FCS Financial: One Hundred Years July 2016 | Page 124

Like many young women, Kate balances her work life with the
demands of family, a challenge made easier through technology that
can turn her kitchen table into an office when necessary. For many
women in other companies, meeting family demands often diminishes
their professional standing. Not so for Kate and other women at FCS
Financial. “If I had a meeting with the CEO tomorrow and my child
was sick, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask to reschedule,” said Kate. “It’s the
culture of the company that is so amazing,” she added. “The people you
work with really care.”
Chairman James Nivens has served on the board of directors since
1998 and for him a great part of the satisfaction of his job comes from
the association’s success and growth. “When we merged in 2002, the
association’s volume was barely a billion dollars. We’re three times that
size now.” It’s not just the dollar volume he finds satisfying but the fact
FCS Financial is providing capital to 15,000 member/owners.
No one can predict the future, but from CEO David Janish’s
perspective, it’s an exciting time for agriculture. “I think we’ll continue
to see more movement towards larger farms, larger production
capacity. But I think there’s a renewed interest for people to move back
to the country, to be part of rural America again. They’ll continue to
work in the towns and cities but they enjoy the rural lifestyle and our
challenge will be to meet the needs of some pretty divergent members
of our association,” he said.
For David, the most rewarding part of his job is working with and
for people in agriculture. “I think they’re some of the best people in the
world. They’re hard working; highly ethical, honest, true to what they
believe in.” There are challenges ahead, to be sure. Some of them, like
the capriciousness of Mother Nature, remain as much a challenge as
ever and lie outside the circle of anyone’s influence. Other challenges,
like regulations and environmental concerns, demand their constant
attention, putting advocacy and education at the top of their “To Do”
list. Despite the challenges, David sees an upside to the attention, albeit
occasionally negative, that farming and rural America are garnering
from the public. “I think the interest people are showing in where their
food comes from will do nothing but benefit us. It opens a dialogue;

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