[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 82 (Friday, May 18, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN RECOGNITION OF MR. RICHARD S. MONSON

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                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2018

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and pleasure to 
extend my personal congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Richard S. 
Monson. Richard has been the driving force behind Southwest Georgia 
Farm Credit in Bainbridge, Georgia for 18 years and currently serves as 
the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will be retiring on 
July 31, 2018.
  A native of Maryland, Richard received a Bachelor's of Science degree 
from West Virginia University and a Master's degree from Clemson 
University, both in Agricultural Economics. He also attended the 
Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.
  For over three decades, Richard Monson has been a highly trusted 
leader in the financial services industry and in rural America. He has 
built an impressive career, beginning with his work with the West 
Virginia Farm Commission's prison farm system. Richard went on to serve 
as a Data Management and Research Analyst in the Department of 
Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Clemson University. He 
joined the Farm Credit System in 1986, when he became a Senior 
Economist at AgFirst Farm Credit Bank in Columbia, South Carolina. He 
later joined Farm Credit of Southwest Florida in Arcadia, Florida, 
where he served in a variety of roles including Commercial Loan 
Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Lending Officer. He became 
the President and CEO of Southwest Georgia Farm Credit in 2000 and has 
since distributed $89 million of member dividends to the company's 
farmer owners with more than $900 million in assets.
  Richard's diligent commitment to financial services and rural America 
has also been mirrored by his involvement in the community. He has 
served on the Board of Trustees of Edison College in Fort Myers, 
Florida and as the Chairman of the AgFirst Presidents Group and the 
Georgia Cooperative Council.
  Dr. Benjamin E. Mays often said: ``You make your living by what you 
get, you make your life by what you give.'' We are so grateful that 
Richard Monson has given his time and talents to provide a premier 
financial institution for the farmers of Southwest Georgia. A man of 
great integrity, his efforts, his dedication, and his expertise are 
unparalleled. Southwest Georgia shines a little brighter because of 
Richard Monson.
  He has accomplished much in his life, but none of it would have been 
possible without the love and support of his wife, Linda, and their two 
daughters, Katie and Kristen. After retirement, Richard will enjoy 
spending time with the family he cherishes so dearly.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me, my wife, Vivian, and the 
more than 730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District, 
in extending our sincerest appreciation and best wishes to Mr. Richard 
S. Monson upon the occasion of his retirement from an outstanding 
career in financial services supporting agriculture in Southwest 
Georgia.

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