50 Years of Building Great Relationships
By: Emily Bell, Marketing Manager | email
Throughout 2014 we have been featuring clients who have been working with Gardiner Thomsen for many years (25+)! We are so fortunate to have been able to develop so many long standing relationships and I have thoroughly enjoyed talking with each one of these managers and getting to know more about them! I appreciate you all taking part in this because I know it is time consuming and you are all very busy. The stories I have heard from each of you put a smile on my face and showcases the passion that has gone into this firm for the last 50 years. My Grandpa Dan would be so proud to see us celebrating 50 years in business and I am sure he would say something along the lines of ìletís get back to work so we make sure we are here for another 50 years!" Well, that is the plan and we could honestly not do it without our amazing clients, so thank you! For this quarterís feature we spoke with Cindy Gosse of Buchanan County and Rolly Svoboda with Pro Cooperative... here are their profiles!
Cindy Gosse, County Auditor, Buchanan County
Cindyís career began immediately after college in June of 1979 when she decided to apply at the Treasurerís office. She was hired on as a clerk and has been with Buchanan County ever since! After a year working as a clerk she was promoted to Tax Deputy and later, in 1988 she ran for County Auditor. Cindy has served in that position since January of 1989. Shortly after taking office (about 25 years ago), Gardiner Thomsen started working with Cindy and Buchanan County. She recalled a day when our GT auditors from Des Moines were working with her and they happened to lock her vault door (which hadnít been locked for years)Ö it took Cindy half a day to get the combination to work! Outside of being a County Auditor, Cindy spends her free time with her family, they enjoy boating during the summertime. Both her and her husband love to travel and they have one granddaughter that they love to spoil!
Rolly Svoboda, General Manager, Pro Cooperative
Rolly grew up in the farming community of Leigh, Nebraska. When he graduated from High School, money was tight because his father had passed away when he was only 12. He worked various jobs throughout his elementary, middle and high school years and decided he needed to earn money for a couple years before he went to college. Rolly went to his local co-op to inquire about employment. The manager, Alan Schroeder, told him to return after he turned 18. Rolly went back on his 18th birthday and his cooperative career began that very day. With the help of some supervisors and industry professionals who were willing to give him opportunities for advancement, he worked his way through various positions in Maple Valley Cooperative. Rolly was able to take advantage of many different training opportunities and was accepted into Farmlandís Management Training Program. Seven months after he completed that training program, he began as General Manager for Farmers Cooperative in Ceylon, Minnesota. In August of 1999, Rolly began working as General Manager of Pro Cooperative. Pro Coop is a multiple location, full service cooperative with their headquarters located in Pocahontas, Iowa. Last year, Pro ended at 335 million in sales. Rolly remembers his first contact with Gardiner Thomsen like it was yesterday. He placed a phone call to Dave Thomsen on December 7th, 1990 and that date is burned in his memory because it was his first week managing Farmers Co-op in Platte Center, Nebraska. He called Dave because he had just been notified that the company was being audited by the IRS. Rollyís introduction to Dave, who did the Platte Center audit, was to inform him of the IRS notice and other matters he had found that would be relevant to that audit. He says ìstressful does not even begin to describe this time!î Needless to say, Rolly and Dave got to know each other well through the next few months as they worked their way through the audit and other issues. Through this difficult process, Rolly says he developed a great working relationship with Gardiner Thomsen and he ìlearned to trust their integrityî. Clearly a hard worker having a job almost all of his life, Rolly is also very busy outside of work. He is active in several community organizations: Pocahontas Service Club, Pocahontas County Foundation and the Pocahontas Economic Development Commission, which he chairs. He also enjoys golf, collecting old cars and gas pumps and attending as many Husker football games as possible. He and his wife, Kara, own a home in the Black Hills. Their daughter and grand-dog also live there so they try and get there as much as possible! ..................................................................................................................... Gardiner Thomsen is proud to put a spotlight on our clients as they have been great business partners of ours. We have thoroughly enjoyed creating this feature and learning more about people that have worked with us for over 30 years. Being in this business for 50 years, we have had the honor of meeting so many amazing people and developing great relationships. We would like to thank Cindy and Rolly for sharing their stories with us!