Teresa Poppen
Vice President of Finance and Lending
Email: Teresa.Poppen@RuralLearningCenter.org
About Me: I grew up in Miner County and graduated from Howard High School. In 1990, after living away for about 9 years, my husband, Bob and I decided to move our family "home". We live on a farm north of Howard - only 1.5 miles from where I grew up. We have 2 children and one grandson. We both love living in rural America and calling it home.
I have been involved with the RLC since its beginning in the high school, where I was employed at that time. In November, 2000 I became a full-time employee of the RLC and it makes me wonder where the time has gone. I love my work here and I'm amazed at the accomplishments we have seen in the community.
What I do at the RLC: I am the Vice President of Finance and Lending. Along with the finances for the RLC, we contract these services out to two other corporations in the community. I enjoy working with the other managers, employees and Board of Directors. This work provides another learning experience outside the doors of our facility.
Being the Loan Officer for the RLC's economic development revolving loan fund offers me a great opportunity to work with a diverse group of people with a wide variety of ideas. This program has also offered me the chance to work with other lending institutions to be creative in putting a loan package together that works well for all parties involved. It has been a wonderful experience seeing the economic growth in Miner County and it is very exciting to imagine what other new ideas might be just around the corner.
Hometown: Howard, SD
What I wanted to be when I was little: I always thought being a teacher would be great, to learn how to share knowledge with others and to work with children. I also had an interest in being a cosmetologist.
Interesting previous job(s) I've held: Prior to moving back to Miner County, my time was spent in the banking profession. I worked in several different departments in the bank and with a wide variety of people. These experiences provided me with a broad perspective of how the departments worked individually and together. It was a great lesson in teamwork and how important it is.
A place I want to visit at least once in my lifetime: I think Alaska would be neat to visit.
Favorite rainy day activity: Reading, baking, quilting (I think I would like a few more rainy days, so I could spend a little more time doing these activities).
