Employee Spotlight: Will Stanley
Employee Spotlights
Location: Harrisonburg Branch
Job Title: Business Analyst
Tenure: 3.5 years
4H/FFA involvement? I was involved with FFA in middle and high school where I served in various officer positions. I also participated in FFA contests, such as livestock judging and ag mechanics. I was also a state finalist for the Swine Production Proficiency award.
Agricultural involvement? I grew up on a farm, where we had a farrow-to-finish hog operation as well as beef cattle. My family also had a dairy farm that my grandfather, dad and uncles ran. I bought my first sow when I was 12 years old and continued to grow my own operation until I went away to college. Today, my family still operates the dairy and we have a few beef cattle, but we no longer have hogs.
Tell us about your family. I have been married to my wife, Betsy, for 17 years. We have actually known each other since middle school. We have two children. Our son is 13 and our daughter is 10. Our son loves anything to do with reptiles, but especially "hunting" for any around the farm. Our daughter is starting to get into horses and loves to help my dad with his draft horses.
Do you have a favorite band? My favorite band is the Zac Brown Band. I don't think they have a song that I don't like.
Favorite restaurant? My favorite restaurant would have to be Chick-Fil-A. We tend to go there way too much.
Tell us about your hobbies. My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family and do things with them. We enjoy going camping and hiking when we can in the spring and fall. I graduated from Virginia Tech, so I'm a huge Hokie football fan and I'm anxious to be able to get back to a game when I can.
Favorite childhood memory? Growing up, every Sunday after church our extended family would go over to my grandparents for lunch and spend the afternoon there. After lunch, my cousins and I would go outside and play all afternoon. Many times, my grandfather would take all of us to go get a Slurpee from 7-11. It was something that I always looked forward to.
What was your dream job as a child? When I was a kid, I wanted to come back to the farm and raise pigs.
What is your favorite thing about Farm Credit? My favorite thing about Farm Credit is the people and the culture here. It is very much a family-type atmosphere, everyone is always willing to help at any point.
Most interesting or favorite aspect of your job? One of the main things I do is create reports for various users and purposes. I really enjoy being able to take data from a database and put it into a usable form that will help the user in their area of expertise.
What's something you saw recently that made you smile? We recently went on vacation and seeing the kids' joy and excitement made me happy. The laughs we shared on vacation were great.
Clubs and organizations? My family and I are members of Independence Christian Church, where I serve as an Elder and a youth Sunday School teacher. I am also the Treasurer of my son's Boy Scout Troop.