Agency Leaders Prepare to Depart, Administrator Lasseter Bids Final Farewell
The daily 8 a.m. meetings in the FSA administrator’s office have been peaceful and a bit reflective for the past two weeks. Nevertheless, business has not stopped.
Progress reports on the implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill still lead most conversations, followed by updates on the MIDAS project and, of course, budget matters. Still, the aura is one of completion and the passing of the baton. But for now, the baton is being handed off to a team of career employees, very busy place keepers until a fresh group comes in carrying a new torch.
On Jan. 21, Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs Carolyn Cooksie will become the acting administrator for FSA. She has implied that the shorter her “acting” career, the more tolerable is the stage. Already she has said that she is eager to have just the one title that she has borne for several years. However, that will be up to a new president and secretary of agriculture, one to take office next Tuesday and the other already in the sidelines awaiting his orders to begin.
For those leaving FSA – Administrator Teresa Lasseter; Associate Administrators Tom Hofeller and Glen Keppy; Deputy Administrators John Johnson, Steve Connelly and Larry Adams; Office of External Affairs Director Patricia Klintberg; and Assistants to the Administrator John “Moot” Truluck, Mike Wild and Adam Guzzo – this week completes their assignments to FSA, which extended through several years of dramatic change.
In the states, it means most executive directors will be leaving, but a few have been asked to stay in place to work with the new political leadership.
On Thursday, Administrator Lasseter sent all employees an email:
Today will be my last day in the office and I will be officially gone from FSA as of noon, Tuesday, January 20. I want to express to each of you my sincere thanks for all the support and cooperation you have given my as your FSA Administrator.
We have accomplished much the past three years, often with limited resources and tight timelines. Many times I felt I was asking the impossible but you always came through! The best example I can give you is the Improper Payment situation we found ourselves in and how we made vast improvements – by working together and working diligently!
I have many fond memories from my 31 years around the agency, but serving as your Administrator has been the most rewarding as I had the pleasure of getting to know many of you, visiting your offices, learning more about agriculture in your states and helping solve various challenges you faced. As I have said to you many times before, your should feel good about yourselves because of the contribution you make to our great country, our farmers and ranchers. The mission of FSA is important to the well being of our country!
My USDA email will be disconnected after 10:00 am today and I want each of you to have my personal contact info. Please feel free to contact me at Teresa.....@(omitted).
No one knows for certain how long the transition will take, but many at headquarters have recalled what occurred in 2001, when the agency operated for a year or longer without associate and deputy administrators. It took until November 2001 for all 50 states to have their state executive directors in place.
Administrator Teresa Lasseter (back to camera) meets with her staff of associate and deputy administrators in her office for one of her last morning briefings. Lasseter became FSA Administrator in October 2005.
