Personnel Changes Over the Past Two Years Prepared Yankee for the Future

The future demands a branch network with more cost efficiency and better flexibility.

by Dean W. Moreau, president and CEO, Yankee Farm Credit

There have been several personnel changes at Yankee over the past two years. Most of you probably know about some of them, but I’d guess very few of you are aware of what’s happening beyond your local branch office. I want to get more wordy than usual in this column to bring you up to speed on what has already taken place, and on changes that are in the works.

St. Albans and Chazy offices

There is an old adage: Hire good people when they are available, not when you need them. We’ve twice lived by this rule. The first time was following Allen Willeford’s retirement when we had the chance in January 2004 to hire both Tom St. Pierre and Penny Overton for St. Albans. (See our center spread for a profile on Tom and Penny, as well as Morgan, Jean and Kelly).

Never could we have foreseen the tragedy that hit Yankee in February 2005 when Gordon Hurlburt, our St. Albans/Chazy manager was stricken with a brain tumor. Gordon subsequently chose our long-term disability program in August 2005 because his recovery efforts needed his total mental and physical commitment. Gordon is one of the finest, most caring and courageous people I’ve ever met. Everyone in the Yankee family is hopeful about his recovery, and also that one day, in the not too distant future, he will return to work with us.

With Gordon’s illness, having both Tom and Penny made all the difference in getting the work done day to day. Every employee in St. Albans and Chazy stepped up during this emotional and operational challenge during 2005 and I thank them sincerely.

White River Junction office

The second time we hired good people when they were available was June 2004 in White River Junction. We signed on two loan officers, Emma Batchelder, fresh out of Duke, and Jean Conklin, with NH Extension, Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation (VACC) and farming experience, even though we had only one vacancy. In June of 2005, Emma decided a pre-med program in New York City was best for her. We were happy for Emma and fortunately we had a former intern and part-time employee, Morgan Greenwood, waiting on the sidelines. Morgan is a May 2005 graduate of the University of Vermont’s 2+2 program and is progressing real well in White River as a credit, tax and records analyst.

"All in all a busy two years for an organization with a history of low employee turnover.  That brings me to one more employee that needs to turn over ¾ your CEO."

Regional management

The management vacancy from Gordon’s disability required a close look at our entire branch network to see if we were properly positioned for a future that would demand both more cost efficiency, and better flexibility. I decided we were not.

Instead of having four distinct branch operations, the time was right to consolidate into two, wrapped around our five office locations that are close to our customers. As such, Bill Heath and Ken Buzzell were promoted to senior vice presidents and regional managers. Bill supervises our White River and Middlebury offices in our southern region, while Ken oversees St. Albans, Chazy and Newport in our northern region.

Our first personnel moves within this new regional structure showed some of its potential for creativity and flexibility. Without Gordon, we needed both day-to-day management, as well as another veteran loan officer to balance the workload in St. Albans. Mike Farmer, who guided the office through Gordon’s illness, was promoted to assistant vice president and office supervisor. Loren Petzoldt, a dedicated 15-year senior loan officer in Newport, needed new challenges, so he agreed to a job sharing position and now works roughly three days in St. Albans and two days in Newport.

Newport office

Loren’s shift to cover St. Albans meant an opening in Newport. This gave us the chance to add to our “staff for the future,” so I was very pleased to hire recent Cornell grad Kelly Langmaid as a credit analyst and junior loan officer.

Administrative staff

Our administrative staff hasn’t been sitting still either. Liz Bayne, a veteran tax specialist in White River, opted to join with chief appraiser Geoff Yates for about 60 percent of her work hours each year, helping us to bring more contract appraisal services back in-house. Finally, John Peters our quality control director was appointed a Yankee vice president to recognize his more than 30 years of dedicated, high quality service to the association.

Thank you for 18 years as your CEO

All in all a busy two years for an organization with a history of low employee turnover. That brings me to one more employee that needs to turn over — your CEO.

The board has accepted my resignation effective May 31, 2006. I have had the wonderful privilege of being the CEO of Yankee and a predecessor association for 18 years. It’s time for me to move on. There are many very talented, dedicated people at Yankee who are ready for the next move upward in their career. A logjam at the top for too long can be stagnating.

Starting June 1, 2006, I will be a senior vice president of COBANK, Yankee’s lender. I’m excited about this new opportunity. Your board has picked a very talented, dedicated associate, executive vice president and chief operating officer, George Putnam, as acting CEO effective May 1, 2006. I wish George and the entire Yankee team of employees, directors and members a most successful future.

Thanks to all of you for the friendships, learning experiences and support during the most rewarding part of my 29-year Farm Credit career.  

This letter appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of Financial Partner (F.P.) magazine, Yankee Farm Credit's customer publication. Click here if you would like to start receiving F.P. magazine in the mail.

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