Family: Husband Billy; daughters Kelsey and Courtney; and five grandchildren.
Hometown: Windyville, Mo.
In Town: Dee’s husband Billy was badly injured in a logging accident and wanted to get out of logging. Dee was totally supportive and went to work to make the change happen.
She spent some time with Lens Crafters and Walmart before getting a job as a teller with O’Bannon Bank in 2000.
As Dee worked her way up from teller to senior vice president, she took advantage of the formal training offered through the Missouri Bankers Association. She completed management training and excelled in the consumer, commercial, and agriculture lending schools.
“I sort of got into lending by being available when the job opened up. After Bank of Urbana became OakStar Bank in 2017, the board really wanted me to work for them. I finally agreed to join the OakStar team in November 2017 and moved over as senior vice president for loans.
In the Country: Dee was a “city girl” from Springfield when she met Billy.
“We dated for 5 1/2 months before we got married,” Dee said. “We moved to the farm which has been in the Dugan family since 1942, 32 years ago. One day Billy asked me to come with him to look at a cow that was tied up to a tree. He handed me a bottle of dish liquid soap and told me that I needed to pull the calf because I had the smallest hands. I was horrified and told Billy there wasn’t a word in our marriage vows that mentioned having to reach inside a cow. I finally agreed to do it because I felt sorry for the cow. After that introduction to cattle, I actually got comfortable with the animals and stayed at home caring for the livestock and raising our two girls.”
Today the Dugans farm 400 acres of their own and 200 lease acres. They have a commercial herd of about 175 cows, 250 calves and yearlings, and raise and bale their own hay. Most of the calves are sold at auction as weanlings, but some are grain fed before sale and a few are butchered for the family.
“Billy’s hobby is training and showing his six Belgian draft horses in pulling competitions. I go with him as much as my job allows,” Dee said. “The Oklahoma State Fair in Tulsa is a major family vacation where family and friends join us for the events.”
