Women in Business

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Sunday, May 31, 2015 • 1F

Women in BUSIN

ESS

We salute our area’s female business professionals for their great work and contributions to our community.

Suzanne Gilbert

Linda Capps

Michelle Briggs

Suzanne Gilbert believes in giving back.

She has been touching lives in this area through her multiple business interests and many volunteer positions for years, and she has no intentions of quitting.

Gilbert doesn’t have a job. She has a handful.

She owns the Tecumseh Tag Agency and Gilbert Insurance Agency where she sells American Farmers and Ranchers Insurance policies. In addition to those pursuits, she and her family cleared some land and repurposed a farmhouse and built an 80x80 barn that they transformed into Crossing Hearts Ranch that is a destination location for weddings and events.

All of those businesses came into fruition after she left a career as a special education teacher to spend more time with her family.

But even with all of her business interests, more of her time is donated to support community activities. She is the current chair of the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and also co-chairs the agri-business committee for the Chamber of Commerce. Gilbert has served in similar roles on the Tecumseh Chamber of Commerce, as well.

She has spent 23 years working in support of the annual IFYR Rodeo. She also works with her husband, Randy, who is a member of the fair board to help make the Pottawatomie County Fair a success every year.

Gilbert is the Chair of the St. Anthony Hospital Foundation Spring Benefit and the Pottawatomie County Junior Livestock Show Scholarship Committee.

“Even with everything I do, I would give them all up to keep working on the fair,” Gilbert said.

“The fair has something for everyone. There aren’t enough good family events anymore.”

But Gilbert isn’t giving anything up.

She has a passion for young people and giving them opportunities.

“People forget that someone helped us to get to where we are,” she said. “And we should do the same.”

That thought drives her work on the scholarship committee. She was part of the group that raised the funds for the program that provides four, $1,500 scholarships to Livestock Show participants each year.

“When you read the scholarship entries, you know that what you are doing is making a difference,” Gilbert said.

Her passion to help young people also pushes her involvement in the rodeo organization.

Linda Capps cares about people.

She can tell about her appointments to local, state and national boards, entering a Hall of Fame and even winning a nation-wide office in tribal government, but her true inspiration comes from her concern for others.

Capps was brought to tears recalling her relationship with her daughter, special students she taught, or the employees she oversees as Vice Chairman of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Capps’ daughter had a lot to do with her own education. Kimberly is deaf and was attending the Jane Brooks School for the Deaf in Chickasha in the early 1970s. Capps took advantage of that time to attend college at USAO in Chickasha, where she graduated in 1975.

When the laws changed and her daughter was able to attend public schools, The Capps moved to Shawnee, and both Linda and Roy taught school for Tecumseh High School. Kimberly and their two sons attended South Rock Creek. Roy was the Tecumseh High School boy’s basketball coach and Linda taught high school business courses and worked as the Indian Education Coordinator.

Capps also began working at Tecumseh High School teaching business classes and working as the Indian Student Counselor.

In 1983, Capps left Tecumseh Schools to teach at Kickapoo Vo-Tech housed at Gordon Cooper Technology Center (GCTC). The program was designed for Native American adults to prepare for their GED, study horticulture, and/or prepare for the carpentry apprentice program. Capps helped the GED students and taught carpentry math. In 1987, she would become a Bid Assistance Coordinator, one of twelve for the State of Oklahoma.

She continued to be housed at GCTC under the umbrella of Business and Industry Services for the school. In that role, she helped businesses in her five-county region to receive millions of dollars in contracts.

“I worked hard at that program,” Capps said.

When she finally retired from that part of her career, Capps started full time work as the Vice Chair of CPN in December of 1989. She didn’t take on administrative duties for the tribe until 1998.

“I am very proud of the tribe,” Capps said, pointing out that CPN is made up of 31,807 members who live across the United States and in several other countries. “We had only 300 employees in the 1980s and now we have been the largest employer in the county for nine years.”

She said the astronomical growth comes from stability and consistency that she and Chairman

Michelle Briggs says she has the best job in the world.

It would be a hard to argue with her. Thanks to Briggs’ former career, her current position includes the duty of responsibly funding great projects that encourage and promote healthy living across Pottawatomie county and the surrounding communities.

Briggs is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Avedis Foundation.

“The best thing about this job is getting to witness people do wonderful things, many times with no one even knowing about it,” Briggs said. “It is rewarding to work with a foundation that can help them accomplish those things.”

Briggs had as much to do with the creation of the foundation as she does the day-to-day operations more than two years later.

After attending the University of Arkansas, she began a career in banking because it paid her $50 more per month than other offers she had received.

She worked her way up the ladder until she was one of the first female bank presidents in Oklahoma.

During her career, she also completed a Graduate Degree of Banking from the University of Wisconsin.

While in that role, she was working across the street from Mercy Hospital. Soon she was invited to serve on the hospital’s Board of Directors. The seven years she served on that board planted a seed that was important to her eventual position in Shawnee.

After marrying her husband, Larry, the couple moved to Shawnee where he is President of First National Bank. Because of his position, Michelle considered retiring from banking. However, retirement just wasn’t for her and she soon had her investment and insurance licenses and was working in the financial arena again.

Soon, she had a similar offer to serve on the board of directors of the Unity Hospital in Shawnee.

During her tenure as Chair of that board, they formed a task force to consider selling the facility and creating a public foundation with the proceeds from the sale.

“This foundation was part of the vision of the board when we began discussing selling the hospital,” Briggs said. “With my banking and investment experience, I realized that I had been getting ready for this my entire life.”

After the sale, the Avedis Foundation was formed. Currently, they have more than $125 million in assets and have funded millions of dollars in health related projects in the region in just over two years of existence.

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2F • Sunday, May 31, 2015

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

news-star.com Shawnee News-Star

Annette Stuckey Annette Stuckey, Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer of First National Bank & Trust Co. has 38 years of banking experience, eight of which she has served at FNB. As a member of the Executive Team of the bank and CFO, she is responsible for the financial planning and budgetary process, regulatory reporting, and provides oversight for a variety of departments including Deposit Support Services, Retail Banking, Human Resources, Compliance and IT. In addition, Annette is an integral part of developing the financial strategy for the bank. She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies - Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma. Community service is a value that Stuckey appreciates about the people of Shawnee and

a value that was also shared by one of her role models, Mother Teresa, whose love and compassion have impacted her. In fact, it is her commitment to community service that has motivated her involvement with and support of the Friends of the MabeeGerrer Museum of Art, the volunteer society for the Museum having served as President, Recording Secretary and Chair of the Annual Gala. Stuckey is also a volunteer with Project Safe, a member of the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, and is an Honors Graduate of Leadership Shawnee. In her professional life, she values the contrasts of her job: strategy vs details, relationships vs numbers, challenges vs routine. Like another role model, Queen Elizabeth, Stuckey strives to live with leadership and courage.

Brittney Fields

Diane Hinton

Brittney Fields, Loan Support Manager/ Banking Officer at First National Bank & Trust Co. oversees and manages centralized lending processing for all consumer and commercial loans, coordinating with loan officers to ensure completion of key support processes and confirming compliance with lending laws and regulations. Fields holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Leadership from Oklahoma State University. In addition to her professional responsibilities at the bank, Fields is also involved in the Shawnee Lions Club and lends her support to events the bank sponsors such as the Bowl for Kids’ Sake, the Salvation Army and SPAR. Her enjoyment of working in Shawnee stems from the ability to really get to know the people she lives around, works with and serves at the bank. Fields

As Vice President/Credit Risk, Diane Hinton manages First National Bank & Trust Co.’s credit risk department, ensuring the overall quality of FNB’s lending portfolio, effectively managing credit risk, overseeing corporate governance practices, and advising Officers on credit risk issues regarding strategic decision making.

Hinton has over 30 years of banking and credit risk experience. A seasoned professional, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Sarah Lawrence College and is a Certified Credit Analyst through the Chase Manhattan Bank Professional Credit Training Program. While new to Shawnee, Hinton immediately became involved civically serving as a member of the Shawnee Lions Club and as a volun-

will also explain that she is motivated by the fact that, while she deals in forms and numbers, she knows in the long run it makes a difference for people.

Judy Little

Gloria Quezada Gloria Quezada provides strategic direction for employee development at First National Bank & Trust Co., as the Senior Vice President/Human Resources, recruiting banking professionals, implementing education and training, providing oversight for the compensation and benefits plan and defining employee policies and procedures. In addition, she is involved in the overall strategic planning process and implementation of programs and initiatives that impact employees of the bank across the state. Quezada holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and a Master’s Degree in Accounting from Oklahoma City University and is a graduate of the University of WisconsinMadison’s Graduate School of Banking in HR Management. An avid community volunteer, she lends her support to Proj-

Judy Little, who was recently promoted to Assistant Vice President/Deposit Support Manager at First National Bank & Trust Co. also celebrated her eighteenth anniversary there in May. Little oversees and ensures completion of key support processes for internal bank customers through research, bookkeeping, account verification and other consumer services such as wires and debit cards. She was born in Shawnee, has lived in the area her whole life, and appreciates the good community and amenities Shawnee provides.

Little volunteers locally at the MabeeGerrer Museum of Art. ect Safe, United Way, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and the Salvation Army. She is also a frequent traveler to Uganda where she is part of mission work for a village supported by her church.

Jeanine Shaw Jeanine Shaw has more than 13 years of experience in the banking industry, most recently serving as the Loan Support Manager/Banking Officer for First National Bank & Trust Co. Now as Compliance Officer, Shaw monitors bank policies and practices to ensure their compliance with internal and external banking laws and regulations, serves as a liaison to department managers and the Board on applicable compliance points, confirms employee compliance training, and analyzes new, revised, or pending laws and regulations.

Like many at FNB, Shaw enjoys making a difference not only in business but also in the lives of the people with whom she interacts. She loves the community of Shawnee and seeing how people work together to improve and enhance all that Shawnee offers. For inspiration as a professional

teer with the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary.

business woman, Shaw looks to the many strong women in her past such as supervisors, coworkers and family members who have motivated her to move forward, be strong, and reach high.

Suzanne Gilbert “I love being around those kids,” Gilbert said. “The rodeo participants are the cream of the crop.”

In addition to her multiple local activities, Gilbert has also served as the first and only female Chair of the State FFA Foundation Board of Directors.

Women were first allowed in FFA groups in 1969, but until Gilbert took the helm, no woman had reached that level.

She said the biggest influence on her life and best role model was her grandmother who taught first grade for 30 years.

“She was the best woman I have known,” she said. “She was always teaching us.”

But Gilbert’s mother was also a big influence on her. She raised her family as a single mother after her husband died in a truck accident when Suzanne was only a 10-year-old.

“People were good to us when I was growing up,” she said. “Sometimes money would be tight, but if we needed things, people always made sure we had them. I try to always to that for others.”

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One way she does that is by helping her husband honor his mother every year at the Tecumseh Family Thanksgiving Dinner.

Randy’s mother had always liked the idea of the Red Andrews Christmas Dinner in Oklahoma City. After she died from a short battle with pancreatic cancer, Randy and Suzanne noticed that many of the groups that provide meals for people each day don’t operate on holidays.

“So we got together with some friends and started a dinner,” Gilbert said. “A lot of families help with it. It has been a true blessing to be a part of something like that in our community.”

As proof of lives touched in work, volunteer and family life, more than 500 people enjoyed the Tecumseh Family Thanksgiving Dinner in the ninth year of the event last November.

From the classroom to the boardroom, and from the rodeo grounds to the fair grounds, Suzanne Gilbert spends her time creating opportunities for others and making her community a better place to live.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

news-star.com Shawnee News-Star

Sunday, May 31, 2015 • 3F

Renah Coffman

Kathey Birch

Renah Coffman recently joined First National Bank & Trust Co. as a Consumer Lending Officer with more than 5 years of banking experience. Coffman draws upon her banking experience in financial loan contract development and customer relations to provide businesses with banking solutions that meet their financial needs and enable them to take the next step towards achieving their financial goals.

Coffman is a graduate of Seminole State College, a member of Shawnee Kiwanis and a volunteer with Project Safe. Born and raised in Shawnee, she is proud to claim it as home again, after living away for 15 years. Family and community are Coffman’s motivators in life; she enjoys giving back to the community she loves.

Her mother holds a special place in her heart as the person who always encour-

Kathey Birch has more than 32 years of banking experience providing leadership, administrative and operational oversight and support to bank branches. As Senior Vice President/Retail Operations Manager, Birch oversees and supports First National Bank & Trust Co. bank branches throughout the state, ensuring the development of business and personal checking accounts, implementation of the FNB standard of excellence for customer contact points such as the new accounts and teller operations, as well as ATM availability and operations. She is a content expert for FNB products and services, reviewing and updating policy and procedure for functional aspects of branch operation. Birch attended Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Banker Association Intermediate School of Banking, and Oklahoma Banker Association Operations School. She is an active member of Lions Club of Shawnee and a volunteer with Project Safe. When she accepted her position with First National Bank &

aged Coffman to follow her own path in life and achieve her goals. Shawnee has proven to be the place where she is doing just that.

Shawn Hatch Shawn Hatch has served with First National Bank & Trust Co. for six years as Executive Assistant and Banking Officer providing high level administrative support for the bank’s executive leadership team including Bank President and CEO Larry Briggs. Hatch assists in the implementation of strategic planning efforts, builds relationships as a key point of contact for customers, and crafts communication pieces for multiple applications. Civically and philanthropically, Hatch serves as a member of the FNB’s HEROES Council, as an FNB Ambassador, Board Member for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Lions Club of Shawnee member, Junior Service League member, and is a volunteer with Project Safe. Hatch is motivated professionally by seeing the big picture of how her work impacts the lives of people as customers she assists achieve

Trust Co. in November of 2013, she and her husband relocated to Shawnee and found the people to be the community’s best asset with co-workers, business professionals and neighbors extending a warm and friendly welcome. Birch enjoys her job because she is able to give back to her community by helping those in her community make their dreams a reality through financial success.

Linda Capps continued from page 1F

financial success. However, it is the community experience that is central in her love for Shawnee; a place large enough to offer a multitude of opportunities while providing an atmosphere of warmth and hospitality.

Michelle Briggs continued from page 1F

“Avedis’ is a Armenian word that means “bearer of glad tidings or good news.”

“Our tag line is that we will be here for good,” Briggs said.

When Briggs said she was getting ready for this position her entire life, she doesn’t just mean as the presi-

John “Rocky” Barrett have brought to the tribe the past 25 years.

“You have to have that stability to have success,” Capps said. “I feel like my work frees up the Chairman to do the really important things.”

But Capps knows about doing important things too.

She served as a community advisor on the Federal Reserve Board in Kansas City for six years, and then as a board member to the Oklahoma City Branch Bank of the Kansas City Federal Reserve.

She was also a part of the board of directors for Rural Enterprises Incorporated of Durant for thirteen years. She was inducted to GCTC Hall of Fame in 2010.

But to see Capps emotions touched, listen to her talk about her former students or the employees of the tribe.

dent of a bank or board of directors.

She grew up in a military family and lived in Morocco until junior high when her family settled in Arkansas.

Her family moved every couple of years when she was young and that taught her to handle new circumstances well. Briggs also never let being a woman make her think there was a limit on her career choices or aspirations.

“It never occurred to me that I couldn’t do these things,” Briggs said. “I was used to different things all the

“So many of my former students are employees here now,” she said. “From my time in Tecumseh and the Gordon Cooper Technology Center, many of them are working here. Many of our employees are tribal members but there are a lot of non-tribal employees as well. All of our people are the best of the best.”

Whether it was living away from home to care for her daughter, working with students at various schools and technology centers, working to make businesses stronger or helping to run a successful tribal government, Capps works hard every day because of her concern for others.

Because she cares, many people have had opportunities they could have missed without her help.

time and never learned the fear of what can’t be done.”

As President of Avedis, she gets to use that same innovative outlook to help guide the foundation.

“Our only limits are geography and our mission of measurably improving health, wellness and quality of life,” she said.

Projects funded by the foundation have ranged from $5,000 to $750,000. The projects all support and promote healthy lifestyles in Pottawatomie County and surrounding communities that were served by the hospital.

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4F • Sunday, May 31, 2015

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

news-star.com Shawnee News-Star

Women in BUSIN

ESS

Candace Meiler Candace Meiler works in Human Resource Management at Belfair in Shawnee.

Meiler has a bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management and has worked at Belfair in Shawnee since 2013.

She is new to Shawnee but she has enjoyed getting to meet new people.

Her mother was her role model.

“My mother, Barbara Long. Was my role model,” Meiler said. “I watched her work a full-time job while also being a caregiver for both of my grandparents over the years. I realize now how hard it is to raise children and work full-time and my job has allowed me to get a glimpse at the stress being a caregiver can take on a person. My mom taught me to get up, get dressed and get on with your day—even when you don’t always feel like it.”

Marci Minor

She is motivated by having the ability to help others.

“Knowing that I am doing something to make a difference in someone’s life,” she said.

for the residents and their families with those around me motivates me,” she said.

“Getting the word we do and why it is so important.”

Connie Driever

Tiffany Brochu Tiffany Brochu is the Director of Resident Care at Belfair of Shawnee.

She said she enjoys Shawnee’s small town feel.

“Although Shawnee is growing at a rapid rate, it still feels like a small town.

Most people are welcoming and friendly,” Brochu said.

She started her education at the Gordon Cooper Technology Center and has received her RN (AND) at Rose State College.

Before coming to Belfair, she worked a the Sooner Health Home and the Oklahoma Heart Hospital.

Her mother was the biggest influence on her.

“She is such a strong person and has always been there for me,” Brochu said.

“She is respectful, thoughtful and so caring of others. She has taught me values

Marci Minor is the Business Office Manager at Belfair of Shawnee.

Her time in a larger city in Arizona has helped her appreciate living here.

“Coming from a large city in Arizona to a smaller city like Shawnee has given me the opportunity to meet more of the people living here and to get involved in community activities,” she said.

She owns two masters degrees and an Oklahoma Administrator’s License.

Her mother was her role model.

“Her work ethic, loyalty and positive attitude continues to be contagious,” Minor said. “I strive every day to be like her.”

Minor is motivated by several aspects of her job.

“Being able to share the love I have

that are important in life.”

Her motivation comes from seeing success from her efforts.

“It seems like the more work I have the more focused I am,” she said. “I love to see the positive outcomes from my hard work.”

Connie Driever is the Director of Life Enrichment at Belfair of Shawnee.

With an associate’s degree from Eastern Oklahoma State College and certifications in nursing and social work, Driever has been with Belfair since Augusta of 2013.

She also homeschooled five children through graduation.

She enjoys several of the amenities that make Shawnee unique.

“The variety of restaurants, the Hornbeck movie theater, and the friendliness of people in general make Shawnee great,” she said.

Her mother served as her main role model.

“She raised her children and then went back to work until retirement,” Driever said. “She has always supported me emotionally and with my various career endeavors even when she didn’t agree

with them.”

Her motivation comes from the residents she works with every day.

“The seniors that I work with daily motivate me to strive to make myself better each and every day,” she said. “They also inspire me to live life to it’s fullest.”

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