concluded years later, likely helped her successfully navigate the SAT and the college admissions process.
Back to Chuck and Jo being cool. That’s not a view that’s limited to my family. When I reached out to Chuck’s TEI contemporaries for memories, Linda Burke of the Pittsburgh Chapter (who herself served as TEI’s president in 1993-1994) shared that her daughter “thought Jo was the coolest lady on the planet.” She then added that Chuck “epitomized graciousness, civility, good order, and good fun. His curiosity was boundless, about eclectic and numerous topics. We did not agree on politics, but the discussions were never uncomfortable.” I will return that theme in a little bit.
While my work on TEI’s staff was focused on advocacy, until he entered TEI’s leadership queue, my work with Chuck focused on education and networking. For example, in 1995 Chuck was asked to chair a special task force on continuing education. The task force recommended many changes to enhance the quality, value, and timeliness of TEI’s continuing education programs and conferences. It was not the most glamorous assignment, but you could not tell that from Chuck’s engagement. Paul Cherecwich of the Salt Lake City Chapter, who served as president immediately before Chuck, put it this way: “What I remember most about Chuck is his willingness to take on new TEI assignments prior to his term as President.” Bob Ashby of the Nashville Chapter, who served as president two years later after Chuck, agreed. “He was always willing and ready to help, but he never took it upon himself to come forward and try to tell you how to do whatever.” My assessment is similar: Chuck wanted to get things done, and because he was also very comfortable with who he was, he was rarely wedded to “his way.” He did not need to grab credit or elbow others out of the way.
Chuck became president of TEI on the cusp of a new millennium (a word he used in his inaugural TEI column but then banished from his vocabulary). He was open to change, but partial to tradition. For example, Chuck was the last TEI president to be installed in formal dress in the fall of 1999. He and Jo loved to dress up, but they could have fun regardless of what they wore. Hence, while I think he was personally disappointed to exchange his tuxedo and cummerbund for a Hawaiian shirt for his valedictory when he left office a year later, he accepted that the informality of a TEI beach party and water guns could inject new energy and fun into Institute activities.
Chuck was a life-long sailor, and his presidency of TEI exemplified the maxim, “Steady as she goes.” Steady, however, does not mean staid. Thus, Chuck moved forward on the implementation of TEI’s year-old strategic plan, and to that end he established task forces on Volunteerism, Advocacy, and Marketing. The work of those task forces helped ensure both membership growth and effective liaison and advocacy work.
Chuck fostered strong relations with the IRS. Under his leadership, TEI held 18 town halls to promote the IRS’s Large and Mid-Size Business Division, which was created following the enactment of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act. Also related to the IRS reorganization, TEI participated in IRS meetings that led to the launch of both pre-filing agreements and fast-track mediation.
There were numerous advocacy “firsts” during Chuck’s presidency. For example, TEI jointly sponsored a conference on IRS modernization with the AICPA and the ABA Tax Section. That successful collaboration led to another first — a joint technical submission on simplifying the Internal Revenue Code. TEI also championed the confidentiality of advance pricing agreements in two venues — a federal courtroom (where TEI filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit brought by a tax publishing company) and the halls of Congress (where TEI supported an ultimately successful legislative solution).
The true highlight of Chuck’s presidency was his testimony before the House Committee on Ways and Means (in November 1999) and the Senate Committee on Finance (the following March) on legislative proposals relating to corporate tax shelters. It was a fraught time for tax professionals and TEI. If there ever was a time for a “steady as she goes” leader, it was then. Chuck’s successor as TEI president (Ray Rossi of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter) told me that he did not think Chuck looked forward to being a witness before Congress, but added, “He fulfilled his duty in service to TEI and did it very well!” In other words, he did not shrink from responsibility; he embraced it.
Chuck’s written testimony reflected the contributions of many TEI members and staff. His oral statement was more personal. After endorsing a call to avoid “immoderate rhetoric” and before offering comments on specific proposals, Chuck set the stage with these calm, measured words:
TEI’s perspective differs from that of other organizations represented on the panel. The Institute does not represent so-called tax shelter promoters and developers who either sell or facilitate the transactions. And we do not represent the professional advisers who opine on the legitimacy of the arrangements. Rather, we work directly for the corporations that enter into business transactions that require an analysis of their tax benefits and burdens. In other words, TEI members are in the thick of it. We along with the government have the most at stake in trying to craft a workable solution to this challenge.
… I think it is unfair and inaccurate to make blanket statements about the cause and scope of the tax shelter problem. And if I might, I wish to register my particular disagreement with the comment in the ABA’s written statement that “corporate tax managers often believe they have nothing to lose by entering into an aggressive tax shelter.” Yes, there may be so-called bad actors in the tax community who promote, opine on, and otherwise facilitate or participate in aggressive transactions. I believe, however, that we must guard against overstatement.
Chuck was a spotter and a nurturer of talent, so it is no surprise that many of the TEI members that Chuck appointed to leadership positions rose not only in the Institute’s ranks but also in their company’s. Among those individuals is current TEI president Mitch Trager, who served as a subcommittee chair during Chuck’s presidency and who worked with Chuck both as a member of the Atlanta Chapter and at the Institute level.
Following his presidency, Chuck remained active on the Institute Board for another couple of years and represented TEI on the IRS Commissioner’s Advisory Group before he retired from BellSouth.
In reaching out to Chuck’s TEI colleagues for comments, the words that I heard more than any others were “gentleman” and “kind.” Mike Murphy, who led TEI’s staff as executive director during Chuck’s presidency, originally met him while Mike was serving as IRS District Director in Atlanta. He used those words. Mike, who served as the IRS’s Senior Deputy Commissioner before joining TEI, told me that he had always been impressed with Chuck’s professionalism and presence: “Chuck really shined before TEI members, IRS executives, and Congress. He was one cool dude.” He also recalled, as I do, that Jo was Chuck’s secret weapon, adding that Jo and his wife were inseparable at TEI meetings both attended. From Mike and others, I also heard about Chuck’s and Jo’s devotion to each other and to their family, and of Chuck’s love of the water and golf. In addition to Jo, he is survived by his three sons, Chip, Michael, and Tony, and four grandchildren.
Cool, kind, and a gentleman. A gentle man. In today’s age of anger and contention, when disagreements often lead to demonization — on Instagram and Twitter if not congressional testimony — it is reassuring, to me at least, to recall a person whose credo was kindness. I feel fortunate to have known and worked with Chuck Shewbridge. During his tenure with TEI, everything came together.
Timothy McCormally worked for TEI from 1982 until the end of 2012, first as the head of TEI’s legal staff and then as executive director. Timothy can be reached at tmccormally@gmail.com.