A Vision Q&A series rooted in agriculture and helping members grow

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in High Prairie, Alberta. In 2010, my wife and I moved to Manning where her family runs a 9,000-acre grain farm.

What was your background in agricultural before Vision?

I didn’t grow up on a farm, but I’ve always been interested in agriculture. Back in 2007, I took an entry level position with a grain company. I worked my way up to a sales rep, then site manager, and then in 2012, I got promoted to territory manager, selling canola seed and chemical.

How did you end up in this field?

I took finance in post-secondary school and I wanted to do something different. When I saw the Vision Credit Union posting for an Ag/Commercial specialist, I thought it was a perfect combination of that agriculture experience and financial services together. I was pretty sure I couldn’t find a better fit than that! 

Tell me about what a what a typical day looks like for you.

Basically, there's no two days that are really the same. The workday can happen anywhere and it's definitely not a 9 to 5 job, which is a good thing, because that's kind of the way I work, too. 

What do you like best about the work you do?

Definitely the relationships. I like to be with members at their farm. Sometimes, that means sitting at the kitchen table, sometimes, it’s on the combine… I think that's kind of what sets us apart from other financial institutions — we go to where their business is. We don't rely on members walking in our front doors.



I think that going out to the farms or ranches shows that we're not just interested in our member’s financial portfolio. We're interested in their entire business, and lots of them have become pretty close…we’re part of the operation. I've been here for 3.5 years now, and I honestly can't imagine going to work anywhere else. 

How is banking with Vision different than dealing with other financial institutions?

I used to deal with a commercial bank, for years, and they had no idea who I was. I was just another number to them. With Vision, we know our members and the ins and outs of their operations, because we build relationships with them. 

With some members, I'm at their house probably once every three weeks, and we definitely don’t start by talking about banking. I’ll go over to make a crop plan for next year and see how we can assist them with that. What's the best plan for them in regard to purchasing their inputs for the next year? How can we structure their payments to work best for them? Things like that.

Why is being “mobile” a service to members?

It’s convenient and saves members time, for sure. But the biggest thing I think members appreciate is that we're dealing with the financial issues at their home where they're most comfortable. For some people, there’s a privacy thing with coming to the branch. They don’t want their neighbours to think they're in trouble because they’re in a loans office. This eliminates that worry.

What do you hope members think when they see that you’re calling?

For lots of producers, the bigger guys, too, when they see the bank’s number show up on their phone, they automatically assume it's bad news. I like to think that when I'm phoning people, they aren't scared to answer the phone. They know we phone to find out good things – just to connect. They know if there is a problem, I’m phoning to talk about options and a way forward. We phone with solutions, not problems.