Employee Spotlight: Michelle Ruebush
Employee Spotlights
Job Title: Branch Manager
Location: Harrisonburg Branch
Tenure: 2 years
Briefly describe your involvement in 4-H or FFA. My two daughters show livestock for Willing Workers 4-H Group, as well as for Stewart Middle School FFA. My oldest, Hayden, shows cattle, lambs and goats. Her younger sister, Heidi, shows lambs.
Briefly describe your involvement in agriculture. My husband and I own a farm in Augusta County and over the years we have owned hair sheep, beef cattle, goats, chickens and a variety of wool sheep.
Tell us about your family. My husband, Scott, and I are high school sweethearts and have been together since 2000. We were married in 2011 and are raising our family on our farm. We have three amazing kids who keep us always on the run! My oldest daughter is Hayden, and she is 12 and going into 7th grade. My middle daughter, Heidi, is 10 and going into 5th grade. My youngest, Heath, is 5 and going into 1st grade.
Tell us about your favorite/best pet you've ever had. Our dog, Maya, is how my kids first gained their love of animals! She was our first pet together as a couple. Maya was an American Bulldog and full of slobber! She was with us for every baby we brought home, our wedding and our move to the farm. My kids loved growing up with her. Still to this day, they each have a Maya stuffed animal that goes on every family vacation we have.
What is your favorite personal mantra or motto? One of my personal mantras is to never give up! I read a lot of basketball quotes to the girls’ teams I help coach, and Michael Jordan is one the greatest player of all time. One of my favorites of his is, "I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying!"
What is your favorite app and why? My favorite app is Pinterest! I love searching for a new recipe, quick dinner meals on the run, new hairstyles and all of the how-to and DIY content!
What is your favorite season? Summer!! Summer is hands down my favorite time of the year! I live for the sand in my toes, warm weather and just relaxing in the sun!
Tell us about your hobbies. My hobbies all involve my children, I love nothing more in life than watching them do what they love – from the basketball court to the softball field and seeing them work the show ring!
Have you ever collected anything? I love going to the beach and finding seashells! I have several jars from each beach we have been to and love hunting for beautiful new shells on the beach with my family.
How do you balance career and your family? The balancing act of career and family is one that continues to get more micromanaged every year. Communication is the key to keeping everything in life running smooth from the professional side to the kids’ sports schedules. I have more calendars than any one human should have, but I never show up late and my kids understand the importance of being on time and ready to go!
What is your favorite thing about Farm Credit? There are so many things I love about Farm Credit! The main ones are the people! Everyone here always asks about myself, my family and how things are going. Everyone is here to help you be successful. The member-owners are the backbone to Farm Credit's success, and we have some of the best I have ever dealt with. I have been in sales for over 15 years, and I can truly say I wish I would have made the switch to Farm Credit sooner in my career!
What three words would your friends use to describe you? My friends would say I am social, family-oriented and driven.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? I wish I had genie-like powers! Poof, what's for dinner? Poof, clean my house! Poof, where are my shoes? I would need more than three wishes a day, but I think I could live with genie powers!