Benjamin T. Brooks, a native of Sumter, SC is the fourth child of thirteen born to Thomas & Hester Brooks. After graduating from Ebenezer High School in 1968, Ben Sr. fulfilled his military obligations to his country by serving in the United States Army. Upon completing a tour in Vietnam (March 1970 -March 1971) he was awarded the good conduct, accommodation and Vietnam service medals. In 1972 he was honorably discharged.
Shortly after leaving the armed services, he enrolled at the South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, SC. It was here he met his wife, Irene Theresa Howard aka Rese, a teaching assistant and graduate student from Summerville, SC. They married in May 1974 and have been happily married ever since.
In 1976, after earning his Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Benjamin started his professional career for a large mid-west distillery company named Seagram. He was later promoted and transferred to the east coast plant located in Relay, Baltimore County, MD. This same plant is now home to the first Guinness distillery located in the United States which the now Delegate Ben Brooks helped to bring to Baltimore County.
While working at Seagram, Benjamin had the idea that he wanted to create a business combining his love for technology with his knowledge of taxes and accounting. He had always informally done tax work on the side, but felt that his new idea had potential. With the help of a $10,000 International Business Machine (IBM) computer, complete without a hard drive and an old sewing table his wife used from time to time, B&R Brooks Professional Tax Service (B&R) was born. B&R started in the basement of a mid-century, brick rancher, Benjamin & Rese purchased in the Woodlawn section of Baltimore County, MD. Many clients affectionately remember the basement with its wood panels and festively tiled floors. Benjamin and Theresa spent many a night in the 1980’s working all night to serve their clients and stop their kids Ben Jr., Lindsey and Ashley from playing on all of the computers.
The original B&R Brooks office was located in the basement of a rancher home in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, MD. (above left). Affectionately, known as “the basement” it was known for its period décor and served as the heartbeat of the family business for over a decade.
In June 1987, after eleven years in private industry, Benjamin Brooks now Senior, tendered his resignation to his company in order to devote 100% of his time to the growth and prosperity of B&R Brooks Professional Tax Service.
Through hard work, much community support and even more luck the business eventually outgrew the basement and moved to its present location in Randallstown, MD in 1993.
Ben Jr., grew up around the business and officially started working for the family firm January 2, 1998 at the age of 19. Having worked on his social life more than his academic life Ben Jr. partied his way out of the University of Maryland. With no regrets, the younger Ben felt coming home to the family business was a good way to find the discipline, structure and professionalism needed to reach his full potential. And, getting paid a little money didn’t hurt either.
Eventually, after many trials and tribulations, the younger Brooks finished his higher education at Towson University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance in 2002 and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in 2006. He completed his higher education with a Master’s of Science in Accounting from American University in Washington, DC in 2013.
Lindsey Brooks Toth, (left and below left) the second child of Benjamin and Theresa, decided to join the family business in January 2011. Lindsey’s ecommerce experience at the corporate headquarters of Zappos.com in Las Vegas, NV and foreign language skills brought a fresh and creative perspective to the, at times, boring world of accounting. Lindsey obtained her Bachelors Degree in Foreign Language: Spanish from Towson University. She went on to complete her Masters Degree in Latin American Studies from American University in Washington, DC.
Ashley Brooks Graves (above right), the youngest of the Brooks children has yet to officially join the family business. She however, has embarked on an incredible career working with the United States Department of Defense, which has seen her travel the world fighting for her country like her father and grandfather once did. She is always here in spirit and sending us new clients whenever she can.
Always having been a socially and politically conscious person, in 2013 Ben Sr. found himself with a unique opportunity to join the State of MD political structure. Simultaneously, Ben Jr. had returned from his year of boot camp at a large accounting firm located in the Washington, DC metro area. During this period in 2013 the next transition for the Brooks family started to unfold.
After a year of grueling campaigning around Maryland, Benjamin Brooks, Sr. became Delegate Ben Brooks for District Ten of Baltimore County. Meanwhile, shortly thereafter, yet after a period of tense (not really) negotiations, Benjamin Brooks, Sr. sold the business to Benjamin Brooks, Jr. and Lindsey Brooks Toth.
Fortunately, all involved parties wanted to continue working with each other just with different titles and schedules, but still with the same goals.
As the newest owner of B&R Brooks, LLC, I am happy to share the story of this small little tax shop that started in a suburban Baltimore basement nearly four decades ago.
Located in the outer office area are the original computer and printer that were used to create this tiny little tax shop. I am also proud to say that Delegate Brooks, my mother Theresa, and my sisters Lindsey and Ashley are still an active part of the business to this day. Hopefully, with more hard work, God’s grace, and even more good luck, I can pass this story, and business, onto the next generation of Brooks.
