Appreciating your home - Neighbors of Batavia

Neighbors of Batavia
Difficult times don’t last forever
As I steer around the pot holes on
the way to work, I can see the
street crew filling those craters
on Route 38. Once again, our city has
come to the rescue.
Our country has also seen a lot of
pot holes in its short history. Today is
no different. Practically all of us have
by John Masus
been adversely affected by the economic
climate. But I believe things are getting
better, and little by little the pot holes are
being filled. For example:
Credit markets appear to be healing.
Banks are lending. Homeowners are
refinancing.
The Fed is active in its anti-recession
Your finances Neighbors of Batavia
Good Neighbors
program. Money supply is accelerating,
and the Fed is starting to buy “large
quantities” of government agency and
mortgage-backed debt and a program
to buy consumer and small business
debt. All meant to stabilize the financial
system.
The President’s stimulus package is
designed to create jobs and stabilize
home prices. It would be a guess to
try to predict when economic recovery
begins. It could be as early as the second
half of 2009. In past history the stock
market typically precedes economic
recovery by several months. Of course
past history is no indicator of future
results.
The fourth quarter Gross Domestic
Product was grim at -3.8%; but
expectations ranged from -5.5% to - 8%.
Oil has fallen almost $100 per barrel
saving consumers nearly $300 billion
on energy costs. That’s your money and
now you can spend it elsewhere.
I do think we will work our way
through this mess. That’s not to say it
will be easy and quick or without more
volatility. But always remember . . .
difficult times don’t last forever.
John Masus is a registered principal
with and securities offered through LPL
Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. You
can reach Mr. Masus through his Web site
masusfinancial.com.
Citizens of the Year
one young mind and
you can make a difference.”
“Influence
— Dick Hansen
Dick and Joanne Hansen still live in
the same house they bought 39 years
ago, in the community where they met
and still hold dear, Batavia. This year
they have been recognized as Batavia’s
2009 Citizens of the Year.
Of the many contributions the couple
has made to the community they are
noted most for two. One was Dick’s
commitment to carry on the company’s
scholarship programs. The other is
Joanne’s untiring dedication to helping
cancer patients. Together, Dick and
Joanne have touched countless lives
through their storied life in Batavia.
During his 25 years as CEO of
Furnas Electic, Dick Hansen remained
committed to the scholarship
foundation that his grandfather, Carl
Furnas, started in 1961. The Hansen-
Furnas Foundation (originally Furnas
Foundation) continues to provide
scholarship opportunities for people
in and around Batavia, and also in
Clarke County, Iowa. Over the years
the foundation has provided over $4
million in scholarship money to over
3,000 recipients.
As a cancer survivor, Joanne
Hansen led the efforts to establish the
LivingWell Cancer Resource Center
in Geneva. While combating her
disease, she was frustrated with the
lack of a local centralized location for
cancer information and support. As a
board of directors’ member of Delnor-
Community Health Care Foundation,
Joanne advocated researching and
developing a place where cancer
patients, their families and care givers
could turn for support at all levels.
The result of these efforts, LivingWell,
is quickly growing into a regional
resource center.
Dick and Joanne met at Purdue
University and were married in Batavia
in 1963. A few years later, following
service in the Navy, Dick joined the
Joanne and Dick Hansen are the 2009 Batavia Citizens of the Year
family business, Furnas Electric.
During his 30 years with the company,
sales grew from $10 million $140
million, jobs increased from 200 to
1,200.
The couple was honored at the
Annual Chamber of Commerce Annual
Awards dinner January 30. See also,
the Chamber’s Executive Director’s
letter on page 7.