Meet Woody Hancock

You may know him as the guy who does your taxes – the guy who knows your personal information – but let us tell you more about HIM.

Woody Hancock, who offices behind the logo with the green square on Troutdale Scenic Drive, is also quite visible around town.

He was named after Woodrow Wilson by parents who were sharecroppers on a cotton farm in South Carolina. Most of his formative years were spent in Maryland where he learned bricklaying from his dad. While masonry may have developed his propensity for building infrastructure, it prompted him to think more seriously about attending college and doing something else with his hands – crunching numbers.

Although he was degreed as a CPA, being an affable extrovert took him out of the back room and put him more in touch with others. His outgoing personality helped make him good at sales – first at IBM and then Hitachi, and eventually in in his own franchise of H&R Block here in Evergreen, later expanding the tax and bookkeeping business with offices in Conifer and Idaho Springs.

It appears he’s always been good about balancing a career with a personal life. He’s been married 50 years to an athletic wife (Barbi) whose interests in sporting activities somehow always drew him in – first with horseback riding, then playing volleyball, later competitive trail riding. Horseback riding led to the fox hunt. Their love for skiing, hiking, and biking brought them to Colorado as frequent visitors until they began calling it home in 1995 after their two sons were adults.

Together they’ve trained for and completed the Triple Bypass and Ride the Rockies multiple times. Their bikes have taken them through a number of European countries – as well as across Iowa in July – adding to their lists of physical accomplishments.

Century rides on horseback speak for their endurance, although Woody admits to literally walking behind the horses part of the time, holding a tail and allowing the horse to pull him uphill a portion of the 100 miles.

Their activities “always had the outdoor exercise component,” he says. He credits Barbi with being the one who has gotten him involved.

Since becoming a business owner, he’s been exercising his strong arm initially as Sergeant of Arms at the Rotary Club of Evergreen and now as Membership Chair, cleaning up the roster of the group with about 100 members.

He thought he’d never be a Rotarian, but after discovering with one visit that this particular club is such “an energy chamber,” as he puts it, he decided that’s where he wanted to be if he wanted to give back to his community.

“I believe that new members – just like my clients – are the life blood of Rotary,” he says of his role as Membership Chair. As a board member and in whatever capacity he serves as a Rotarian, “I try to facilitate growth and retention with spirit and enthusiasm.” He’s associated with fueling the spirit that makes meetings ‘fun.’ “There isn’t a soul in there that I don’t like.”

Woody truly believes in the Rotary motto “Service above self” and is active and involved in the organization. He’s found the four-way test that’s the nucleus of Rotary International to be the best way to run a business.

Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

He’s been involved with other nonprofit efforts in Evergreen as well. Becky Cunningham enlisted his services as treasurer on the board of Art for the Mountain Community (AMC), the group responsible for placing sculptures in public places. In addition to doing the bookkeeping services, he prepares the tax return for AMC and files periodic reports for the nonprofit entity.

Woody traces his interest in Evergreen Public Access Defibrillation (EPAD) to Dave Montesi, an Emergency Medical Technician with Evergreen Fire and Rescue six years ago. EPAD is responsible for installing 52 Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the community and provides instruction for CPR and AED usage. Woody says he’s the ‘go-to guy’ for accounting, taxes, non-profit filings and fundraising.

He recently helped raise more than $2,700 for EPAD through 100 Holes of Golf, his way of assisting in the effort to make Evergreen “a heart-safe community.”

Wherever he volunteers, he helps to integrate financial discipline and fiscal responsibility into an organization’s core values.

If his interaction with nonprofits is any indication of his attitude toward running his H&R Block franchises, one could draw some pretty favorable opinions about Woody Hancock.

He’s not a superficial sort of guy, content with knowing the basics when he meets someone. Working with Block combines his two favorite things in the world – “knowing his customers and knowing their business.”

Woody’s philosophy is to “help regular people have a better life through their tax experience.” He refers to the Golden Rule frequently, believing in treating his clients and co-workers the way he’d want to be treated. His client retention rates indicate that he puts his philosophy into practice. He employs others who believe in it as well and who are also involved in their respective communities.

"I'm not a 'save-the-world' sort of guy," he'll tell you; but thank goodness for people like Woody, who knows what it takes to get a job done and does it with a big smile on his face.