Kim Preston, Lending Services director, [email protected] or 402.687.2100 ext. 1008; or Rhea Landholm, communications manager, [email protected] or 402.687.2100 ext. 1025
LYONS, NEBRASKA — Kim Preston was recognized for 25 years of service with the Center for Rural Affairs at a recent staff gathering.
Preston, now Lending Services director, has worked her entire career at the Center. She began as a policy assistant in the fall of 1999.
“The number of staff members who have put in 25 years or more in the history of the Center includes three people, one of them being Kim,” said Brian Depew, executive director of the Center. “Kim has brought a ‘can-do’ attitude to her ever-changing job responsibilities over the years. Whenever confronted with a new task or new challenge, Kim's general response is, ‘Yeah, I can do that,’ and if she doesn't know how she goes and figures it out.”
Fourteen years after Preston started with the Center, she became the administrative assistant for the small business program. In 2018, she took on the role of interim director of the Women’s Business Center.
“I have found a career at the Center that I never knew I needed,” Preston said. “I get to work for all of the values I have held my entire life—agriculture, rural community, and entrepreneurship. I have been mentored by some of the best leaders and each has contributed to my growth and knowledge as a person and a rural advocate. I am blessed to be surrounded daily by people who share my values and work as hard as I do toward the viability of our rural communities and neighbors.”
Preston has been director of the Center’s Lending Services since 2019 and currently works directly with lenders and business coaches as they assist small business owners and homeowners in Nebraska.
The Center for Rural Affairs is based in Lyons, Nebraska, with 65 staff members located in satellite and home offices throughout Nebraska; an office in Nevada, Iowa; and home-based offices in South Dakota and Minnesota. Learn more at cfra.org.
