farming - Farm Credit

FARM CREDIT OF WESTERN ARKANSAS
FARMING
with Family & Friends
2013 Referral Reward Grand Prize Winners!
SUMMER 2014
Table of Contents
3
2013 Director Election Results
4
Enriching rural life
Redefining our mission in rural western Arkansas
6
Farm Credit’s strength
Benefitting rural America
8
Mayflower and Vilonia tornado
Helping our neighbors, plus new storm shelter loan program
10
2014 Photo Contest
Two photo contests to enter – chance for members to win
cash prizes!
12
Referal Reward Winners
There’s still time to refer a friend for your chance to win
part of $8,000 in 2014 prize money
14
2014 Customer Satisfaction Survey results
97.8% is association’s highest customer satisfaction rating to date
16
2014 Scholarship Winners
18
Tribute to Terry Vest
Long-time employee and friend we’ll miss
DEPARTMENTS
1
President’s Letter
19
News Briefs
About the Cover
Connie Jones (left) and Kasey Frachiseur (right) award $5,000 to De Queen
customers Daniel and Kenzie Seal. The
Seals won the grand-prize in the 2013
Referral Rewards program by referring
a friend who made a loan with Farm
Credit.
Published for the members and friends of Farm Credit of Western
Arkansas
Office Locations and Loan Officers
Arkadelphia 2858 Walnut 870-246-8061 / 800-598-8413 Rachael Godwin, David Smith
Bentonville 1080 SE 14th St., Suite A 479-273-3311 / 800-953-6803 Darla Larson
Danville 302 E. 5th Street
479-495-2711 / 800-953-6802 Emily Russell, Jim Taylor
De Queen 800 Magnolia 870-584-3113 / 800-421-7714
Connie Jones
Fayetteville 2209 N. Shiloh
479-442-8237 / 800-953-6806 Bill Roberson, Dilynn Dodd
Ken Knies
Glenwood 131 Hwy 70 E.
870-356-2023 / 800-618-2018 Denise Sweat, Rex Dollar Greenbrier 89C N. Broadview 501-679-5464 / 800-968-2961 Cecil Oursbourn
Harrison 129 W. Industrial Park Road
870-741-2020 / 800-953-6809 Brad Matlock, Dan Benton
Hope 1722 E. 3rd Street 870-777-6704 / 800-431-1317 Jerry Nance, Clay Lance
Magnolia 1703 Pittman Street 870-234-8611 / 800-495-1211 Shaun McKamie
Mena 1607 Hwy 71 North 479-394-1027 / 800-846-0919 Rex Dollar Morrilton 1329 Hwy 9
501-354-2377 / 800-953-6804 Hank DeSalvo
Nashville 302 W. Bishop 870-845-2221 / 800-575-0415 Denise Sweat
Ozark 1808 Farm Credit Drive 479-667-3855 / 800-953-6807 Tom White, Perry McCourt
Paris 3772 Hwy 22 West
479-963-2841 / 800-953-6805 Donna Cunningham, Perry McCourt, Tom White
Russellville 2797 East Parkway
479-968-5030 / 800-953-6801 Jim Taylor, Anna Lester
Siloam Springs 4970 Hwy 412 East
479-524-6754 / 800-392-6912 Savannah Dickinson
Texarkana 2805 E. Broad Street 870-772-1882 / 800-451-6120 John McFarland, Jennifer Sansom, Randy Coulson
Van Buren 101 S. 7th Street 479-474-2321 / 800-501-3710 Andrea Leding, James Crabtree,
Perry McCourt
Board of Directors
Bruce Alford (Chairman), Lewisville Chuck Davis, Jr. (Vice Chairman), Ashdown
Randy Arnold, Alma Kenny Brixey, Casa Troy W. Buck, Alpine Steve Burke, Washington
Scott Carter, Danville Bob Dixon, Havana
Dusty Hampton, Russellville
Kim Hogan, Ozark
Ron Hubbard, London
Bill Linton, Dover
Gene Pharr, Lincoln
Mark Wilcox, Greenbrier
L. Duane Wilson, Fayetteville
President and CEO Glen Manchester
Editor Jill Robertson
[email protected]
We’re announcing our newly
trademarked mission statement,
Enriching rural
life.™ in this issue, and it’s easy
to see how we’re
living up to that
vision.
From $7.5
MILLION in PaJill Robertson tronage Cash this
year, to the new
Editor
storm shelter
loans we’re making available at
a discounted rate, to awarding
20 scholarships and supporting
the AR Farm to You program, our
association is definitely finding
ways to enrich rural life.
Perhaps our greatest validation is the customer satisfaction
survey results that confirm
we’re pleasing our borrowers.
Helping you succeed is the key
to Enriching rural life.™
Farming is published by Farm Credit of Western Arkansas.
Please address any comments to Editor,
Farming, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas, 3115 W. 2nd Court, Russellville, AR
72801.
Member Cooperative Communicators Association.
© 2014 Farm Credit of WesternArkansas.
Printed with farmer-grown soybean ink on
recycled paper.
PRESIDENT’s LETTER­
First, it is with a heavy heart that I write this column. Terry
Vest, a dear friend and long-time coworker, passed away on
August 5. Terry was a part of Farm Credit for 39 years and had
just retired as Senior Vice President of Collateral Services nine
months ago. Terry served in senior management positions since
1986 and helped shape our business culture at Farm Credit of
Western Arkansas. Please see our tribute to this great man and
his Farm Credit legacy on page 18.
W
HEN I MEET WITH FARM
Credit members, I normally
make the point that we’re owned
by those we serve. This sets us apart
from our competition. Unfortunately,
it also periodically leads to attacks on
Farm Credit from our competitors.
Recently, members of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee
on Livestock, Rural Development
and Credit conducted a hearing and
invited testimony from agriculture
lenders, including Farm Credit. Some
competitors are now inaccurately
citing testimony from that hearing
and repeating these inaccuracies in
area media.
To be sure, Farm Credit is different
than our commercial bank competition. Specifically, Farm Credit operates with a set of cooperative core
principles and special cooperative
treatment with respect to Federal
taxation. Farm Credit was created as
a cooperative and, yes, we’re treated
as a cooperative under the tax code.
Except for the higher risk, long-term
commitments to real estate loans,
we’re taxed the same way every other
cooperative is taxed.
It’s important to remember that
Farm Credit is proud to be a financial
cooperative and to operate as such.
As a financial cooperative, our profits
go to our owners. Since our customers own the association under the
cooperative principle, this means our
profits are shared with the 5,100 western Arkansas customers we serve. We
call our customers member-owners
because they are more than customers at Farm Credit. Only a handful
of customers are owners of banks.
Commercial banks share profits with
their owners, too, but their owners
aren’t all of their customers.
It’s also important to remember
Glen Manchester
that Congress created
President and CEO
Farm Credit almost
100 years ago and
charged us with providing reliable
and dependable credit to rural
America. I assure you that we remain
committed to this mission still today.
Finally, we need to celebrate the
benefits our members enjoy as a
financial cooperative. I hope you’ll
read the in-depth article on pages
6 and 7 of this issue that further
details how and why Farm Credit
is unique.
It takes a lot of capital to finance
our rural economy. Rural credit
needs are more than either Farm
Credit or commercial banks can
finance alone. There’s room for both
Farm Credit cooperatives and commercial banks in the marketplace
and we all need to remember that
it’s rural America that benefits from
the competition created.
2014 Financial Update
Our continued business success
is a testament to the cooperative
principles we embrace. I’m happy
to report that lending activity has
increased dramatically for our
association to date in 2014 which
will translate into a strong fourth
quarter and 2015. We anticipate
very good patronage again this
year, based on strong earnings to
date. We are thankful for the new
business opportunities we are
seeing and appreciate the continued hard work on the part of our
employees and Directors.
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas is proud to be YOUR financial
cooperative!
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F A R M I N G
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MEM
BE
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MEMBERSHIP PAYS.
$7.5 MILLION BACK IN MEMBERS’ POCKETS THIS YEAR
As a financial cooperative, Farm Credit members share in the profits when the association has a good
year. This spring that meant our 5,100 Western Arkansas members shared $7.5 million. Our members
have shared more than $78 MILLION since 1997.
Patronage CA$H is just one of the reasons to do business with folks who understand Arkansas agriculture
and the rural lifestyle. Farm Credit membership pays.
800-444-3276
MYAGLENDER.COM
2013 Director Election Results
Chuck Davis
Little River County
Area #6 (4-Year Term)
Calhoun, Columbia, Lafayette, Little
River, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita,
Sevier and Union Counties.
Mark Wilcox
Van Buren County
Area #4 (4-Year Term)
Baxter, Boone, Conway, Faulkner,
Marion, Perry, Searcy and Van Buren
Counties
Chuck Davis and his wife Joan
own a 2,800-acre cow-calf, stocker,
pecan and row crop operation. Davis
is the fifth generation to run the family
farm in Ashdown, and he has served
as a Farm Credit of Western Arkansas
director since 2007. This is his third
consecutive election to the board, and
he currently serves as Vice-Chairman.
Mark Wilcox was elected to the
board position vacated by the retiring Doyce Winningham. Wilcox has
owned and operated Wilcox Farms
in Greenbrier since 1978. He and wife
Lisa own 300 acres and rent an additional 150 acres for their cow-calf
operation. In addition, Wilcox has a
commercial Bermuda hay business
with his son Dustin. Wilcox was the
Arkansas State Land Commissioner
from 2003 – 2010.
The 15-member Farm
Credit of Western Arkansas Board of Directors is
comprised of 12 members
directly elected by voting
stockholders, one boardappointed stockholder
and two board-appointed
outside directors. Directors serve a four-year
term, and one-fourth of
the member-elected positions are up for election
annually.
Gene Pharr
Washington County
Area #1 (4-Year Term)
Benton, Washington and Crawford
Counties
Gene Pharr was elected to the
board position vacated by the retiring
Dwayne L. Davis of Farmington. He
and wife Cindy own and operate a
poultry and cattle farm in Lincoln.
They have five broiler houses. Pharr
has a degree in animal science from
The University of Arkansas and has
worked for Campbell Soup Company, Simmons Farms and O.K. Farms.
He has farmed full-time since 2002.
Scott Sullivan (far right), legislative liaison for the four Farm Credit associations in Arkansas,
led a group of Farm Credit Directors on a Capitol Hill tour in Washington, D.C. recently. Here,
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas Directors Bruce Alford (third from left), Chuck Davis (middle)
and Ron Hubbard (second from right), along with Linda Alford (front row middle) and AgHeritage Farm Credit Services and Farm Credit Midsouth representatives meet with U.S. Senator
John Boozman.
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F A R M I N G
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Enriching
rur
Our new mission statement better
Glen Manchester
L
ENDING MONEY IS ONLY
a part of what we do at Farm
Credit of Western Arkansas.
As directors and employees worked
together over the past year to identify
our association’s vision for the future,
it became clear that our purpose is
much broader than simply making
loans.
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We’re emotionally invested in
the rural communities where we
live and work. We value the relationships we’re continually building with our members, neighbors
and fellow agricultural stakeholders. Most importantly, we want
to help the rural lifestyle thrive in
western Arkansas.
Our new mission statement was
born out of our realization that
while we’ve always been here to
“help maximize our customers’
financial success”, our true mission
goes much deeper. Ultimately,
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas
Chantel McClung
is Enriching rural life.™
Employees had the opportunity to share what Enriching rural
life.™ means to them, personally,
at our recent all-employee meeting.
They were challenged to define the
mission with a short phrase written
on their hands or arms. A photographer captured their inspired
creativity.
Senior managers have also defined what Enriching rural life.™
means to them, personally.
Glen Manchester, President
and CEO— “As a child I saw distinct divisions between the rural
way of life and city life. The differences were apparent and the rural
lifestyle was often a harder choice
for families to make both socially
and economically. I believe that gap
can continue to shrink and it needs
to. Farm Credit is empowered to
Clayton Whittmore
help make the rural way of life a
valid and economically significant
choice for generations to come.”
Tom Peebles, Executive Vice
President/ Chief Branch Relationship Officer— “The rural lifestyle
has significantly slipped away during my lifetime. It is critical to me
that Farm Credit help that lifestyle
survive in any way we can: capital
investments, education, personal
involvement and corporate support.”
Tom Cox, Senior Vice President/ Chief Learning Officer
— “Early in my career I learned
Farm Credit is more than lending
people money. As a cooperative we
Enriching rural life.™
ral
life.™
r explains our purpose.
Outside of their regular fulltime jobs, we have employees
who personally volunteer their
time and talent to organizations
they value. We’re proud that
their leadership is Enriching
rural life.™ in their local communities.
Our employees are Enriching rural life.™ in their communities through volunteer work
and leadership with organizations such as:
FFA
4-H
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Quota Club – VP/ treasurer (Magnolia)
Pope County 4-H Board
Washington County 4-H Foundation
Hempstead County 4-H Foundation
Arkansas Simmental Association
Faulkner County 4-H Foundation
Dover First Responders
Nashville Junior Auxiliary
American Cancer Society
Conway County Fair Association
Amazing Grace Food Bank (Van Buren)
Gravette Baseball/Softball League
Lori Schumacher
Brandon Haberer
already offer distinct advantages
that go beyond helping people with
a loan or financial need. Through
the relationships we build with our
members we truly can help transform hopes, dreams and goals into
reality; thus enhancing and enriching the lives of those we serve.”
Brandon Haberer, Senior Vice
President of Credit/ Chief Credit
Officer— “When I think of what
Enriching rural life.™ means to
me, I look no further than my own
neighbors. I’m surrounded by FCS
members whom are 8 AM-5 PM
wage earners like me, but desire
to live in a rural setting with a
plot of land and small part-time
farming operation. Some aspire to
retire early and become full-time
farmers, and Farm Credit helps
facilitate those dreams with our
YBS program, community support
and outreach, and long-term fixed
rate loans.”
Lori Schumacher, Senior Vice
President Finance/ Chief Financial
Officer — “It’s clear that our goal
is to find ways as Farm Credit to
promote the rural living lifestyle
we’ve all grown to know and love!
Together, we value rural living and
are proud that it provides food,
shelter and clothing for the nation.
We see our role as helping others
see the beauty and advantages of
country living, as well.”
We’re so proud of our new mission statement that we’ve trademarked the phrase.
Emmet Volunteer Fire Department
Shop with a Cop (Ozark)
Needy Paws Animal Shelter (Clarksville)
Bubba’s Rescue
Pope County Habitat for Humanity
Red Cross Disaster Recovery Team Fayetteville Glass Slipper Project
River Valley Cattle Club
Rotary International
Arkansas Women in Agriculture
ATU Ag Ambassador Advisory Board
Hempstead County United Way
The Boy Scouts of America
The Girl Scouts
and more!
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F A R M I N G
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Farm Credit’s
strength
benefitting rural Arkansas as a financial cooperative
F
6
the rural economy. Farmers, rural
policy decisions. This means that
ARM CREDIT PRIDES ITSELF
homeowners and agribusinesses all
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas is
on not being like other lenders.
benefit from the competition Conunder local control. The loan portfolio
As an almost 100-year-old finangress created between Farm Credit
and all business decisions for Farm
cial cooperative, Farm Credit is able
and other lenders.
Credit of Western Arkansas are being
to offer its member-owners a number
of valuable benFARM CREDefits that aren’t
Congress established Farm Credit in 1916 and its misIT supports
found at neighborsion is clearly stated in the 1971 amendment to the Act,
young and
hood banks. Farm
beginning
Credit of Western
“…making credit available to farmers and ranchers and
farmers
Arkansas is one of
their cooperatives, for rural residences, and to associaWhile commit82 independently
tions and other entities upon which farming operations
ted to financing all
owned and operare dependent, to provide for an adequate and flexible
aspects of agriculated associations
flow of money into rural areas, and….to meet current
ture, Farm Credit
in the Farm Credit
and future rural needs.”
has a long track reSystem across the
cord of supporting
country.
young, beginning
farmers. NationCreated to
directly managed by Western Arkanally, 83% of all loans made by Farm
assist rural America
sas Directors and management.
Credit institutions in 2013 were for
Congress created Farm Credit in
In turn, members share in the profless than $250,000. Almost 55% of
1916 to ensure that rural America
its when the association has a good
all loans made nationally were for
has access to dependable credit. The
year. This is called patronage cash,
$50,000, or less. At the end of 2013,
Farm Credit System is charged with
and more than $78 MILLION has
58% of the all outstanding Farm
serving all types of agricultural progone back into Farm Credit of WestCredit of Western Arkansas loans
ducers. In addition to loaning money
ern Arkansas members’ pockets since
were made to individual farmers who
to farmers, Farm Credit was created
1997. Our association distributed $7.5
had less than $250,000 in sales. Farm
to serve entities that help ensure the
MILLION in patronage cash this year,
Credit is the only lender that collects
economic success of agriculture and
alone. Farm Credit member-owners
lending data on young, beginning
rural America. This includes farmhave a vested interest in their associaand small farmers and we’re proud
related businesses, rural home owntion’s success.
of our continued commitment to this
ers and rural infrastructure (electrical,
market segment.
telecommunications, and water and
FARM CREDIT is a good
waste entities). Farm Credit has never
thing for the marketbeen a “lender of last resort.”
The FARM CREDIT SYSTEM
place
is self-supporting
Congress created Farm Credit
Benefits of being a Farm Credit associations are prito ensure rural America has access
financial cooperative
vately owned by the farmers, ranchers,
to reliable and dependable credit.
Unlike a bank, Farm Credit is a
rural homeowners and agribusinesses
Congress intended Farm Credit to
financial cooperative owned and dithat borrow from them. No taxpayer
compete with government-backed
rected by the members it serves. Cusdollars go to Farm Credit. The Farm
commercial banks because competitomers are more than just customers.
Credit System has access to governtion is healthy and ensures affordable
They become actual member-owners
ment sponsored enterprise funding
credit for the rural economy. Neither
when they invest in the association
in order to fulfill it mission. Unlike
Farm Credit nor commercial banks,
through a stock purchase.
commercial banks, Farm Credit does
alone, could provide adequate capital
Member-owners nominate and
not borrow from the Federal Reserve.
for rural America. Congress recogelect fellow members to serve as
Instead, GSE status allows Farm
nized that competition would ensure
Directors to guide the association’s
Credit to obtain loanable funds by
interest rates remain fair and benefit
issuing paper to private financial
markets. The Farm Credit System also
pays for the cost of the independent
Federal regulatory agency that examines and regulates System institutions.
In addition, System institutions support their own insurance fund that
protects investors who buy System
consolidated notes and debentures
used to fund credit operations.
GSE funding is not exclusive to
Farm Credit. Commercial banks have
access to GSE funding through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as
through Farmer Mac for agricultural
lending. Commercial banks even own
their own GSE,
the Federal Home
Loan Bank System.
backgrounds or ag educations and
many farm themselves. We know
that different operations have different needs so we routinely customize
our rates and terms to fit individual
borrowers. Unlike many lenders,
we’re comfortable making long-term
fixed-rate agricultural loans.
new financing programs that minimized association losses and, in many
cases, enabled member-owners to stay
on their farms.
Enriching rural life.™
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas’
purpose is to enrich rural life. Employees participate in this mission
Trusted lender in
during work hours and personal time.
good economic times,
We support a vast array of community
and bad
organizations and events through
We’ve financed farmers since 1916.
generous donations, sponsorships
Farm Credit has proudly stood by
and employee volunteer hours. From
rural America through good ecoHabitat for Humanity, to 4H leaders,
nomic times, and bad. We’ve never
youth sports coaches and volunteer
firefighters, our
employees are active volunteers
First and foremost, Farm Credit adheres
and leaders in
to seven cooperative values.
the communities
Cooperatives are voluntary organizations open to
where they live
and work.
all people able to use its services and willing to
FARM CRED1.
IT pays taxes
While the Farm
be a responsible member.
Ag Credit System does
2. Cooperatives are controlled by their members, advocates
have the benefit of
active users of the cooperative’s services.
We support the
specific tax treat3. Farm Credit’s members contribute capital, control rural lifestyle and
ment to help them
capital democratically, and share the benefits of
western Arkansas
provide long-term
mortgage credit
ownership in proportion to the business conducted agriculture. We
invest thousands
to farmers and
with their cooperative.
of dollars annuranchers across
4. Each Farm Credit cooperative is self-directed and
ally in organizathe United States,
independently controlled by its membership.
tions like FFA,
Farm Credit insti5. Cooperatives provide education and training for 4H, The Arkansas
tutions are NOT
members, directors and employees so they can
Cattlemen’s and
tax-exempt entiCattlewomen’s,
ties. Farm Credit
effectively contribute to the development of their
Arkansas Women
pays corporate
cooperative.
in Agriculture,
taxes on income
6. Cooperatives seek cooperation at the local,
and more, who
derived from short
regional, national and international levels to be the most exemplify and
and intermediate
effective and strong.
promote the agterm loans as well
7.
Your Farm Credit, as a cooperative, works for the sustain- ricultural values
as loans made unthat help rural Arder Title III of the
able development of rural communities through
kansas thrive. We
Farm Credit Act
policies and programs accepted by members.
especially look for
to cooperatives
opportunities to
and rural utilities.
support western
Individual Farm
shied away from the credit needs of
Arkansas youth in agriculture enCredit members also pay ordinary
farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners
deavors because they are tomorrow’s
income taxes on all patronage cash
and agribusinesses.
agricultural leaders.
they receive from association profits.
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas is
especially proud of its commitment to
Farmers, rural homeowners and
FARM CREDIT western Arkansas agriculture and its
agribusinesses have a choice when
knows agriculture
members. We were lending to poultry
it comes to financing. Our members
Since financing agriculture and
producers in 2008 when many other
repeatedly tell us they choose Farm
rural America is all Farm Credit
lenders chose not to. In addition,
Credit because of the many benefits
does, they’re experts at it. Our emwhen two poultry complexes closed
they enjoy by being a member-owner
ployees understand agriculture and
in western Arkansas that year, Farm
of a financial cooperative.
rural financing needs. Most have ag
Credit of Western Arkansas created
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Farm Credit’s response to Vilo
A helping hand
T
HE EF4 TORNADO THAT
hit Mayflower and Vilonia
on April 27 is being called
the single deadliest tornado to hit
Arkansas in 46 years. 16 people
lost their lives and hundreds, if
not thousands, more were affected
in some way.
Greenbrier Loan Officer Cecil
Oursbourn set to work the morning after the storm to determine
how many of our Faulkner County
customers were impacted by the
storm. As a long-time loan officer
in the area, Cecil is familiar with the
towns of Mayflower and Vilonia
and where many of our customers live.
Cecil quickly learned that the
rural home of members Tracy and
Tammy Barron of Vilonia had sustained major damage. Thankfully,
Tracy and Tammy were out of state
and their three children were safe
at their grandparents’ home during the storm. Their home was a
complete loss.
In talking to the Barrons, Cecil
TOP – Greenbrier Vice President Cecil Oursbourn presents
members Tammy and Tracy Barron with mini IPads to replace
the ones their children lost when their home was destroyed.
Western Arkansas employees assisted with clean up, provided
lunch for 650 volunteers two days after the storm, and donated
work gloves for the clean-up effort.
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learned that Tammy regretted
taking the childrens’ iPads away
from them before they went to their
grandparents. The new iPads were
in the home and lost in the tornado.
Looking for a small way to comfort
the family, Cecil presented Tammy
with three iPad minis the next day.
The Barrons were visibly touched
by Cecil’s thoughtfulness.
In addition to the Barrons, there
are three other customer families
who sustained varying degrees
of property loss in this tornado.
onia and Mayflower tornadoes
in time of need
We’re working with each family
to identify the best ways to assist
them.
On the second morning following the tornado a group of 11
employees and one retiree from
the Russellville and Greenbrier
branches and the Central Office
in Russellville arrived to cook for
impacted families, utility workers,
and disaster responders. With two
mobile cookers, the group split into
teams and served more than 650
meals at two separate locations.
The Russellville crew also
helped the cousin of employee
Brandon Haberer, Senior Vice
President of Credit. His cousin
lives in hardest hit Vilonia subdivision. The Farm Credit team helped
Brandon’s cousin sort through
debris and locate belongings.
With damaging storms in Vilonia, northwest Arkansas, Atkins,
Clarksville and Mena over the past
several years, tornado recovery is
nothing new for Western Arkansas
members. Please know that Farm
Credit stands ready to offer both
short and long-term assistance, as
needed, in times of tragedy.
Story by Jill Robertson.
NEW! Storm Shelter Financing
Peace of mind for you and your family
R
ecent tornadoes are a reminder of how vulnerable
we are when the weather
becomes dangerous. Protecting our
loved ones with a storm shelter can
provide valuable peace of mind for
anyone living in western Arkansas.
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas
soon will offer short-term storm
shelter loans to qualifying borrowers.* These new storm shelter loans
are being made at a discounted rate as
a service to our customers and local
communities.
*Borrowers must meet regular
eligibility and lending standards to
qualify. Watch for complete details
at myaglender.com. Details will be
posted by October 1, 2014.
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Two 2014 Photo Co
2013 STATEWIDE I’M FARM CREDIT photo contest winners.
Top, Amy Griffin from eastern Arkansas won the grand prize.
Other winners in the statewide contest included Western Arkansas member Angela Lloyd (her photo is top right), and Western
Arkansas employee Denise Sweat of Nashville (right).
2013 WESTERN ARKANSAS PHOTO CONTEST (What I love about living
in rural western Arkansas) winners:
Adult Division – 1st Place $300 Michael Buffington of Rogers
Adult Division –2nd Place $200 Belinda Wright of Waldron
Adult Division – 3rd Place $100 Shelby Lamkin of Buckner
ontests...enter both!
2014 Farm Credit of Western Arkansas Photo Contest
WHO:
Open to Western Arkansas members only
WHAT:
Photos of rural western Arkansas including our farms, our families, the landscape, nature and weather, people enjoying the rural lifestyle.
REQUIREMENTS:
Must be a HIGH RESOLUTION (300 DPI+ minimum, Set camera to high resolution 1MB, or greater in size; preferably 3072 x 2048 pixels.
PRIZES: TWO divisions, 3 adult winners & 3 youth winners
Winners in each division: $300 – 1st Place, $200 – 2nd Place and $100 – 3rd Place
WHERE: Email high resolution photos to: [email protected]
OR mail to: Jill Robertson, Farm Credit of Western AR, 3115 W. 2nd Ct., Russellville, AR 72801
DEADLINE:
September 15, 2014
ENTRY INFO AND CONTEST FORM: www.myaglender.com
2014 Statewide “I’m FARM CREDIT Photo Contest
WHO:
Open to all Farm Credit members across Arkansas
WHAT:
Photos of PEOPLE in ACTION, capturing the rural lifestyle and all the things related to agriculture. Show us what makes you say, “I’m FARM CREDIT!”
REQUIREMENTS:
Must be a HIGH RESOLUTION (300 DPI+ minimum, Set camera to high resolution 1MB, or greater in Size; preferably 3072 x 2048 pixels.
PRIZES: One division, all ages. $500 GRAND PRIZE, $200 – 1st Place, $100 – 2nd Place and $50 – 3rd Place
WHERE: Email high resolution photos to: [email protected]
OR mail to: Jill Robertson, Farm Credit of Western AR, 3115 W. 2nd Ct., Russellville, AR 72801
DEADLINE:
September 30, 2014
ENTRY INFO AND CONTEST FORM: www.myaglender.com AND ARFarmCredit.com
Youth Division – 2nd Place $200 Matthew Nannemann (14)
of Nashville
Youth Division – 1st Place $300 Macy Lamkin (13) of Buckner
Youth Division – 3rd Place $100 Kaitlyn Gregory (15) of Hackett
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F A R M I N G
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from
$8,000 Awarded in 2013 R
152 new loans totaling more than $24.2 MILLION c
We’re looking for more gre
Who can you refer for your chance to win part
Our members are our
best marketing tool because
they have a personal Farm
Credit story to share with
friends and neighbors. And
as a financial cooperative,
all of our members benefit
from referrals. Our association grows and strong
capital means potentially
higher Patronage Cash for
everyone!
Every time a person you
refer makes a loan with
us, your name goes in our
$5,000 Grand
Prize Winners
Daniel & Kenzie Seal of De Queen
with Loan Officer Connie Jones and Financial Services Specialist Kasey Frachiseur
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Referral Rewards Program
can be directly attributed to YOUR referrals last year
eat customers just like you.
of the $8,000 we’re giving away in November?
drawing. Refer as many
people as you like.
Current Farm Credit of
Western Arkansas members qualify.
We’ll draw one $5,000
GRAND PRIZE winner and
three $1,000 regional winners on November 3, 2014.
Referrals on loans closed
$1,000 Regional Winner
Tommy & Paula Pearce of Mt. Vernon
with Loan Officer Cecil Oursbourn
and Financial Services Specialist
Desha Jackson from our Greenbrier
office.
between December 1, 2013
and October 31, 2014 qualify.
$1,000 Regional Winner
Don and VaDonna Elmore
of Booneville with Loan Officer Donna
Cunningham and Financial Services
Specialist Mary Davidson from our Paris
branch.
$1,000 Regional Winner
Mark & Rebecca Pipkin of Texarkana
with Tom Cox, Senior Vice President.
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F A R M I N G
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97.8% Customer Satisfaction!
Members give high marks to customer service yet again.
O
UR MEMBERS HAVE COME
to appreciate that our association’s number one priority is
to provide an excellent customer
experience to everybody who walks
through the door.
From loan officers who will meet
you at your home or farm for your
convenience, to Financial Service
Specialists who are available to answer all your questions and handle
your payments promptly, to quick
turn-around from our appraisal staff,
and even Central Office employees
who readily assist you with online
banking issues, our employees are
poised at every level to provide the
best customer service possible.
Customer service is so important
to us that we routinely measure it
through an independent third party.
The University of Arkansas Walton
School of Business handles the entire
process. From randomly selecting the
fifty-percent of our customer base that
will receive a survey, to developing
survey questions, to collecting and
analyzing the data, we rely on their
independent objectivity.
The key survey question was,
“How satisfied are you with Farm Credit
of Western Arkansas as a source of financing for your agricultural operation?”
97.8% of survey respondents indicated they are happy with our service.
Presented with a scale of response
options, 80.5% marked very satisfied
and 17.3% indicated satisfied. This is
a slight increase from our last survey
in 2011 where were earned an overall
rating of 97.7% satisfaction.
President and CEO Glen Manchester summed up this year’s survey
results saying, “The board of directors and I continue to be proud of the
excellent customer care our employees
continue to deliver. These surveys confirm that we continue to work hard to
provide the best service to members.”
This year’s 97.8% satisfaction rating is the highest earned since the association began surveying members
in the early 1990s.
“I think the fact that we offer half
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of our members the opportunity
to weigh in on our performance is
unprecedented in business. We welcome member feedback and take it
seriously,” Glen continued.
In addition to overall satisfaction,
we asked respondents how well their
association is doing in relation to their
expectations of what an ag lender can
and should do. Consistent with our
satisfaction score, 95.8% of members
responded that Farm Credit of Western Arkansas is meeting or exceeding
their expectations.
Four keys to choosing an ag lender
In previous surveys, members have identified four core requirements
they consider when choosing an ag lender. Farm Credit of Western Arkansas scored well in these areas with 94+% of respondents indicating their
expectations were met or exceeded.
Competitive Interest Rates
Adequate and Timely Funds Adequate Financial Resources Understanding of Agriculture 94.9%
96.9%
97.6%
97.6%
Member/Borrower best describes customer relationship
As a financial cooperative, Farm Credit is unique in that our customers are much more than customers. They also are owners, they vote for
directors to lead the business, and they share in the profits when the association has a good year. We’ve struggled with what to call our customer/
member/borrower/owners and again asked respondents to weigh in on
this year’s survey.
Overwhelmingly, 41.2% of respondents indicated that they consider
themselves a member/borrower. This tells us we’re doing a good job
communicating the importance of this special cooperative relationship.
100% Club
We have branch offices that earn a 100% customer satisfaction score
every time we survey our membership. Achieving a 100% satisfaction
rating means that for a particular branch every person responding to the
survey had a good experience with every employee they interacted with
at that branch location for that year.
While this may be a daunting accomplishment for some lending institutions, it really isn’t that surprising at Farm Credit of Western Arkansas
where customer service is our top priority.
Kudos to our employees who earned 100% customer satisfaction scores
in our 2014 survey:
Arkadelphia: Rachael Godwin, Assistant Vice President; Morgan Nolan, Financial
Services Specialist. Bentonville: Darla Larson, Vice President and Regional Branch Manager; Megan Mayo, Financial Services Specialist. Danville: Emily Russell, Assistant Vice
President; Nicole Ward-Brixey, Financial Services Specialist. De Queen: Connie Jones, Assistant Vice President; Kasey Frachiseur, Financial Services Specialist. Glenwood: Denise
Sweat, Vice President; Rex Dollar, Vice President; Sarah Oneal, Financial Services Specialist. Hope: Jerry Nance, Vice President & Branch Manager; Clay Lance, Assistant Vice
President; Sarah Myers, Financial Services Specialist; Jordan Jones, Financial Services
Specialist. Magnolia: Shaun McKamie, Vice President; Milly Lindsey, Financial Services
Specialist. Mena: Rex Dollar, Vice President & Branch Manager; Donne Johnson, Financial Services Specialist. Morrilton: Hank DeSalvo, Vice President; Donna Payne, Financial
Services Specialist; Nancy Massey, Financial Services Specialist. Nashville: Denise
Sweat, Vice President & Branch Manager; Brenda White, Financial Services Specialist.
Paris: Donna Cunningham, Vice President; Mary Davidson, Financial Services Specialist.
Siloam Springs: Savannah Dickinson, Vice President; Cindy Philpott, Financial Services
Specialist. Texarkana: John McFarland, Vice President; Jennifer Sansom, Assistant Vice
President; Jennifer Day, Financial Services Specialist
Farm Credit sponsors Arkansas Farm to You program
F
ARM CREDIT OF WESTERN
Arkansas has joined AgHeritage
Farm Credit Services (in central
Arkansas) and Farm Credit Midsouth
(in eastern Arkansas) as a major
sponsor of the new Arkansas Farm
to You program that teaches children
that healthy food is grown on farms.
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and
Extension makes the 40’ x 40’ interactive display available to all schools
across the state. Students in grades
K-6 walk through nine stations to
learn the connections between Arkansas agriculture, food and health.
Local County Extension Agents teach
children about where our food comes
from using age-appropriate scripts
written by the U of A.
Realistic looking fruit, vegetables,
rice and cotton props show visitors
what our food and fiber look like
when it’s grown on the farm. The
U of A explains that seeing corn on
a stalk and cotton in its raw form is
eye-opening to many children.
The three Arkansas Farm Credit
associations utilized a matchinggrant program through AgriBank,
our funding source, to make the
$4,000 donation this spring. AgriBank is encouraging associations
across 15 states to find ways to
promote agriculture with new audi-
ences. Our sponsorship is making
this program available to small (often
rural) schools that otherwise may not
be able to host the exhibit.
Our Farm Credit logo goes home
with children on a bookmark featuring healthy recipes. Hopefully, new
families across the state will begin
connecting the Farm Credit name
with agriculture and its important
benefits.
Carol Parker, Accounts Payable
Specialist at the Central Office in
Russellville, volunteered to help with
the exhibit when the Pope County
Extension Agent asked for assistance.
Carol says she was impressed with
both the quality of the display as
well as the curriculum provided by
the U of A.
NEW Benton branch location
Kevin Barham above; Stephanie Epps below.
We opened a new full-time branch
office in Benton at the first of the
year. It’s at 1207 Ferguson Drive in
Benton, near Ferguson Furniture and
WalMart. Loan Officer Kevin Barham and Financial Services Specialist
Stephanie Epps were hired specifically for this new location that now
serves Saline and Garland Counties.
Senior management identified the
Benton area as a strong country home
and rural land market after extensive
research. The Ferguson Drive loca-
tion is easy to find and close to I-30.
Existing Saline County members
are telling us they appreciate not having to drive to the Arkadelphia office
anymore, and we see a lot of potential
for business expansion in and around
Hot Springs in Garland County.
With the addition of Benton we
now have 20 full-time branch offices
across western Arkansas. We also
have an additional 12 contact point
offices with limited hours throughout
the week.
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Audrey Belts
College of the Ozarks
Agriculture - Animal Science
Zachary Brewer
Arkansas Tech University
Ag Business
Lauren Cheevers
University of Arkansas
Ag Communications
Britt Driggers
National Park Comm College
Ag Business
Loren Gragg
University of Arkansas
Ag Business
Allison Greb
Arkansas Tech University
Ag Business
Katelin Hyman
NE Oklahoma A&M
Ag Business
Samantha Lambert
University of Arkansas
Human Development
Mark McAfee
National Park Comm College
Poultry Science
Summer Nelson
Arkansas Tech University
Ag Education
Karlee Pruitt
University of Arkansas
Horticulture
Glynn Smith
University of Arkansas
Animal Science
Charles Swilley, Jr.
Southern Arkansas University
Ag Science
Rusti Tharp
Arkansas Tech University
Ag Business
David Wahrmund
Arkansas State U - Beebee
John Deere Ag Tech
Jacob Bell
Arkansas Tech University
Ag Business
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$200,000 in Scholarships Awarded Since 1998
Area Youth Earn
$1,000 2014 Awards
Chance Dearing
Southern Arkansas University
Ag Business
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas awarded $20,000 in academic scholarships to some of western Arkansas’ most talented young people this spring.
A panel of judges used award criteria that included academic performance,
school and community leadership, extracurricular activities and agricultural
interests.
This year’s winners include FFA and 4-H officers, school leaders, athletes,
community volunteers and advocates for agriculture. They’ve all been busy
proving themselves as leaders among their peers.
Some were raised on farms and have future career aspirations that include
farming or the rural lifestyle. Others value agriculture, but are following less
agricultural career paths.
We proudly support these students, their accomplishments and all they
will achieve through education. Thank you for representing Farm Credit on
campuses across the state and region.
Levi Jones
Arkansas Tech University
Ag Education
2015 Scholarship Opportunities
• Youth loan members, dependents of members and grandchildren of current members qualify. (A current member is defined as having an active loan as of January 1, 2015.)
• Open to graduating high school seniors, current college students with
at least one year of education remaining, and graduate students with at
least one year of education remaining.
Cody Salmon
Arkansas State U - Beebee
Agriculture
• Minimum requirements include an ACT score of 19, or higher, for
high school seniors and a minimum 3.0 GPA for current college students.
• Leadership skills and agricultural and extra-curricular achievements
must be detailed on the application form.
• Complete details and 2015 application form available at myaglender.
com in January. Applications due by March 13, 2015.
Hannah Walker
Arkansas Tech University
Ag Business/Animal Science
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Terry Vest – a friend we’ll miss
July 1, 1949 – August 5, 2014
Terry Vest, former Senior Vice President of Collateral Services, passed
away on August 5 while vacationing
with family in Hawaii.
Terry retired in December, 2013
after investing 39 years of his life
in Farm Credit. He’d held senior
management positions with Farm
Credit of Western Arkansas since
1986. Most recently, Terry managed
the appraisal and loan document
specialist departments.
Originally from Franklin County,
Terry and his wife of 41 years, Judy
Patrick Vest, lived in Springdale,
AR. Terry is survived by his wife
Judy, daughter Randi Kay and her
husband Larry Graham of Wichita,
KS, son Patrick of Little Rock, and
grandchildren Ender, Eli and Ella
Graham of Wichita, KS.
Terry is remembered for living
his strong Christian faith and placing God first and foremost in all
things. He was an active Gideon
and Compassion Center volun-
ON L I N E
B an k i n g
Guess what’s coming to your mobile phone by the end of the year?
ONLINE BANKING access to your
Farm Credit account information!
Yes, our new online banking mobile
app will be available by year end.
Watch myaglender.com to learn
when the mobile app is available for
free download.
You can access your account
information online by registering at
myaglender.com. Have a recent account statement handy, or call your
local branch office and ask for your
customer number, loan number and
loan amount. You need this information to register the first time.
View account information or make
payments online anytime. Ques-
tions? Call 479-968-1434,
dial “0”, and ask for ONLINE
BANKING assistance.
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teer in Springdale. His passions
included golf and the Razorbacks.
Terry is fondly remembered by
his coworkers and the many con-
tributions he made to Farm Credit
will be long remembered.
Terry’s complete obituary can
be found at www.nelsonberna.com
NEWS BRIEFS
Dilynn Dodd
Chris Sossamon
Becky Bedell
Sarah Oneal
Kevin Barham
New Faces
Dilynn Dodd joined the Fayetteville branch office last August as a
loan officer. She was able to work
several months with Clarence Roach
before his retirement and has taken
his place serving Madison County.
She works at the Huntsville contact
office twice a week. Dilynn earned
an Ag Education degree from The
University of Arkansas and most
recently worked in logistics for a
transportation company. She’s no
stranger to Farm Credit, though. Her
parents are long-time members, and
Dilynn has been a Farm Credit member, herself. She lives in Springdale
and enjoys barrel racing at weekend
rodeos. In fact, Dilynn was the 2008
Miss Rodeo Arkansas!
Chris Sossamon returned to Farm
Credit, working at our Fayetteville
location. Chris is one of our former
summer interns, and we hired him as
a full-time Credit Trainee in September. In the meantime he gained some
experience as a mill supervisor with
ConAgra. He graduated with an ag
systems and technology degree from
the U of A in May of 2012. He was
raised on a 600-acre cow/calf and
poultry farm in Ozark.
Becky Bedell is a new Regional
Financial Services Specialist for Re-
gion 2. She lives in Greenwood with
her husband Dale and two sons. She
is originally from south Texas and
attended Pan American University.
Her professional experience at a
vegetable seed company, O.K. Farms
and a credit union have prepared her
to tackle anything at Farm Credit.
Sarah Oneal is a Financial Services
Specialist in Glenwood. She’s originally from Dierks and has earned a
degree in travel and tourism with
a minor in communications from
Henderson State University. She and
husband Matt have three children
and they live on a farm in Kirby. Matt
is a full-time farmer.
Kevin Barham joined the Farm
Credit team in December as the loan
officer for the new Benton branch office. Kevin has a degree in business
and finance as well as an MBA from
The University of Central Arkansas.
He brings five years of finance experience and six years of commercial
lending experience to Farm Credit.
He and wife Gretchen have two children and they live in Benton.
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Lori Grace
Stephanie Epps
Samantha Kilgore
Marisha Gardisser
John McFarland
Josh Jones
Lori Grace accepted her position
as Business Analyst and Project
Manager Leader at Farm Credit in
late December. She holds a computer
science degree from Arkansas Tech
University and has 32 years of IT experience. Most recently, she worked
as a software specialist at Arkansas
Nuclear One. She and husband
Danny have three children and three
grandchildren. Lori founded the
Pope County Habitat for Humanity
and she spends much of her free time
leading the organization.
Stephanie Epps is the new Financial Services Specialist in Benton. She
is originally from Arlington, TX, but
earned dual BA degrees in marketing and music from Ouachita Baptist
University. She previously worked in
the insurance industry and she lives
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with husband Cory in Benton.
Samantha Kilgore joined the
Farm Credit team in March as an
Administrative Assistant in the Russellville Central office. She has an
associate’s degree in business from
The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton. She’s
originally from Greenbrier, but now
lives in Russellville with husband
Brett and two children.
Marisha Gardisser began work
as a Financial Services Specialist in
Fayetteville in late March. She earned
an associate’s degree in social science
from Barstow Community College
and has previous experience in event
planning, banking and real estate. She
and husband Matt live in Highfill
with their two sons.
John McFarland is new to western
Arkansas, but not to Farm Credit.
He comes to us from Farm Credit
Midsouth’s Wynn office. He is Vice
President and Branch Manager of the
Texarkana branch. He was raised in
Wynn and has a degree in Ag Business from Arkansas State University.
He earned his master’s degree in ag,
food and life sciences from the U of
A while working as a U of A Ag Extension Agent in Logan County. He
and wife Jennifer have two children.
Josh Jones joined our Farm Credit
team on June 16 as a Senior Business
Credit Analyst in Central Office. He is
filling the position soon to be vacated
by Ardis Lawrence who is retiring.
Josh has a Business Management
and Marketing degree from Arkansas
Tech University. He brings two years
Aaron Watson
Charlie McConnell
Charla Keys
a number of hats over the years,
including training and supervising
Financial Services Specialists on a
regional level.
2014 Summer Interns
Jordan Pearce
Retirees Jane Fugitt (left) and Sue Wigger (right)
of commercial lending experience
and six years of credit analyst experience to Farm Credit. He was raised
in Birta (near Ola) and now lives in
Russellville with his two children.
Changing Places
Aaron Watson was recently
selected by the association’s Board
of Directors Audit Committee and
CEO Glen Manchester to serve as the
Vice President of Audit and Review.
Aaron has nine years of Farm Credit
experience and most recently held
the position of Senior Credit Analyst
in the Credit Department. Aaron is a
2002 graduate of Arkansas Tech University where he earned a bachelor’s
degree in agribusiness. He and his
wife Heather live in Russellville with
their three children.
Kody Van Peltis
Charlie McConnell moves from
Vice President of Audit and Review
to Vice President of Lending Services.
He came to Farm Credit of Western
Arkansas in January of 2010 from FCS
Financial in Missouri. He has 13 total
years of Farm Credit experience. He
holds an Ag Business degree from
Missouri State University and is
originally from Mt. Vernon, MO. He
and wife Lane live north of Harrison
with their two children.
Retirements
We welcomed two summer interns
this year and they have been busy
traveling between branch offices to
lend much needed helping hands.
They’ve been given the opportunity
to learn how we do business and
serve members’ needs. Thank you,
Jordan and Kody, for your hard work
this summer!
Jordan Pearce is from De Queen
and she is studying Ag Business at
Southern Arkansas University.
Kody Van Pelt is from Vilonia and
is an Ag Business major at Arkansas
Tech University.
Congratulations
At their 2014 summer convention
at Camp Couchdale, the Arkansas
FFA organization bestowed an Honorary State FFA Degree on Charla
Keys, Vice President of Human
Resources. The honor recognizes
Charla’s work on behalf of FFA in
western Arkansas. Congratulations,
Charla!
Sue Wigger retired after 24 years
as a Financial Services Specialist in
the Mena branch.
Jane Fugitt retired in December
after 32 years of service. She wore
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Helping YOU Maximize
your Financial Success!
Let Farm Credit’s industry-leading knowledge, competitive
products, and 98 years of agricultural and rural financing
experience help you!
OF WESTERN ARKANSAS
3115 W. 2nd Court, Russellville, AR 72801
PRESRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
CAROL STREAM, IL
PERMIT NO. 1369
• Real estate, operating, and equipment loans for farms
•Timberland
• Forest Products/ Processing/ Marketing
• Truck and SUV leases
• Home Mortgages in the country
• Home construction loans
• Mortgage, credit, life and disability insurance
• Term-Life insurance protection
• Farmland appraisals
Farm Credit at the beach this summer! (Below) Ozark customer Mike Timmerman stopped by the branch office shortly before going on vacation and
employees Kathy Grigsby and Stephanie Reed gave him t-shirts for the family. The ladies joked that if he sent a photo of them wearing them at the beach
they’d see what they could do about getting their picture in the magazine. WELL, here’s the Timmerman family (Mike, Kellye and Will) in Panama City
Beach, FL, and we’re thrilled to share their photo!
Benton branch customers Beverly and Jerry Tackett (inset) took Farm Credit to the beach this summer, too! This photo of the couple wearing their favorite
Farm Credit t-shirt and hat was snapped on the beach in Charleston, SC where they were visiting their grandson.
We’d love to see where YOU take Farm Credit this year! Don’t forget your favorite Farm Credit t-shirt or hat when you pack for your next trip. Just snap
a high resolution photo and share it by emailing it to [email protected]. We’d like to make photos of our members proudly wearing the Farm
Credit logo across the country (or world?) a regular feature in our magazine. Who knows where Farm Credit may go?
PARTING SHOT