New directors elected to AgFirst Farm Credit Bank board
January 9, 2020
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank stockholders have elected two new directors and re-elected three incumbent directors to four-year terms. A new outside director also has been appointed to the board.
All six began their terms on the Board of Directors for the Columbia-based bank Jan. 1, 2020, and will serve until Dec. 31, 2023.
Mike Patrick of Canton, Miss., and Gary Baldosser of Republic, Ohio, are newly elected to the board. Sherry Bowden of Johns Island, S.C., was appointed by the board as an outside director. William Robinson of St. Matthews, S.C.; Jenny Black of Lakeland, Fla.; and Ellis Taylor of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., were re-elected.
AgFirst is a cooperative that provides funding and technology services to banks that serve farmers and rural communities in the Eastern United States and Puerto Rico.
Mike Patrick is a partner in a 3,700-acre farming operation that produces cotton, corn, soybeans and timber. A lifelong farmer, Patrick earned his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State and his MBA from the University of Mississippi in an effort to become a better farmer, businessman and community member. He currently serves on the Board of Commissioners for Madison County (Miss.) Soil and Water and is a former chairman and current director for First South Farm Credit, an AgFirst-affiliated association. He is a member of the Delta Council, an economic development organization in the Mississippi Delta.
Gary Baldosser is a fourth-generation farmer in Ohio, whose partnership with Farm Credit has set him up for success and will allow him to pass the family business on to his own sons. His operation consists of 2,200 acres of row crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat and hay. He also runs a 25-head cow/calf operation and sells the finished cattle as freezer beef. Baldosser received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from The Ohio State University. He has served numerous community and industry organizations and is currently vice chairman and Compensation Committee chairman of the Ag Credit Board of Directors; Ag Credit is an AgFirst-affiliated association.
Sherry Bowden has a diverse background in financial services. She worked in banking and finance for more than three decades, most recently as a CFO at State Street Corp. in Boston. She is certified in public accountancy and as a personal property appraiser and is trained in business process improvement as a Six Sigma Green Belt. Bowden received her bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary. She also earned a Master of International Management in finance from the American Graduate School of International Management and an MBA from Drury University in a dual degree program. She has served a variety of professional and community organizations and is currently a Central Region board member and vice president of marketing for Boy Scouts of America.
William Robinson is owner-operator of Robinson Family Farm, which consists of hay, corn, cattle and timber. He is executive director for The SEFA Group, an engineering, construction and transportation company. He is also a member of the Orangeburg Area Cattleman’s Association and South Carolina Farm Bureau and serves on the board for the TriCounty Electric Cooperative. Robinson earned engineering degrees from Clemson University and an MBA from Charleston Southern University. He serves on the board of AgSouth Farm Credit, an AgFirst-affiliated association, and on a variety of Farm Credit committees.
Jenny Black owns and operates Jenny Black Consulting, LLC, an information technology consulting company. She also serves as the manager for the following citrus and agricultural operations: Ridge Investments, LLC; Black & Myers Properties; and BHB Holdings, LLC. She is a director of Farm Credit of Central Florida, an AgFirst-affiliated association, and recently was elected to the National Farm Credit Council Board, a trade organization. She is involved in a variety of community and industry organizations. Black holds has a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of South Florida.
Ellis Taylor is owner/operator of a row crop operation, Mush Island Farms, LLC, which consists of cotton, soybeans, wheat, corn and timber. He also is part owner of Roanoke Cotton Company, LLC, which operates three cotton gins and a warehouse. Taylor serves on the board of AgCarolina Farm Credit, an AgFirst-affiliated association, and the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corp., as well as other agricultural organizations. He has bachelor’s degrees in agronomy and ag business management and a master’s in economics from North Carolina State University.
AgFirst has 17 directors who use their experience and expertise to help further the mission of Farm Credit: Supporting rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services, today and tomorrow.
About AgFirst Farm Credit Bank
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank is one of four banks that make up the nationwide Farm Credit System and is the largest financial institution headquartered in South Carolina. Farm Credit has supported rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services for more than 100 years. AgFirst is a cooperative providing funding and/or services to 20 Associations in 18 states and Puerto Rico.
