Above: Andy and Brenda Noll in a photograph taken during the 2020 holiday season.

FAIRMONT — Andy Noll, President of First Farmers & Merchants National Bank in Fairmont, knows the impact of COVID-19 on functioning as a person as well as running a business. Noll’s story consists of being exposed to the coronavirus, causing him to give up something he enjoys and leading a business during the pandemic.

The effects from COVID-19 consisted of a lot of concern, some good and a lot of bad. Noll described the effects as emotionally tough on his bank staff, which made communication with customers difficult. The traffic pattern of the bank also changed when the lobbies were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Noll describes people’s interactions as having changed since people have used the drive-thru and electronic services.

“It’ll be interesting what our bank model looks like if and when we ever return to normal,” Noll said. “Because will our customers’ needs be the same as they were pre-COVID? That is a real question for the industry.”

Noll described his exposure as a shock. The thoughts on his mind were a step back as he was thinking about who he had come into contact with, did he need to go isolate and do it at home — away from his wife — during a holiday season? At one point, Noll moved to work from home, but it was nowhere near the same and was very difficult from his perspective.

“A lot went through my mind in a matter of seconds,” Noll said. “Could I really have been in close enough contact to contract the virus? Did I need to follow our bank’s protocol and leave work to limit possible exposure, to oh, no, is it possible I had brought this into our home and possibly to my wife Brenda?

“At the end of the day, I was lucky and turned up negative. What I ended up dealing with was minor compared to so many people who haven’t been so fortunate. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

Brenda Noll is a cancer survivor and when Andy was exposed, he had already been in contact with her and didn’t isolate himself. But telling his wife was tough and the concern was even tougher. When COVID-19 first started in the spring of 2020, Brenda had locked herself in a different part of the house and they didn’t interact between 2 to 4 weeks due to the virus and Andy continuing to work.

“We were literally not crossing paths to any significance in our home,” Andy said. “It was different, she might have been in the kitchen getting a glass of water and I was in the living room. It was something and it was way different.”

In his spare time, Noll is a referee for high school sports. Noll got into officiating for a lot of reasons such as competitiveness to do things right, to giving the young athletes the best possible game and environment that they can, to still being a part of a sport that he grew up and loved, and his interaction with his fellow referees.

“We have 16 or 17 guys that worked together in this,” Noll said. “It’s a team and it’s our team and we work hard to get things right.”

Noll thought at first that there would be no big deal and that he would be fine. Noll started rethinking his thoughts on it as other referees and co-workers were getting sick, that they were scared when they were sick, rethinking the whole exposure thing with his family and whether it was fair to his employer.

“I can’t thank the crew that I work with enough for stepping up, respecting what I decided and filling in for me,” Noll said. “It’s a tremendous support that I have from them and I can’t thank them enough for it.”

When asked if he missed officiating, Noll said “absolutely.” Noll hopes that it will resume again next year, “If they will have me,” he said jokingly, noting how it’s tough for the players to have this whirlwind of a year and season.

“They’re going through something far worse as their whole lives are upside down and they don’t get to experience a normal season and it’s tough,” Noll said. “I wish I could personally be there, but I made the decision not to for my personal reasons and I have no doubt that I made the right one for me and my family.”

During COVID-19 Noll learned that patience is key. In his business position, people are looking to him for answers on information from customers and staff. Noll shared that he’s not doing it alone and that others on his staff are better at interpreting regulations and CDC guidelines. He also shared that here are workers who have filled their roles and other roles that are not specifically assigned or those workers have been trained in.

“We are doing the best on this team and the reliance on that team is tremendous,” Noll said. “Everyone of us has learned not to take anything for granted. Learning about human nature and what people have in them to get things done is an eye-opener from that standpoint.”

Noll said there was a level of complacency in the middle of the pandemic. Noll personally viewed the exposure as a dose of reality and was fortunate not to get it, but feels for the people who have had it worse when it comes to COVID-19.

“I’m very hopeful that the vaccine will be available in the next two to three months the further down we go on the needs side, that everyone is deserving of it and we can get that done,” Noll said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be completely relaxed, but in the near future it should be better for us.”

Noll’s ways of coping with COVID has been tough on him since he’s a very social person and doesn’t have officiating duties to fill the void. In the summer, Noll worked on his golf game. Now Noll fills those voids with walking, working a lot more hours at the bank, or taking work home and reading on an iPad.

Noll is an optimistic person and watches and cares about his staff. He recognizes where people need a break, and likes to sit down and visit with them on how they’re coping with COVID.

“It’s a sense of isolation that you simply can’t let yourself spiral into a negative frame of mind,” Noll said. “You gotta keep something going that’s optimistic and it would be very easy to withdraw and become very depressed.”

Noll believes we all do what we do for different reasons and we all don’t have to be on the same page.

“I think that you should not be afraid to say you’re afraid,” Noll said. “People around you shouldn’t be judgmental and should respect your decisions.”

Noll then went on to say that First Farmers & Merchants National Bank is very dependent on a healthy and strong financial community and that they are doing all they can to keep the customers and staff safe while living the mentality of “we are all in this together.”

First Farmers & Merchants National Bank has worked with customers needing some flexibility with loan issues and repayment issues. Noll attributed that to the government and noted that the community has also been very helpful.

“We’ve come this far and let’s just make sure we’re doing what we do to protect ourselves and we’ll get through this,” Noll said. “Hopefully these vaccines are just around the corner and that we’ll all get back to some level of normalcy the best we can.”