Farmers Bank - A Man Of The People

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Farmers Bank Executive Vice-President Roger Hysell retires after 36 years of service.

When Roger Hysell came to work for Farmers Bank as a teller, the old saying, "you're a name, not a number", was the literal truth. His new bank had no account numbers. "A company called Ohio Valley Data Processing finally came in to assign them," he recalls. "That was the beginning of automation." He pauses and adds regretfully, "And it's gone on and on and on."

Roger, who retired on September 30th after 36 years with the bank, greatly prefers a more personal approach. Retiring as Executive Vice President in charge of Bank Operations, he remained adamant in his belief that despite the frantic pace of modern life, people still want personal service from the bank above all else.

"Automation is a double-edged sword. Things that make it easier for us can sometimes make it harder for the customers. I've always tried to make sure that didn't happen here.

When I started in 1969, Farmers Bank had one office. One drive-thru with one lane. There were adding machines, not computers, on the teller line. And two ladies manually posted all the daily transactions. The only other bank was Pomeroy National. They were competitors, but they were friends. We used to exchange our cash letters by walking them up and down the street."

Roger moved up through the ranks over the years, from teller to assistant cashier to cashier to vice-president and then to executive vice-president. "I don't remember the dates," he says. But in a drawer of his desk, he has carefully saved every nameplate he acquired as he moved up the ladder.

"I only have a high school education. I'm not sure you can get this far at a bank today without some sort of degree. My uncle wanted me to be doctor and offered to send me to med school, but I wasn't interested then," a decision he regrets.

Degree or no, co-workers praise him as a gifted supervisor. He has a special fondness for the bank's tellers, whom he once supervised. "They are the only people that 80% of our customers ever see. Most of them have families and small children, and that's their most important obligation. We try to remember that here. You have to be good to people."

Peggy Barton, now teller supervisor, says Roger gave her room to grow, allowing her to do her job with just the right amount of guidance. "He's a chameleon," says Barton. "He has the knack of adjusting his demeanor to the individual he's talking with. He's great at soothing ruffled feathers."

He also has the gift of gab. "By the time Roger was finished talking," according to co-worker Jo Ann Crisp, "the IRS would give us a refund just to get him off the phone."
At one time, Roger managed the bank's investments. When asked how he did, he smiles and says simply, "We made money." Until his retirement, a steady stream of customers visited to take advantage of his knowledge of the investment market.

"Customers (would) sit and visit with him. (There was) a lot of trust," says Donna Schmoll, also a long-time friend and co-worker. "Every customer (was) his favorite." People would say, "I didn't know who to turn to, but I knew if I came to you, it would be all right."

To friends and co-workers, Roger confided how much he regrets the restraints that greater banking regulations, complex technology and increased competition have imposed. "The job isn't as fun as it used to be. Mark (Mark Groves, Hysell's successor) will have to wear more hats than I did."

"The business of making a bank profitable is more complicated now," agrees Groves, but says that Roger has helped him to keep his focus on the customer. "We'll make sure our technology remains customer-driven," he says, citing the success of the bank's new free checking product, which features online statements.

Roger concedes that technology can be beneficial to the customer. "We introduced check imaging last year, which replaced cancelled checks with imaged statements. Our customers really liked it," he says, with the faintest note of surprise. "It made things more convenient for them." He notes that no one at Farmers has ever lost a job due to automation.

He also has very strong feelings about what it takes to compete in the local market. "There are banks around here that were good banks until they started cutting back on staff. Then they lost it. They forgot to keep the customer first. They don't have the personality that Farmers has." In recent years, the bank has opened a string of successful branches, with a fifth location to open next year in Point Pleasant. "We branch out and introduce new products in order to grow the bank, but the decisions are always made with the customer in mind."

Roger has diverse skills and interests outside of banking. He was one of the divers who assisted with recovery efforts following the Silver Bridge collapse. He taught EMT courses in Mason, working with the squad for years. He was once an accomplished pilot. "He can take a plane up and down, but he can't walk on the ground," notes Crisp, referring to Roger's reputation as a lovable klutz. On the occasion of his semi-retirement last year, Schmoll recalled a few such occasions: "Remember the time you got caught under your desk? We could hear you yelling for help, but we couldn't find you!" As well as the time he caught his fingers in the hinges of the kitchen cabinets and could only be extricated after a liberal application of dishwashing soap.

One suspects that such incidents are not entirely accidental. "On a busy day, Roger (would) come walking through the teller line and pretend to trip," says Barton. "Everyone laughs and relaxes and the tension is broken." Paul Reed, President of Farmers Bank, agreed. "Roger is the calm of the storm that helps us to remember to make each day enjoyable."

He is also known for his sense of humor. Everyone laughed when Roger declined to speak at co-worker Linda Mayer's recent 25th anniversary party, joking "I'm just too emotional". "Actually," he confides later, "I really was."

"My father was a real catbird, too" says Roger. "But you know, there was a day when I'd cross the road if I saw you coming. I was that backward."

Roger overcame that insecurity with the support of his family and his co-workers, who have become a second family to him. "Good times or bad, the people here were every bit as helpful and supportive as my own family."

Roger has retired to his home near Racine, Ohio. "I grew up there, and bought the property from my uncle. There's 110 acres, so there's plenty of hay to cut." Barb, Roger's wife of seventeen years, owns and operates B & R Market in Syracuse. "She's worked hard to get back customers," he notes with pride. People come from as far away as Point Pleasant and Ravenswood, drawn by the market's homemade pies and friendly atmosphere.

"I'm really going to miss these people. I'm blessed to have been able to work in one place for so long. But I'm tired." Having said this, he promptly stopped to reassure a concerned friend that he will be glad to come back in to help her with her banking whenever she needs him.

"He's instilled those values in us," says Barton. "We'll keep right on taking care of people just as he has."

Long-time Farmers Bank customer Donna Ihle sums it up. "He gives you everything, plus. He'll do research to make sure you have the best of options. When my husband passed away, he helped me get things changed and was a comfort in doing so.

I had the feeling he did that for every customer, that he gave 100% of his energies and did the same excellent job for each. And you felt like he genuinely wanted to do it."

The reward of the banking business, or any other, according to Roger Hysell, is in the knowledge that you helped somebody along the way& "knowing that somebody's life is a little better because of you."

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