We sincerely believe that banking is a “people” business — people serving people. Personal service is the first priority of every member of our staff. A close second is knowledge that can be utilized to assist our customers in reaching their dreams.
With the knowledge gained from over 150 years of combined banking experience, coupled with the desire to be of service, Farmers and Merchants Bank is an unsurpassed environment in which to conduct your banking business.
For Deposit Services in Milligan
Checking, Savings, CDs, Travel Cards, Check Orders, Safety Deposit Boxes, Cashier’s Checks and Money Orders
- Wendy Mussman
- Emily Zwickl
- Karen White
New Account Administration
- Shannon Stuhr
- Emily Zwickl
IRAs and HSAs
- Shannon Stuhr
- Emily Zwickl
Debit/Credit Cards
- Shannon Stuhr
- Jamie Schafer
Wire Transfers
- Wendy Mussman
- Emily Zwickl
For Loan Services in Milligan
Loan accounting (balances, payoffs, advances)
- Tracy Kresak
- Tina Yound
- Kendra Jansky
Personal Loans (house, vehicle, boat, etc.)
- Kendra Jansky (NMLS ID# 684417)
Farm Service Agency or Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans
- Ann Jansky
- Tina Yound
Agricultural or Business Loan
- Jeff Spiehs
- Melvin Taylor
- Ann Jansky
- Tina Yound
- Trevor Luzum
For Deposit Services in Cawker City
Checking, Savings, CDs, Travel Cards, Check Orders, Safety Deposit Boxes, Cashier’s Checks and Money Orders, IRAs, HSAs and Debit/Credit Cards
- Jill Weber
- Krista Ruthstrom
For Loan Services in Cawker City
All Loan Products
- Travis Ray (NMLS ID# 1580634)
If you wish to know more about the people that are ready to meet your financial needs:
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Milligan Location
Jeff Spiehs
Jeff Spiehs
President
Jeff joined the bank in October, 2016 and was appointed as President in November, 2016. As President, Jeff has responsibility for all functions of the bank. However, with the excellent staff at the bank, he is able to concentrate on his main responsibility as the Chief Lending Officer. He comes to the bank from Homestead Bank of Cozad where he was the branch manager and loan officer for their Albion location since September 2013. He started his banking career in 2007 as an agricultural loan officer with Platte Valley State Bank in Grand Island, now known as First National Bank of Omaha.
Jeff has been active in banking activities, having graduated from the Nebraska/Kansas Agriculture Lending School and participating in many Nebraska Banker's Association workshops. His civic activities include the Agriculture Institute of Nebraska Board of Directors, local cattlemen groups, FFA Alumni, little league baseball coach and the Milligan Volunteer Fire Department.
Jeff has two children who reside in Aurora.
If you are in need of credit to start a business or farm or expand an existing operation, please contact Jeff.
Mel Taylor
Mel Taylor
Executive Vice-President
Mel helps supervise the lending activity of the bank and personally handles some of the agricultural and commercial business loans. He believes very strongly that the bank can be the primary catalyst in developing new opportunities for people in the area through lending and financial guidance. Mel has been with the bank since 1984.
Mel is married to Lee and they have two grown sons, both married, and four grandsons. He grew up on a farm in western Kansas and has really never been able to get farming out of his system. His primary activities outside the bank are operating his own small farm, managing wildlife habitat on his farms, hunting, visiting his sons and their families and fishing with the grandsons.
If you are in need of credit to start a business or farm or expand an existing operation, please contact Mel.
Ann Jansky
Ann Jansky
Vice-President
Ann joined the staff at Farmers and Merchants Bank in June 1991 as the original Loan Clerk for the bank. She has since held the position of consumer/residential real estate loan officer and currently focuses on agricultural and business loans with an emphasis on FSA guaranteed loans. Ann is also the Compliance Officer for the lending department.
Ann came to Milligan in 1984 as the business teacher at Milligan High School. She is married to Will, and they have two grown sons and two grandsons. Will farms and feeds livestock on their farm northeast of Milligan. In her spare time, Ann enjoys walking, watching sports, playing cards and other games, and spending time with family and friends.
If you are in need of a loan for your farm or business….please contact Ann.
Kendra Jansky
Kendra Jansky
Assistant Vice-President
Kendra joined the bank in May of 1999, beginning her career as Loan Clerk. In 2005, after staffing changes in the bank, she assumed duties as a Consumer Loan Officer. Included in the consumer lending product line offered by Farmers and Merchants Bank are personal purpose, vehicle loans, residential real estate, as well as home improvement loans. Kendra can assist you with any questions you may have regarding existing or potential loans as well.
If you are in need of a consumer or residential real estate loan, contact Kendra.
Tina Yound
Tina Yound
Loan Officer
Tina joined Farmers and Merchants Bank in April of 2018. She is currently training in numerous functions within the loan department.
Tina and her husband, Travis, moved back to Milligan in the fall of 2014. Travis is an insurance agent with Milligan Insurance Agency. They have a son, a daughter, and a dog, Stella. Both Tina and Travis enjoy watching and playing sports, cheering on the Huskers and Denver Broncos and spending time with family and friends.
Trevor Luzum
Trevor Luzum Junior Loan Officer
Trevor, a Milligan native, was a summer intern at Farmers and Merchants Bank in 2019 and 2020. Upon graduating college, he joined Farmers and Merchants Bank full-time in May of 2021 as a Junior Loan Officer. He is currently training in numerous functions within the loan department.
Trevor enjoys spending time outdoors, especially along Turkey Creek, watching and playing sports, attending concerts, and helping his dad and brother on the family farm raising corn, soybeans, and cattle.
Tracy Kresak
Tracy Kresak
Loan Clerk
Tracy joined Farmers and Merchants Bank as Loan Clerk in January of 2011. She has worked in the banking industry for over 10 years and is looking forward to serving customers closer to home. As Loan Clerk, she assists with loan payments, loan advances and helps to answer your loan questions.
Tracy is originally from Johnson, Nebraska. She made Milligan her home after marrying her husband, Brad, in 1995. He farms and raises livestock near Milligan and they have three children. She is enjoying working in the Milligan community and being closer to her family. When she’s not busy with family activities, she also enjoys spending time with friends and reading.
Jamie Schafer
Jamie Schafer Vice-President
Jamie oversees the operations area of the bank, which includes many products and services. Most of her time is spent on managerial duties such as product research and implementation, regulatory reports, compliance with government regulations and bringing new technology to the bank. She is the bank's Information Technology Officer and Bank Secrecy Act Officer and is also the Compliance Officer for the Operations Department. Other duties include maintaining bank policies and preparing documents for audits and regulatory exams. She also serves as Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors.
Jamie has been with the bank since May of 2002. She and her husband, Lonnie, live on a farm southwest of Tobias and have two children. She loves life on the farm and enjoys camping, boating and spending time with her family, friends and animals.
Emily Zwickl
Emily joined the bank in October of 2017. As the Cashier, she supervises the Tellers and Bookkeepers and handles the deposit and accounting functions in the bank. She will be one of the first faces you see when entering the bank, as she is often at one of the front teller windows. She assists customers with account information and performs teller functions. She is currently being trained in many other areas such as IRAs, HSAs and back office operations.
Emily is originally from Tobias, but now lives in Milligan with her husband, Jordan. She enjoys fishing, hunting, boating and spending time with family and friends.
Wendy Mussman
Wendy Mussman
Assistant-Cashier
As Assistant Cashier, Wendy’s responsibilities at the bank include Wire Transfer and Cash Management duties. She also handles Check Orders, Savings Bonds, maintains customer account records and coordinates events such as our annual customer appreciation night.
A Milligan native, Wendy has been with the bank since 1982. She is married to BJ and they live on a farm near Ohiowa. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, and as a cat lover, caring for her cats. Being outside after a day at the bank is done is also one of her pleasures.
Shannon Stuhr
Shannon Stuhr
Administrative Assistant
Shannon joined the banking team in the fall of 2007. Shannon’s primary responsibility is New Account Representative at the Milligan location. Along with checking and savings accounts, she has become the expert in all aspects of Individual Retirement Accounts and Health Savings Accounts. She enjoys greeting and visiting with customers to make them feel welcome. Shannon is also a contact for Debit Card, Credit Card and Online Banking issues. As her title implies, she assists Jamie with a variety of duties and looks forward to where the next project will take her.
Shannon and her husband, Tom, live in Milligan. She has two grown children and a rambunctious cat named Samson. When at home, she is kept busy with her love of beekeeping and creating products for her “Locusts & Wild Honey” business. She also looks forward to tending to her garden in the summer, reading, making pottery and spending time with family. She is a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Cordova.
Stop in and see Shannon if you would like to open an account.
Karen White
Karen White
Teller/Customer Service Representative
Karen joined Farmers and Merchants Bank in March 2018. She has enjoyed helping customers. The staff and customers have been a joy for her to work with and a joy to get to know.
Karen was born in Columbia, Missouri. She moved to Geneva, Nebraska in 1980 when she married her husband Jim. Karen and Jim have lived on the family farm near Burress for the last 27 years. Jim farms and raises cattle. They have a son and a daughter who are grown. They also have four grandchildren. In her spare time Karen enjoys gardening, flowers, reading, cooking, puzzles and being with family and friends.
Danielle Pendleton
Danielle Pendleton Human Resource Coordinator
Danielle joined Farmers and Merchants Bank as their HR Coordinator in April of 2020. She is currently training in numerous areas relating to Human Resources, Payroll, and IT support at the bank. She was previously employed at Smithfield Foods where she attained over 10 years of HR experience.
Danielle was born and raised in Friend, NE where she currently resides with her husband, Sam and their two daughters. Sam is the Director of Agronomy Sales at Easy Automation Inc. Danielle enjoys baking, being outside, traveling, cheering on the Huskers and spending time with family and friends.
Cawker City Location
Travis Ray
Travis Ray
Vice-President, Branch Manager
Travis joined the bank in February, 2024 as a Vice President and Branch Manager of the Cawker City location. Growing up in Northwest Kansas gave him a background in agriculture. He graduated from Fort Hays State University with a degree in finance. He continued his education and graduated from Graduate School of Banking in Colorado. He comes to the bank from Guaranty State Bank & Trust Co. where he was the Vice President of Lending. He has been in lending since 2013, with experience in consumer, commercial, agriculture, and residential lending.
Travis loves sports and the outdoors. You can usually find him fishing, hunting, or playing sports with his wife Kelsi, 2 boys and 3 girls. He lives in Smith County and is on the Economic Development Board and multiple other committees. He looks forward to getting involved in a new community.
If you are in need of credit to start a business or farm or expand an existing operation or buying/refinancing your home, please contact Travis.
Jill Weber
Jill Weber
Customer Service Representative
Jill started a new career path in November 2019 as a Teller/Customer Service Representative at Farmers and Merchants Bank and thoroughly enjoys it. She is originally from Beloit, but has lived in Cawker City since 1986. She likes working in her hometown and helping the customers with their transactions. Jill and her husband Steve have four grown children, seven grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. Her hobbies include sewing, crafting, walking and spending time with family and friends.
Krista Ruthstrom
Krista Ruthstrom
Customer Service Representative
After some time away, Krista returned to Farmers and Merchants Bank in December 2023. She is looking forward to working with everyone again and re-acquainting herself with her customers.
Krista and her husband Ben are from Mankato, but reside in Osborne where he is a Line Supervisor for Rolling Hills Electric. They have 2 daughters. In her spare time, Krista enjoys gardening, spending time with family and reading.