We're proud to be part of the community.
First Farmers & Merchants Bank was recognized by the Minnesota Bankers Association as a Community Champion.
04/11/2024
Field Trip to the Bank!
The First Farmers & Merchants Staff of Cannon Falls hosted 58 students from Randolph Elementary for a bank field trip! The students got to experience 3 different interactive stations within the bank.
- Station 1 'Teller Line': Students learned about our coin counter, coin wrapper, currency counter, drive thru tubes, and safe deposit area/vault!
- Station 2 'History of Banking': Here they learned about the importance of keeping money safe!
- Station 3 'How a Bank Operates': Students learned about the different denominations of money, needs vs wants, AND they got to hold a $500 bag of quarters.
From left to right: Randolph Elementary Students
Le Sueur Food Shelf
The First Farmers & Merchants Staff of Le Sueur worked hard in March to collect donations. Staff 'paid' to wear jeans on Fridays and the funds were donated directly to the Le Sueur Food Shelf. Pictured below, Le Sueur FF&M staff with Lois Wacker, Vice President of the Le Sueur Food Shelf. Lois has been a board member for more than 10 years and has a heart of gold for giving back to the community. The Le Sueur Food Shelf serves Le Sueur/Henderson school district. Help us thank our FF&M staff for their dedication to giving back to the community.
From left to right: Tom Obele, Avis Jacobus, Sue Kahle, Lois Wacker, Misty Tallman, David Dempster, Chris Berndt, Lukas Graff
03/21/2024
Minnesota Food Share Month
First Farmers & Merchants Bank of Goodhue teams up with the Goodhue Market to fight hunger for Minnesota Food Shelf Month! Food donations will be given to the local Zumbrota food shelf. Donations will be accepted at the Goodhue branch location. Donations can also be purchased at the Goodhue Market in prepackaged bags for $9.99.
From left to right: Emily Schmit, Katie Possehl, Jate Meyer
Volunteering for Goodhue Girls Basketball
Shout out to our incredible FF&M staff who are making a difference in our communities. Our staff from the White Rock & Goodhue FF&M locations volunteered their time on February 6th at Goodhue Public Schools girls' basketball game. Giving back is an important piece of our mission & vision.
From left to right: Lara Ramthun, Julie Benrud, Sheri Nurnberg, Paul Althoff, Calvin Ryan
Community Service through Rotary
Our fantastic Vice President, John Wegmann is also a Cannon Falls Rotary Member! Here he's seen with other members who were busy setting up everything for an upcoming party. Here you can see how much fun they were having celebrating Mardi Gras! Many of our FF&M employees are heavily engaged within our communities. Volunteerism and servant leadership are important to us.
From left to right: John Wegmann, Cannon Falls Rotary Members
Volunteering for Goodhue Youth Wrestling
First Farmers & Merchants staff of Goodhue & White Rock volunteered their time to assist with concessions to support local wrestlers! We are proud to give back to our community and enjoy building relationships.
From left to right: Julie Benrud, Paul Drackley, Sheri Nurnberg, Paul Althoff, Emily Schmit
04/25/2024
Youth in Banking
Second graders from Goodhue Public Schools joined us at First Farmers & Merchants Bank of Goodhue yesterday, to celebrate 'Teach Kids to Save' Month. The students got a tour of the branch and a sneak peek into the vault, they also learned about our coin machine and bill counter, as well as how to deposit money with a teller. Students took home a sticker book and cookies. Thank you, Goodhue Public Schools, for allowing FF&M to teach our youth about the importance of saving!
From left to right: Katie Possehl, Goodhue Public Schools Students
06/06/2024
Customer Appreciation
First Farmers & Merchants Bank of Goodhue kicked off Volksfest with a Customer Appreciation Picnic. The weather was beautiful, and the company was even better. Goodhue County Dairy Princesses joined the event to hand out Ice Cream & Milk. Thank you to all who attended!
From left to right: Calvin Ryan, Macy Marik, Emily Schmit, Paul Althoff, Lara Ramthun, Katie Possehl, Paul Drackley, Angie Holt, Sheri Nurnberg
09/19/2024
Red Wing YMCA Project
First Farmers & Merchants Bank employees came together to assist the Red Wing YMCA with a project that had been on their list for a while. The railings outside of the organization were in need of a fresh coat of paint. 7 FF&M employees from multiple locations, rolled up their sleeves and got to work completing the makeover in just over 2 hours.
09/30/2024
Backpack Program Luverne Area Community Foundation
First Farmers & Merchants Bank of Luverne is proud to be a part of Minnesota Bankers Association Community Impact Month! We participated in the Backpack Program through Luverne Area Community Foundation. The program provides at-risk children with nutritious, easy to prepare foods for the weekends until school and access to meal programs resume. The program is staffed entirely by volunteers and serves approximately 100 children ages preschool to ninth grade. Our team packed over 150 meals during our three-week volunteer period. Making a difference, one meal at a time!
03/28/2025
Career Pathway Day
Amanda Gunderson & Melanie Woodford attended the AHS Career Pathway Day to interact with sophomore, junior and senior students. FF&M discussed the importance of savings, education and training opportunities, and the multiple career paths within banking. Thank you for having us!
07/17/2025
63rd Annual Luverne Hot Dog Night
First Farmers and Merchants of Luverne employees joined forces with local businesses to dish up and serve over 15,000 hotdogs! The Luverne Hot Dog Night started in 1962 as a way for businesses to give back to the community they serve. Today it has grown to include other food vendors and exciting events such as their annual wiener dog race and wiener dog beauty pageant. Our Luverne employees even created their own signature hot dog dubbed the “bacon cheese dog" that was topped with bacon and a melted cheese sauce. Overall this was a very exciting night and we can't wait to participate next year!
10/27/2025
Financial Friday at RISE Fest
First Farmers and Merchants of Pipestone employees attended RISE Fest for Pipestone County as part of Financial Friday! Our team connected with community members and provided helpful information about fraud prevention, loan options, and certificate of deposit services. We are grateful for the opportunity to share financial education and support the employees who help our community thrive every day.
11/25/2025
United Way Radio Feature
Pipestone United Way board members, including First Farmers & Merchants Bank employee, Brittani Olson, joined KDWC Radio host Tom Bouma on the Tuesday morning show to share how United Way programs directly support families and resources in our local community. The conversation highlighted the positive impact these services have on those who need them most and the role community members play in sustaining that support. We appreciate opportunities like this where our employees can represent both our bank and the communities we serve through leadership, advocacy and volunteerism.