Mennonite Mutual Aid Names New President, CEO

GOSHEN, Ind. — Mennonite Mutual Aid has named the head of a Mennonite credit union as its new president and chief executive officer.

Larry D. Miller will take over at the 60-year-old stewardship agency Jan. 21, it was announced at a news conference Oct. 30.

“My vision is that all Anabaptists will look to MMA as a trusted organization that will help them live out their faith,” Miller said. “MMA has a great legacy of serving the church and . . . is well-positioned to continue growing and thriving.”

Miller, a member of Landisville (Pa.) Mennonite Church, is president and CEO of Mennonite Financial Federal Credit Union in Lancaster, Pa., a post he has held for 16 years.

Miller also has served as vice president of Hawkeye Bank and Trust in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and as president and CEO of two Federal Land BankAssociations in Iowa.

Miller, who grew up on a farm near Kalona, Iowa, is a graduate of Hesston (Kan.) College and Iowa State University.

Pat Swartzendruber, chair of the search committee that recommended the new president from a field of 54 prospective candidates, said Miller “has a deep passion for MMA members and will bring a member-focused approach to his leadership.”

“We believe Larry will continue to build on MMA’s excellent leadership legacy left by presidents like Jim Kratz, Howard Brenneman and most recently, [interim president] Steve Garboden,” Swartzendruber said.

Miller will succeed Garboden, a longtime MMA staff member, who was named interim president after the departure of Terry “Skip” Nagelvoort, who resigned Sept. 21, 2005, less than two months after taking office.

Nagelvoort resigned after it came to light that he had filed for bankruptcy, citing personal and business debts of $9.1 million, less than a week before he was named to MMA’s top post in July 2005.

MMA board chair Arlan Yoder said Miller is a “seasoned leader.”

“He is a man of the highest integrity and is trusted by the church,” Yoder said Oct. 30. “He has proven visionary CEO leadership experience, deep expertise in niche financial services and commitment to the Anabaptist life and service to the church.”

Miller chairs the Lancaster Mennonite Conference finance committee and serves on the conference’s strategic planning steering committee. He serves on the Mennonite Central Committee finance committee and is board treasurer for The Mennonite magazine.

Miller also serves on several professional boards and committees in Pennsylvania.

He and his wife, Wilma — an assistant manager for a Ten Thousand Villages store in Ephrata, Pa. — have two adult children.