Executive Address

Recently I was faced with some difficult decisions in my personal life, and it made me start thinking about the difficult decisions you all make every day, not only in your personal life, but in your business… Everyday we all get up and choose to go to work. We get to work, usually knowing what the day has in store for us, but also recognize that there may be wrench or two thrown in the mix. As the wrenches get thrown, we often be – come frustrated, and in today’s cli – mate feel like maybe it’s time to throw in the towel. And yet, many of you preservere and push forward, some handling the situation well and eliminating the wrench, others ignoring it. For those that choose to handle the situation, you usually look to someone for help to remedy the situation. Maybe it’s a mechanic, maybe it’s the part store, maybe it’s a banker, or maybe it’s one of your employees (I think you get my point), but at the end of the day you usually need some sort of help. From where I stand, most of the wrenches (at least the ones I try to help with), are because of some new policy (I mean regulation) passed down from Sacramento or Washington DC. At farm bureau we work hard to try to influence these policies to be more ag friendly, but when we can’t do that, we do our best to try to help you deal with them. Locally, we’ve made efforts to get more information out to you about what you need to be aware of as well as provide trainings to help with compliance. I know you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this…Well I guess what I’m trying to say is that you have resources in us (MCFB) that you may forget about. I was recently told “Sometimes in our darkest hour, what we need is stability and security. That doesn’t come from self-preservation and money. It most of the time is wrapped in community and friendship.” MCFB has been a stable and secure resource for its members for over a hundred years. We have worked hard the last 4+ years to be more involved in the community, and let people know that our door is always open. Call, email, text or even just show up when there’s something you’re having trouble with or baffled by. We’re here to help or at least an ear to vent to. And if you don’t want to talk to just me or staff, we’ve created an opportunity for you to come by enjoy some donuts not only with staff, but with the board members and folks from CFBF. On February 25th from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. we will be hosting Donuts and Discussion. This is a great opportunity to swing by, say hello, ask questions, meet us (if you haven’t already), and just be engaged. You’d be amazed at the things we get to deal with every day. The plan is to host this event every few months, in an effort to engage with more of our membership and get a better understanding of what you need, and where we can help. Hope to see you then! -Christina