Sterling Federal Bank announces 2 new members on board of directors

STERLING – Robert Mays and Lori Cortez have been elected to the Sterling Federal Bank board of directors.

Dean A. Ahlers, president of Sterling Federal Bank, announced the new members and the retirements of Rita Smith and Anne Kenney from the board. Smith has served on the board since 2008, and Kenney has been on the board since 2016.

Mays is the bank’s vice president, chief operating officer and assistant secretary. He joined the bank in 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Illinois State University and graduated with honors from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also holds a Certificate of Executive Leadership from the University of Wisconsin School of Business. He has banking experience in both large and small institutions. He currently serves on the board of directors for the United Way of Whiteside County.

Cortez serves as the vice president of advancement at Sauk Valley Community College. She has served the Sauk Valley community through multiple organizations, including the Twin Cities Rotary (past president), Whiteside County Senior Center (past president), YWCA of the Sauk Valley, the Whiteside County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Rock Falls Industrial Development Committee. In 2023, she was named the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce chamber champion.

Sterling Federal Bank is a federal mutual savings bank with nine offices located in northwestern Illinois and eastern Iowa. It has been serving the community since it was chartered in 1885.