In 2008, several First Farmers employees participated in and completed educational series and schools provided by the Indiana Bankers Association. These courses include management, compliance, commercial lending, and many others. Brian Bragg, Branch Manager at our Sheridan office, and Julie Cain, Assistant Director of Operations in Converse, completed the High-Performance Leadership Series from the IBA. This series taught students how to be leaders, how to coach team members, how to communicate and provide feedback, and how to create change within the organization. It was scheduled over six days between January and November.
The IBA’s Branch Management Series was attended by Kathy Kerr, Assistant Branch Manager of our Tipton Branch, and Christy Williams, Security Officer and Assistant Branch Manager at our Peru River branch. In this series, students learned about sales and service and how to schedule in today’s environment through the use of lecture, open discussion, and role playing.
Vicky Pickering, Compliance Specialist, attended both the Community Bankers for Compliance School and the Community Bankers for Compliance Series. This school is a 5-day compliance program designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the major regulatory compliance regulations for the banking industry. Discussion and case studies were used so that participants could discuss issues and exchange ideas with other community bankers.
Two newcomers to FFBT took part in the IBA’s Midwest Agricultural Banking School. Michael Murphy, Loan Operations Specialist in Converse, and Jeff Rodibaugh, Commercial Account Officer in Tipton, attended the school between November and December. This school teaches about structuring agricultural loans, discusses the Farm Service Agency, and discusses crop insurance, along with many other topics. Like other schools and series through the IBA, they use small classroom and small group settings, with a lot of hands-on activities and discussion. The classes are taught by experienced bankers and consultants. Not only do employees take part in these educational offerings, our board of directors does as well. Dr. Freddie Barnard, a professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University and a member of our board, serves as director of this school.
First Farmers highly values continuing education and finds it crucial in the development of the bank. We congratulate these employees on their achievements!
