Our Team
Steve leads a team of very qualified professionals at JHBenefits.
As a founder of JHBenefits, and its predecessor firm, JHB, he has over 25 years of experience managing all aspects of the qualified plan business. His passion is helping small firms design qualified plans that help meet their retirement goals, and assisting sponsors, especially Frozen Defined Benefit Clients, navigate their unique challenges.
Steve is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where he served as a member of the AICPA council and the Ohio Society of CPA’s, where he has served as an Executive Vice President on the Ohio Budget Task Force, and on the Strategic Planning Committee. He currently serves on the Society’s Endorsement Committee.
In addition, Mr. Haxton is the General Chairman of Buckeye State Bank, an Ohio Community Bank, where his responsibilities include Chair of the Executive and Investment Committees as well as serving on the Audit Committee.
Previously, Steve has served as Executive Vice-President of ING (now Voya), a top ten worldwide financial services firm, where he was responsible for the strategic direction and management of Distribution Relationships in the U.S, and as a Vice President of Retirement at Nationwide Financial, a division of Nationwide Insurance.
Gary is responsible for all actuarial services provided by JHBenefits. He leads a team of professionals in providing annual services including funding and accounting valuations, government filings, and nondiscrimination testing. He also oversees the administrative services provided to the pension plans sponsored by our clients.
He has over 30 years of experience in the retirement plan consulting business and has worked with plans of all sizes. Beyond servicing on-going plans, he has been involved in plan designs, plan re-designs, and in the various opportunities available to winding down a plan, including lump sum cashouts and annuity buyouts.
Gary is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA. Gary is also a board member of the Ohio Valley Chapter of HDSA.
Previously, Gary worked with Mercer, Inc. providing management and retirement plan consulting services
Karen comes to JHBenefits with over 25 years of experience in defined benefit and defined contribution consulting and administration, with a specialty in cash balance/combo plan design and administration. She also has experience with plan terminations and annuity buyouts. She provides annual services including funding and accounting valuations, compliance review, nondiscrimination testing, and government filings for our defined benefit and defined contribution plan sponsors.
Karen is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA. Previously, Karen worked with Watson Wyatt (Willis Towers Watson), Mercer, and most recently Nationwide, providing retirement plan consulting and administrative services.
Patti Garner
Manager of Client Services, Defined Contribution Group
614.888.1005 x104 – Columbus Office
740.382.9737 – Marion Office
Patti has significant experience managing all aspects of the qualified plan business. She oversees a team of professionals who provide the full array of document, compliance and reporting services to defined contribution clients. As a prior owner, and principal of Mid-Ohio Pensions, she has spent the majority of her career helping firms design qualified plans that help meet the retirement needs of their employees and management.
She has a specialized expertise in Department of Labor document, compliance, qualification issues.
Maureen leads the Employee Benefits Department at JHBenefits.
With over 20 years of experience in benefit plan administration, Maureen works with clients of all sizes and specializes in FSA’s, HRA’s, HSA’s and other administrative services, including COBRA, ERISA, FMLA administration and Voluntary Benefits. She works closely with both the client’s resource staff and directly with the participants. In addition, she also presents employee enrollment meetings for 401(k) plans and assists in the design and consulting of these plans. Prior to joining JHBenefits, Maureen served as a Benefits Administrator at Borden, Inc. for over 10 years.
Bethany comes to JHBenefits with over 6 years of experience in defined benefit and defined contribution administration. She provides annual services including nondiscrimination testing, pension plan benefit calculations, and government filings for our defined benefit and cash balance plan sponsors. In addition, Bethany provides direct assistance to plan participants regarding the pension benefit alternatives available to individuals.
She is a member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries and has her Qualified 401(k) Administrators Certification.
Previously, Bethany worked with Nationwide, providing administration and relationship management, plan consulting, document drafting as well as a variety of pension training sessions.
Cathy has been employed by JHBenefits since 2007 as leader of the Defined Contribution Participant services team and as such provides a variety of administrative services to clients and their participants. Her responsibilities include the preparation of individual benefit requests for plan participants providing high touch, direct and personalized assistance to them surrounding the many challenges confronting participants.
Cathy Baker
Benefits Administrator, Defined Contribution Group
614.888.1005 x117
Tracie Quinn
Controller & Director of Operations and Plan Services
614.888.1005 x123
Tracie has an extensive background in accounting, payroll and personnel management. She interfaces with clients providing hands on expertise in payroll and functional asset balancing as well as plan administration. She is responsible for clients of all sizes, providing them expertise in HR and Payroll and specialty accounting services. She is also responsible for all vendor management for the firm.
Meredith is the manager of client data and logistics and has served on the JHBenefits Defined Contribution Services Team since 2008. She brings extensive experience to the logistical aspects of the firm as well as the participants she serves in the defined contribution arena. She also manages the operational and business development logistics for the JHBenefits Team.