| F&M Newsletter - February 2004
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us know. Otherwise, we'll keep the latest version here. These are the
articles from February 2004.
“We are pleased to announce the addition of Marcus McCance to our staff, who will assume the title of Managing Director of Palm Tree Mortgage and Capital funding Group,” stated F & M CEO and Chairman, Michael G. Steelman. McCance is a native of Bushnell, Illinois, and has most recently served as the managing director of Agricultural Mortgage Company of America, based in Louisville, Kentucky. McCance has over twenty years experience in financial services, including the Illinois Agricultural Association/Country Companies, Farm Credit Banks of Louisville and co-founder of two successful commercial mortgage banking companies. McCance served in the U. S. Navy, and has continued in the Naval Reserve, presently serving as a Commander within Naval Forces Central Command in Tampa, Florida. McCance is a graduate of Illinois State University, obtaining a B.S. in finance and a masters of business administration. Mr. McCance is married to Gaye (Cortelyou) McCance, also a Bushnell native. They have two children, daughter Nicole (and B.J.) Sams (and granddaughter Eden Grace) of Texarkana, Texas, and son Tyler McCance, a student at the University of New Orleans. McCance commented, “I am excited by the opportunity to amplify and
expand the products of Farmers and Merchants State Bank, to better serve
its existing customers and create a new customer base in Southwest
Florida. We will operate a wholesale mortgage operation offering fixed
rate residential mortgages, commercial and agricultural real estate loans,
and many other consumer and commercial loan products.” The B-PC Public Schools Foundation will host a dinner, dance and silent
auction the evening of March 6, 2004, at Delaney’s Depot in Bushnell. The
tax-deductible cost for attendance is $50 per couple, or $175 for a table
of 8, and includes a full dinner buffet and the dance. The foundation was established to help the school district with its needs. The six-member governing board of volunteer directors includes: Chm. Don Swartzbaugh, Allen Barclay, Julie Blout, Barb Jameson, Larry Serven and Travis Hiel. Nine volunteer trustees who aid the board include: Chm. Kim Curtis, Sheena Boden, Gary Cooper, Mary Brookhart, Bob Martin, Jr., Dave Stuann, Stacie Batson, Steve Russell and Britney Chapman. Seating for the dinner and dance is limited. Contact one of the directors or trustees to purchase your tickets today.
Best wishes go out to the following people who recently celebrated big wedding anniversaries: James (Ted) and Ethel Cox of Bushnell (71 years), Clifton and Maxine Torrance of Good Hope (61 years), Bob and Pat Rutledge of Adair (55 years), and Wayne and Madeleine Fox of Bushnell (50 years). Congratulations to all of you! F & M employee service anniversaries are really big in February for our own Pat Hensley (40 years), Mike Steelman (20 years) and Debbie Pestle (20 years). Congratulations to each of you! Farmers & Merchants appreciates all the years of service you have provided to so many members of our community! Recent birthday celebrations honored Eula Benham (100) of Avon,
Mildred Winget (94), Marian Feaster (89) and Opal
Fitch (86) all of Bushnell, Grace White (90) of Ellisville,
Louise Meloan (84) of Highland, and Thelma Fox (80) of Good
Hope. F & M extends really big birthday wishes to each and
every one of you! HH bonds are not sold for cash. They are only available when exchanged for maturing H, E or EE bonds, in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000. HH bonds allow the owner to continue deferring taxes on the interest earned on the original bond for up to another 20 years. Before you rush to cash in that old E bond that matures in 2007 and is earning 4%, consider this trade-off. The HH bonds currently pay only 1.5%. The interest rate is determined at the time of purchase, and adjusted after 10 years. You could get 20 more years of tax deferral, but in exchange, you’re giving up roughly three years of interest at the extra 2.5%. Check with one of the F & M tellers for more information on
purchasing or exchanging your bonds. Carolyn Carr joined the Farmers & Merchants family nearly 44 years ago, on July 5, 1960, as a proof operator and check filer. She advanced to Head Bookkeeper, Auditor, Cashier, and now represents the bank as its Senior Customer Service Representative and Hall of Fame Club Travel Coordinator. Carolyn was born to Hazel (deceased) and Ivan Zuck in Abingdon, moved to Bushnell as a teenager, graduated from B-PC High School, and she and husband, Bernard, reside in Bushnell. She has two children, April (Tony) Tatham of Avon and Deann (Jeff) Yerk of Prairie City, and five grandchildren, Bronson, Brayden and Gracie Tatham, and Alexis and Jacob Roach. When not at the bank, Carolyn is a strong supporter of the Town & Country Festival (especially the pie and cake judging and auction) and the Hometown Heroes military men and women. She also loves to do counted cross stitch, watch her grandchildren at their sports activities, and be with her friends and family. Carolyn's favorite recipes are:
Glaze: Confectioner sugar and chocolate syrup. Melt chocolate bar with chocolate syrup and set aside. Cream together margarine and sugar. Add one egg at a time, beating after each. Add baking soda to buttermilk. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk mixture to creamy mixture. Blend in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Pour into well greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350º for 1½ hours. Mix additional chocolate syrup with confectioner sugar to glaze.
Make Jell-O with two cups hot water. Let cool until steaming ceases. Add sherbet and stir. Add drained fruit and refrigerate until set.
Combine applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs and milk. Mix well. Add flour, baking soda and powder, nutmeg, allspice and ½ tsp. cinnamon and mix well Fold in ½ cup of pecans. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Combine remaining ¼ c. pecans, brown sugar and ½ tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle over batter. Bake 20 minutes at 350º.
For Your Consideration*...by Shirley Rapp HD recently traded at $35.60 per share, had a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.2, and currently pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share. Georgia based Home Depot has had many stock splits, three occurring since the summer of 1997. Sales-per-share increased from $0.97 in 1987 to $25.40 in 2002, and earnings-per-share increased from $0.04 to $1.56 for the same period. Sales for Home Depot increased from $9.2 billion in 1993 to $58 billion in 2002. This large cap company has a total debt of $1.3 billion, with a 6% debt-to-capital ratio. The company has no preferred stock or pension plan debt. For further information on Home Depot or any investment, please contact Shirley Rapp or any of the professionals of Trust-Mart® to help you implement your investment decisions. *This column is informational only, with no
investment advice given or intended. Investments in securities are not
insured by the FDIC, and involve risk, including the possible loss of
principal. All material presented is compiled from sources believed to be
reliable, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Before buying any security,
its prospectus should be carefully read. Trust-Mart© is a full-service
trust department of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Bushnell,
Illinois.
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