Celebrating Employee Achievement

Tyler Young recently became Branch President of Plentywood. Prior to this, Tyler was a Loan Officer at the Scobey Branch and has been overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Plentywood Loan Production/Deposit Production Office.
Young attended Montana State University-Billings, earning a degree in Business Administration with Options in Management and Marketing. After graduating in 2011, he started his banking career. Tyler has held positions as a loan assistant, credit analyst, loan officer and now branch president. Tyler joined Independence Bank in December of 2020 as a loan officer and was the key component in the opening of the Plentywood branch.
Tyler and his wife Kenda are proud parents of three boys. In his spare time, Tyler enjoys the outdoors and hunting, playing golf and basketball, and spending time with his family. Young is an active member of the Plentywood community, serving as a Nemont Director, City Treasurer for the City of Plentywood and a volunteer member of the local chapter of Walleyes Unlimited.

Justine Beaudry achieved the position of Loan Assistant Supervisor. In this role, Beaudry provides leadership and guidance to the loan assistant staff across all IB branches.
Justine holds a bachelor's degree in Health and Human Performance – Exercise Science from Montana State University. She managed Yellowstone Fitness in Billings for six years before moving back to the Hi-Line and joining the IB team. Beaudry came to the bank in April of 2020 as a Consumer Loan Assistant and transitioned to a Consumer Lender in Havre over the next few years. In 2022 she became the Loan Assistant Coordinator, where she showcased her excellent customer service and in-depth knowledge of consumer lending processes. She has been promoted to Loan Assistant Supervisor where she will oversee all loan assistants across the 10 branches of Independence Bank.
When Justine isn’t working, you can find her on the golf course, biking and traveling as often as she can. And in the fall, you will surely run into her at a Bobcat Football game.

Mym Cichosz is now the MSI Corporate Secretary/Bank Board Secretary and Human Resources Administrative Assistant. In these roles, Cichosz provides services and outreach to our shareholders, aids the board of directors in fulfilling their fiduciary duties, and provides assistance in ensuring human resources meets the needs of our employees.
Mym is a MSU-Northern graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Technology of Business. She has lived in the Havre community her entire life and will celebrate her twenty-third anniversary with Independence Bank in 2024. Cichosz came to the bank in January of 2001 as a Loan Assistant, transitioned to a Compliance Department Assistant, then returned to her position as Loan Assistant where her vast knowledge of customer lending needs and excellent customer service was showcased, eventually being promoted to Loan Assistant Supervisor.
In 2021 she became the Assistant MSI Corporate Secretary to Kay Mayer and Human Resources Assistant. Mym has assumed the full-time position of MSI Corporate Secretary/Bank Board Secretary and will continue with her Human Resources responsibilities. When Mym isn’t working, you can find her at local sporting events, at the softball fields watching her kids play ball, and she also enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.

Jace Anderson is now the Glasgow Branch President. Having previously served the Hi-Line as an Ag Lender out of the Malta Branch and returning to the Hi-Line in 2022 as the Branch Manager of IB Glasgow, Jace will focus on overall branch management in Glasgow and serving customers in the surrounding area as the Branch President.
Anderson is a 2017 graduate of Montana State University Billings with a degree in Business Finance. Over the past seven years, Anderson has honed his banking skills across the state. He most recently served as a loan officer in the Billings area and moved back to the Hi-Line to take on the role of Branch Manager for Independence Bank of Glasgow and has now been promoted to Branch President. His roots are on the Hi-Line. Anderson grew up in Whitewater in a farming and ranching family. Ag lending was a natural fit professionally, and he uses his personal experience and knowledge to serve his customers.
Anderson and his wife Shae have lived in Glasgow with their two children for over a year and half and are enjoying getting to know the community. Jace is involved in the Glasgow Area Chamber of Commerce and the Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital (FMDH) Foundation Board. Anderson enjoys spending time with family, helping on his family farm and ranch in Whitewater in his off time, as well as sneaking in a little golfing and hunting.

Andy Morris has moved to the position of Information Technology and Security Officer. In this role, Morris will provide assistance in managing networking equipment, working closely with bank partners to maintain a secure and extensible network. Morris grew up in Belgrade, MT and moved to Havre in the fall of 1997. He attended college at Montana State University – Northern where he earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems and an associate’s degree in Design Drafting.
Prior to joining the IB team, Morris worked in the Information Technology Services department at Montana State University – Northern as a Computer Support Specialist for thirteen years. Morris came to the bank in November of 2017 as an Information Technology Specialist where his focus was primarily on setting up and rolling out computer and server systems, while helping with day-to-day questions from staff. He has been promoted to oversee more of the changes to the internal and external bank networks, while staying involved with the computer systems by overseeing acquisition of hardware.
Andy’s amiable personality and his ability to communicate elevated him to be a candidate for the executive development program put on by the Montana Bankers Association, designed to cultivate the next generation of banking leaders. Morris and his wife Angela are the proud parents of four sons.

Alec Breding has been promoted to Ag/Commercial Loan Officer. Breding came to the bank in January of 2022 as a part-time credit analyst while finishing his last semester at Montana State University Northern and was promoted to Ag/Commercial Lender in 2023. Since then, he has been serving ag/commercial lending customers on the Hi-Line.

Breding was born and raised in Conrad, MT. After earning his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and an associate’s degree in Business Technology at Montana State University Northern, he continued to work at Independence Bank full time. Breding is currently serving as the president of the Havre Ag Chamber and is also a member of the Havre Optimist Club. When he isn’t at the bank, you can find him enjoying one of his many hobbies of hunting, fishing, bowling, playing pool and golf.

Christen Ouellette recently became the Senior Consumer Lending Manager at the Havre Branch.
Ouellette worked with the bank as a teller in 2012 before moving to Thompson Falls with her husband Austin. During her time on the western side of the state, she worked as a financial planning manager for three years. Ouellette and her husband returned to Havre in 2016 and she came back to the bank as a Consumer Loan Assistant. Ouellette became an officer in 2018 and a lender in 2020. She then supervised the consumer lending department, supporting staff in six IB branches across Northern Montana and was recently promoted to Senior Consumer Lending Manager, overseeing all ten branch locations.
Ouellette graduated from the University of Montana with a bachelor’s degree in business management and has lived in the Havre community for nearly 25 years. She recently joined the Havre Chamber as a board member and has been active in the planning of Bear Paw Marathon the last couple of years. Her family grew by two with the addition of their daughters. Ouellette spends her free time with her family, cheering for the Griz, curling in the winter, and camping and fishing in the summer months.