Since Farm Credit of Maine made our first loan in 1916, customer-elected directors have played a vital role in guiding our mission. While director functions have evolved over the years, their importance remains constant: They help guide our success and differentiate us from Maine’s other commercial lenders.
Here are some of its most important characteristics:
- Our customers elect six of the seven directors. This assures that we truly are a customer-driven financial institution.
- All directors are very active in their own businesses and within their industries. This provides the cooperative with valuable insights into current events and market conditions throughout the State of Maine.
- Maine’s farming, fishing and forest products industries are represented on the board. This provides educational and networking opportunities for directors and adds to discussions with management about the industries we serve.
- All directors own Maine-based businesses. This ensures that the best interests of stockholders and customers guide governance at the board level.
This year, the board will meet eight times,
including six full-day board meetings and two half-day meetings. They
will also participate in other activities. For example, three directors attended
a national Farm Credit meeting. The entire board visited the Farm Credit
Funding Corporation in New York City. And three directors joined
a "fly-in" to Washington, D.C. to meet with our Maine
Congressional delegation.
Those of us who visited New
York’s financial district last March recalled the intensity
of human activity around the World Trade Center and World Financial Center
as we viewed the terror that unfolded on September 11. (As an aside, the
Farm Credit System Funding Corporation is based in Jersey City, N.J., directly
across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan. The folks at the Funding Corporation
responded quickly to the crisis from a funds management perspective.
They maintained sufficient liquidity for the System’s financial needs throughout
that week.)
As we saw in both New York and Washington, good leadership rises
to the occasion during times of crisis. Looking at our own business
and at our success and good fortune over the years, we know
it may not always be that way.
If we ever face a downturn, your board will be in a good position
to provide guidance and oversight on policy and strategic issues,
as always. They challenge each other, and they challenge management.
Good decisions follow good debates.
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