Linda Sieh and former USA Rice Chairman Jackie Loewer (right)
May 25, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Wednesday evening, USA Rice staff and members celebrated Linda Sieh, who retired from USA Rice as its CFO on April 30, after 16 years of service.
Sieh began her career at USA Rice as the Director, Human Resources and Administration, and two years later, moved into the VP, Finance and Administration position. She has been the CFO of USA Rice since 2014.
USA Rice member Keith Glover, president & CEO of Producers Rice Mill and also a CPA, noted that Sieh was consistently awarded clean, unqualified audits during her tenure at USA Rice which solidified members’ assurance in her behind-the-scenes ability to manage USA Rice’s finances.
One of Linda’s USA Rice claims to fame was as the much-anticipated headliner at the July Annual Business Meeting general session. When it was her turn to present the financials, Linda parsed accounting humor that was received in a way that surprised even her. As Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of marketing and communications, said the first time he witnessed Linda on stage: “She’s killing it, and now I have to follow behind her presentation and try to keep the momentum going. Next year, I’m going first!”
“Linda’s ability to cut through the details and present a big picture that everyone could understand was one of her greatest assets”, said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. Linda also mentored more than one staff member on accounting and finances, all of whom have acknowledged their appreciation for her ability to teach accounting to non-accountants in a way that helped them perform their jobs better at USA Rice.
In her remarks to the reception attendees, Sieh said that, “for people who do accounting, they can do it in just about any organization, but what makes it different is the people you interact with on a daily basis and the organization you work for, and I am really proud to be associated with all of you.”
Finally, Linda shared that her GPS told her it would only take 45 minutes to get from her home to the reception, so she left an hour and a half early…and it took her two hours to get there. The one thing she won’t miss in retirement is driving in DC rush hour traffic!