Allen Chesser

Easterday Construction Co., Inc. lost a friend last week. Allen Chesser passed away Wednesday. (Obituary) Allen was our primary banking contact with First National Bank of Monterey (FNBM). We’ve followed and worked with him from his time as a loan officer to his last position as Bank President. There was no real change in the way he treated us. Last year, when it was time for our Line of Credit to renew, he personally delivered the documents and inquired about my parents. That is service you don’t find anymore. FNBM has been our go to bank because of that service, but there are cases where they actually send us elsewhere when our need is outside their niche. We’ve never gotten the same service as we received from Allen.

I helped recruit Allen to join the Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council (LMEC) back in the 90’s. Allen wasn’t sure if it was what he wanted to do and he said he wouldn’t be able to do more than one term as a council member. He was still on the council doing great work to advance the mission when he passed, far surpassing my 20 year tenure. He is even the voice of LMEC in one of the survey videos. Not only was Allen an advocate, he was out getting his hands dirty as necessary. I left things in good hands and he advanced the group significantly. He’ll be missed there too.

Personally, Allen has been a friend of the family. My father, Larry Berger, serves on the FNBM board and has often spoke about his trust in Allen. Allen’s son-in-law, Andrew Schouten, worked for Easterday Construction for several years, increasing our ties to the family. We can always count of a Christmas Card from Andrew and Emily, and have watched the growth of their children, Adrian, Katie and Nicholas. I had the opportunity to meet Adrian last year when he had volunteered for one of the committees for Culver Crossroads. It was easy to see Allen’s legacy of having a servant’s heart was passed on.

Last year I asked Allen for a lead on someone that could create the sustainable log bike racks I wanted to install at The Paddocks. Instead of a making a connection for me, he made the racks. And then argued about taking compensation.

Allen was a friend, confidant and business partner. I don’t know that I know anyone else as genuinely nice as Allen Chesser was. His passing is a loss on a personal level to many like me, but I know it will also be felt throughout our region. Allen left a legacy of which he and his family can be proud.