Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Announces Official Appointments

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland announced the following official appointments, effective June 16, 2002:

Jim Blake has been named senior consultant, Retail Payments Office (RPO) automation services. In this role, Blake has overall responsibility for the automation architecture of the Bank's check modernization project. He also provides management oversight for the Atlanta Center for Distributed Computing, which provides support for the check modernization distributed computing environments.

Blake has been with the Bank for 34 years. His career includes management of check operations and responsibility for check automation. Blake most recently served as an advisor for the Bank's check standardization project.

Anthony Turcinov has been named vice president in charge of check operations and adjustments at the Cleveland Office.

Turcinov has been with the Bank for 16 years, and most recently served as assistant vice president. He holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Cleveland State University and an MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College. He is also a graduate of the American Banker's Association's Stonier Graduate School of Banking, and the Bank Administration Institute's Graduate School of Bank Operations and Technology.

Ken Kennard has been named assistant vice president, with responsibility for the Bank's protection policies, procedures, training, and technology.

Kennard joined the Bank in 1981 as protection manager. Prior to that, he served as a lieutenant with the Warrensville Heights, Ohio, police department. Kennard has been a part-time faculty member at Cuyahoga Community College, teaching courses in criminal justice, and he has also served as an instructor for the Ohio Police Officers Training Academy at the Case Western Reserve University Center for Criminal Justice. He has an associate's degree in criminal justice from Cuyahoga Community College and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University.

Martha Maher has been named assistant vice president, Retail Payments Office (RPO) product management. She provides check product development research, support, and guidance to all 12 Reserve Banks in the Federal Reserve System.

Maher has been with the Bank for 19 years, serving in various capacities within the marketing and corporate communications departments. She holds a bachelor's degree from Marquette University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. She is also a 2001 graduate of the Bank Administration Institute Graduate School of Bank Operations and Technology.

Lisa Vidacs has been named assistant vice president, with responsibility for the Bank's main office and Pittsburgh branch cash operations.

Vidacs joined the Bank in 1987, and has held supervisory positions in both the Cash and Check departments. In 1999, she was named manager of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh cash operations.

Vidacs holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Kent State University, and is a 2001 graduate of the Bank Administration Institute Graduate School of Bank Operations and Technology.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.218.1892