Employee Spotlight: Ryan Vaughn
Employee Spotlights
Job Title: Loan Officer
Location: Ripley Branch
Tenure: 8 years
Tell us about your family. My wife and I met in high school at an FFA event, went on to get married in 2010 and now have three kids. We have a son who is 13 and twins who are 10. Our kids are active in 4-H, showing steers, feeder calves, lambs and hogs. They also play a variety of sports, including baseball, softball, soccer and basketball
Briefly describe your involvement in 4-H. I started in 4-H in my younger years, and now I am a 4-H volunteer and member of the Jackson County Junior Fair board of directors.
Briefly describe your involvement in FFA. I got involved with FFA in high school and earned several awards, including State Star Agribusiness and my American FFA Degree. Life lessons learned while in the Blennerhassett FFA chapter will last a lifetime. I enjoy helping out and doing anything I can with FFA now as a loan officer.
Briefly describe your involvement in agriculture. I grew up on a small farm in Parkersburg, W. Va. Growing up around and working at the livestock markets paid my way through college. My father and I had and he still does have a livestock trucking business, serving several farmers all around the state. After college, I was the manager at Tractor Supply and then went on to manage two livestock markets for United Producers before coming to Farm Credit in 2017. My family and I have a 60-acre farm where we raise Simmental and SimAngus cattle. Our kids are very active in 4-H and show animals at the Jackson County Fair. They have even competed in the Simmental national cattle show.
Tell us about your pets. We have always been dog lovers. Currently we have an Australian Shepherd, golden doodle and an Australian Shepherd/corgi mix. We also have two cats.
What is your favorite movie quote? My favorite quote is from the movie, Cool Runnings: “Shoot for the moon – if you come up short, you’ll always be a shining star.” –Coach Carter
What is your favorite season? I think I am a spring and summer person. My wife enjoys fall best, but fall just makes me think that winter is right around the corner.
What is your dream vacation destination? I love anywhere warm with the ocean, nice beaches, clear water and lots of good food.
What is your favorite place you've ever visited? I have traveled a lot of the U.S. hauling cattle. I really enjoyed seeing the feedlots out west, but probably my all-time favorite place to vacation is Destin, Florida.
What is your favorite thing about Farm Credit? My favorite thing about my job is that I get to continue to assist and help many of the same customers that I have known and been around all my life. As for the new customers, I enjoy watching their dreams come true.
What are your favorite weekend activities? On the weekends, I like coaching sports or watching my kids enjoy doing what they love to do.