First National Bank of River Falls, Wis. recently announced a leadership transition..First National Bank of River Falls President and CEO Jeff Johnson was named board chair. He replaces the retiring Sandy Smith Wurm, who will continue her work with the bank as director emeritus. Director Polly Smith Stafford will serve as vice chair. Wurm started her career at the bank in 1968 as a part-time employee while a student at River Falls High School and later the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Wurm, who worked at Northwestern Bank in St. Paul from 1976-79, returned to First National in the mid-1990s, where she worked in marketing, special projects and charitable giving. Elected to the board in 1992, Wurm was named chair in 2016. Smith Stafford started working at the bank 50 years ago in customer service and bookkeeping before she joined Northwest Airlines, where she worked for 18 years. She rejoined First National in 2013, where was a receptionist and teller until her retirement in 2022. She was elected to the board in 2021.Johnson has nearly four decades of experience in banking, having held leadership positions at community banks across Wisconsin, including as president of Badger Bank and Marshfield Bank.
