Tyson Lemon
Regional VP of Sales and Customer Relations, 20 years of service
What is your favorite part about your role?
I really enjoy our team here at GreenStone and the financial services officers I get to work with on a daily basis. Our team works hard to help people build or buy that dream home or property, and I love being a part of that process and creatively finding solutions to make a customer’s dream become a reality.
How does your role support GreenStone’s mission of supporting our rural communities?
I get to work with a great team of people helping our members make their rural dreams come true. Providing financing for rural homeowners or landowners helps strengthen and build up our rural communities.
What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned during your time working in the country home financing industry?
During my time with GreenStone’s home lending team, I have learned there are many types of unique requests we can work with in order to help finance a customer’s dream home or plot of land. I have seen loan requests for everything from large tracts of land in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to one-of-a-kind barndominiums or simple ranch houses.
Jim Nowak
VP & Managing Director of Country Living Sales, 20 years of service
What is something most people don’t know about the country living segment?
Do-it-yourself (DIY) construction financing is probably our most significant niche in the marketplace. DIY construction is something most banks, credit unions and mortgage companies are not interested in financing. However, GreenStone has been offering this type of lending for decades and our members have had much success with it.
How does your role support GreenStone’s mission of supporting our rural communities?
Obviously, agricultural financing is at the core of what we do; however, the part-time farmers, hobby farmers, and rural residents are valuable members of the communities we serve as well. By providing financing for rural homes, construction projects, home sites and vacant land, we assist in keeping economic activity strong and vibrant in our rural communities.
What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned during your time working in the country home financing industry?
Providing great service and a positive customer experience is so key to our success. Happy customers will talk to their friends, family and co-workers, leading to numerous referrals, and they will also come back to us for their next loan!
Mike Niesyto
Regional VP of Sales and Customer Relations, 14 years of service
What is something most people don’t know about the country living segment?
Our service is the best in the industry! As a portfolio lender, the financial services officer the borrower works with on their loan will be the same person they talk to in the future if they need anything. In other words, our loan officers are relationship managers. They work in tandem with our loan processors to deliver a personalized service. Other lenders are focused on the transaction, whereas we’re focused on the people, both in the moment and down the road. An overall customer satisfaction rate above 95% is dramatically higher than our competition. That’s a testament to our people and how attentive they are to the customers and their needs.
What is your favorite part about your role?
Working with our talented team of loan officers. We have such a diverse group when it comes to experience levels, backgrounds, and career paths that all lead to great collaboration. That collaboration ultimately delivers a quality product to our customers. At the end of the day, it’s about delivering a positive experience and helping people live their dreams. From dream land to dream home and everything in between, we’re here to serve our marketplace and be a part of making their dreams become a reality. That’s what drives me day in and day out.
How does your role support GreenStone’s mission of supporting our rural communities?
I get to work with our lenders on any challenges they face throughout their day. My job at its core is to empower the team to do what’s right for our customers and help them navigate any challenges they’re facing. Every day and every challenge are unique. We collectively problem solve to get loans approved and closed, which ultimately supports the flow of funding to the rural communities that our borrowers enjoy.
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