Rochester, Ind.-based First Federal Founding Chair and President/CEO Dick Belcher has stepped down after 55 years of leading the organization.
Belcher oversaw the now-$515.4 million bank’s expansion to six branches in northern Indiana and its status as one of the leading mortgage lenders in the state.
The board of directors recently promoted the bank’s current president, Evan Gottschalk, to also take on the CEO role starting this month. Nancy Gruesser, Belcher’s daughter and a current board member, was approved to become the next chair of the board. The board of directors appointed three new directors: Dan Belcher and Cynthia Maves, both Belcher’s children and previous advisory directors; and Joe McCarter, president and CEO of RTC Communications Corp. in Rochester.