Being community based, Thurston First Bank has been fortunate to bring outstanding and prominent community leaders to serve as directors, organizers and founders.

Our board of directors is as diverse as the unique products and services we provide. Small business owners, corporate and banking executives, state and local government leaders, medical, legal and real estate professionals—all directing the course of Thurston County's premier business bank. As diverse as we are, we're singular in focus: Help you build your business and reach your financial dreams.

Stephen J. Bean
Chairman of the Board
Stephen has been an attorney in private practice since 1965, and is a partner in the law firm of Bean & Gentry located in downtown Olympia. His practice emphasizes the representation of the business community and the professional community. He is an active fundraiser for the community, having served as auctioneer for South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia Downtown Rotary Club, Community Mental Health Foundation, and the Boys and Girls Club of Olympia, helping raise nearly $250,000 for these organizations in the last three years.

Michael D. Edwards
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mike served as the supervisor of banking for the State of Washington and as an advisor to Chairman Alan Greenspan and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington D.C. He also served as Chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (a national organization of state banking supervisors) in Washington D.C. Mike has served as president of three community banks in Washington State: Prairie Security Bank in Yelm, which he started, Hood Canal State Bank and First Community Bank. Mike is president of the Economic Development Council of Thurston County and has served on the board for the last 15 years.

Ken Anderson
Real Estate Broker, Coldwell Banker
Ken is president, designated broker and owner of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Inc. The company ranks among the top 100 of more than 2,000 Coldwell Banker franchises worldwide. Previously, Ken was a consultant with the tax firm of Deloitte & Touche in Seattle, Washington, where he served on engagement teams advising The Boeing Company and Microsoft on corporate, international, and real property tax matters.

Cheryl Duryea
Attorney & Owner of Juicy Fruits
Cheryl has been practicing law for 25 years, primarily in the area of business, finance and state regulatory matters. Cheryl was listed in the "Redbook" as nationally recognized bond counsel in connection with her municipal finance practice. She has served as a member of the governor's Securities Advisory Board, and a member of the advisory board to the Department of Financial Institutions. In addition to continuing her law practice, for the past seven years Cheryl has been the owner of women's clothing boutiques, Juicy Fruits, in Olympia and Willow, at the University Village in Seattle.

Ruthann Panowicz Goularte
Owner, Drees
Ruthann has owned Drees, an Olympia retail specialty shop for the home, over the past twenty-eight years. Born in Olympia, she grew up familiar with retail as her father, Anton Panowicz, began Panowicz Jewelers in 1948. She is a founding member of the Junior League of Olympia, a member of Transplant Recipients International Organization, and a Trustee for the Governor's Mansion Foundation. Ruthann served on the Providence St. Peter's Christmas Gala Committee as co-chair in 2001-2002.

Raymond LaForge
Owner, Olympic Outfitters
Ray is the owner of Olympic Outfitters, Inc., an outdoor recreational equipment retailer that has been in business in Olympia since 1970. He is also an owner of Ramblin' Jacks restaurant in operation in Olympia since 1998. Ray recently completed a term as president of the Olympia Downtown Association. He has served as president of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Thurston County. Other board memberships have included Olympia Downtown Rotary Club and Thurston-Mason Red Cross.

Merritt D. Long
Chair, Washington State Liquor Control Board
Merritt holds the distinction and honor of serving as director of three state government agencies, as well as chair of the Washington State Liquor Control Board since August 2001. He served as CEO of the Washington State Lottery from 1997 to 2001. During his 34 years of state service, Mr. Long also served as Director of the Washington State Human Rights Commission and the State Board for Vocational Education—the first and only African American director of the three agencies. Merritt and his wife, Marsha Tadano Long are co-founders of The Learning Seed Foundation.

Dennis Matson
Owner of Matson & Associates
Dennis is owner of Matson & Associates, a local business development consulting firm. He served as executive director of the Economic Development Council of Thurston County from 1994 - 2004 and previously served as deputy director for the Washington State Department of Trade & Economic Development. Dennis is a Thurston county native whose activities in the community have included the Olympia Rotary Program Committee, Leadership Thurston County Board of Directors, the Workforce Development Council Board of Directors, the Intel Community Advisory Panel, and the Olympia Roundtable.

Ralph Munro
Former Washington Secretary of State
Ralph and his family have lived and worked in Thurston County since 1966. Ralph served as Washington's Secretary of State from 1980 - 2001. Prior to that he was an assistant to Governor Dan Evans, and served as the state's first volunteer coordinator. Currently Ralph works with three technology companies in our region. Primary emphasis of these firms is voting technology, new programs for county and city permitting, and prospective new high tech alternatives for police and fire 'first responders'.

Frank "Buck" Owens
Founder, Owens Davies Law Firm, Retired
Frank practiced law in Olympia for over 30 years, founding the firm of Owens Davies in 1966. The now regional firm focused on representing small business interests and is still prominent in the area. He has been active in the community, serving as chairman of the board of trustees of Saint Martins College, president of the Olympia Downtown Rotary Club, chairman of the board of the Community Foundation for South Puget Sound and chairman of the board of the Providence St. Peter Foundation. He also was recently on the boards of the Boys & Girls Club and the Washington Center for the Performing Arts.

Joe Pellicer, M.D.
Partner, Olympia Emergency Services
Joe Pellicer is a partner in Olympia Emergency Services, a corporation that provides Emergency Department medical coverage for Providence St. Peter Hospital. Joe has been a physician for eighteen years. He started out his career doing a year research and educational work with UNICEF in East Africa. He then worked for three years as a Family Physician with a small group in Seattle. Thirteen years ago, he was invited to join the group at Providence St. Peter Hospital and has been there ever since. He has served for the past five years as the Medical Director of Thurston County Medic One, our county's emergency medical response system, and sits on the county Emergency Medical Services Council. He writes a monthly column in The Olympian as an educational piece about the practice of medicine. He completed his undergraduate studies at Washington State University, attended medical school at the University of Washington, and completed his medical residency at the University of Wisconsin before returning home.

Steven Pottle
Commissioner, Port of Olympia
Steve serves as an elected Port commissioner in Thurston County. In addition to his duties as a Port commissioner, he is a member of the board of directors of the Economic Development Council of Thurston County, a member of the Lacey and Yelm Chambers of Commerce and has been a member of Thurston Regional Planning. Steven's 27-year professional career has been spent in sales and marketing of computer software and hardware in the high tech industry, including with Great Plains Software, purchased by Microsoft in 2000. He left Microsoft in the fall of 2002 to begin his own sales and marketing consulting company.

Steve also serves as an elected Port Commissioner in Thurston County. Besides filling his duties as a Port Commissioner, Steve is a member of the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Council of Thurston County, a member of the Lacey and Yelm Chambers of Commerce and has been a member of Thurston Regional Planning.

Rob Rice
Gemini Development Corporation
Rob has been developing residential real estate in the Thurston County market for over 15 years. He is involved in land acquisition, planning, site development, home construction and real estate sales of the properties he develops. He has an ownership position in numerous corporations and LLC's currently doing business within the county. Rob is involved in numerous activities in the community including the Olympia Master Builders and the Economic Development Council. He has served on the board of the Olympia Master Builders for the last eight years and on the board of the Economic Development Council for the last five years.

Barbara M. Soule, RN
Owner of Barbara M. Soule Consultant, LLC
Barbara's professional background is nursing, health care and public policy. She has served as Director of Infection Prevention and Control, Quality Management Services, Clinical Research, Risk Management, Education and Hospital Safety at Providence St. Peter Hospital. Barbara's community activities include President of the South Capitol Neighborhood, The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Board of Trustees of Washington State Capitol Museum, co-Chair of the United Way Campaign at Providence St. Peter Hospital and Secretary of POSSCA.

Gerald "Gerry" R. Zachary
Former Director of Banks, State of Washington
Gerry retired in August 1998 as the director of banks for the state of Washington, after serving in various capacities including bank examination and regulation for 30 years, and as director for the last five years of his career. Prior to government service, Gerry served in bank operations management positions for a period of seven years, namely, Old National Bank of Washington headquartered in Spokane and Western Montana National Bank headquartered in Missoula. Gerry is currently a banking consultant, assisting start-up banks like Thurston First.

Fred Zack, CPA, Chief Financial Officer
Fred is a Certified Public Accountant. He served as Chief Financial Officer for Today’s Bank in Vancouver, WA for three years until they merged into Riverside Community Bank (a federal savings bank). Prior to his time at Today’s Bank, Fred held sales and marketing management positions with several firms in the industrial controls industry over a 17-year span. Fred received his Bachelor of Science in accounting at Central Washington University in 1980 and is a licensed CPA.

James H. Haley, Chief Credit Officer
Jim was a Vice President and Senior Credit Approval Officer for U.S. Bank in Seattle from 1998 - 2004. Over his banking career, he has been a loan officer for a period of 25 years. Jim received his credit training from Bank of America, and held various lending positions in Orange County, California from 1973 through 1980. From 1980 to 1992, he held positions of Vice President and Loan Officer, Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer from Seafirst/Bank of America in Seattle and Tacoma. From 1992 through 1998, Jim was Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager at U.S. Bank in Tacoma. His community involvement includes St. Joseph Hospital Trustee Associate, Tacoma Art Museum, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, Corporate Counsel for the Arts, Tapps Island Association President and employed by the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Committee during the Winter Olympic Games. Jim graduated from the University of Redlands, California. He is also a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.