Farm Credit Welcomes Hower as Associate Accountant
Farm Credit of the Virginias (FCV), a lending cooperative that serves Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, announced that Melissa Hower has joined the Association as an associate accountant, based in the headquarters location in Staunton, Va.
Originally from Wisconsin, Hower now resides in Mount Sidney, Va. Her grandparents had a dairy farm in Wisconsin, which transitioned to a hunting preserve raising a variety of birds and waterfowl annually. The property is still in Hower’s family today, with a portion of it being rented to a local farmer and some acreage maintained by her brother for personal use.
Hower received an associate degree in marketing from a local technical college in Wisconsin in 2002. She is currently enrolled in an accounting program at Blue Ridge Community College with the goal of completing an associate degree in December 2027. For the majority of her 25+ year career prior to joining FCV, Hower worked as store manager, area manager or training manager for several large retail companies.
Regarding her new role, Hower shared, “As scary as it can be to begin a new career path, it’s a fresh start. I am excited to learn and grow with a company that invests in its people and is committed to its rural communities. I am looking forward to putting my schoolwork into real life applications and strengthening my skills.” She continued, “I also hope my background in training will be beneficial as I review current procedures and help find unseen inefficiencies where we as an organization may be able to make improvements.”
Anita Parker, finance manager, shared, “Melissa brings a positive attitude, genuine thoughtfulness and a strong work ethic to everything she does! We enjoy having her on our team.”
Outside of work, Hower enjoys spending time with her family. She and her husband enjoy kayaking in the summer and soaking up the sunshine with their dogs. Hower is also very involved in several organizations, including a local motorcycle riding club where she serves as secretary, as well as her church, where she holds a number of responsibilities, including serving as treasurer, teaching Adult Sunday School, crocheting shawls for a prayer ministry and playing in the handbell choir.
About Farm Credit of the Virginias
Farm Credit of the Virginias provides over $2.5 billion dollars in financing to more than 12,500 farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners throughout Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland. Farm Credit is a cooperative capitalized largely through investments made by farmers, ranchers and the rural homeowners and businesses that borrow from them. In fact, as part of a nationwide network they are the largest single provider of agricultural credit in the United States and have been for over 100 years. Farm Credit helps maintain and improve the quality of life in rural America and on the farm through its constant commitment to competitive lending, expert financial services and for facilitating and sharing knowledge and resources through the Farm Credit Knowledge Center.