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Our Leadership

Volunteer Federal is renowned among both customers and the community as a trustworthy and dependable financial institution. This positive perception also applies to its staff and top-level management. Many of the senior management and employees have been with the bank for decades, contributing their priceless expertise and extensive banking knowledge to advance the well-being of our customers and the local community.

Executive Team

Rob Rule President, CEO

Rob Rule
President/CEO

Shelia Knox Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer

Shelia Knox
Chief Operations Officer 

Charlie Robbins Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Charlie Robbins
Chief Information Officer 

The Board of Directors

Comprised of seasoned community leaders, Volunteer Federal’s Board of Directors bring a range of local expertise and insight. Each member has distinguished himself as a leader in the local community. 

The Volunteer Federal Board of Directors is composed of, in order: Larry Hicks, Bob Dalton, Bert Blankenship, Rob Rule, Michael Richesin, and Eric Hicks.

Larry Hicks Board of Director Volunteer Federal Savings Bank

Larry Hicks
Chairman

Bob Dalton Board of Director Volunteer Federal Savings Bank

Bob Dalton
Vice Chairman

Bert Blankenship Board of Director Volunteer Federal Savings Bank

Bert Blankenship
Secretary/Treasurer

Rob Rule Board of Director Volunteer Federal Savings Bank

Rob Rule
President/CEO

Michael Richesin Board of Director Volunteer Federal Savings Bank

Michael Richesin
Director 

Eric Hicks Board of Director Volunteer Federal Savings Bank

Eric Hicks
Director

Rob Rule President, CEO

Rob Rule

President/CEO

“At Volunteer Federal, we believe that helping people and communities grow is a win-win. When we help people achieve their financial goals, it also helps to strengthen the community as a whole. That’s something we’re really proud of.”

Rob Rule serves as President/CEO of Volunteer Federal. He has been a part of the bank’s family for nearly 25 years.

Rob obtained an American Bankers Association General Banking Diploma and is a graduate of both the Tennessee Bankers Association’s Southeastern School of Banking and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University (LSU).

He is actively involved in the local community, serving on the Downtown Madisonville Alliance and volunteering at Straightway Ministries.

Over the years, Rob has cooked over 100,000 hot dogs in the bank’s Wiener Wagon during community events. And that’s not even the record!

He and his wife have two children and two pets.

Rob loves University of Tennessee sports—especially football and basketball, traveling, and anything outdoors. In his spare time, you can likely find him hiking in the Smokies, kayaking on the local rivers and lakes, or working in the yard. He has hiked over half of the trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Charlie Robbins Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Charlie Robbins

Chief Information Officer

“I am blessed to be working at a place filled with great people who share a common purpose of improving the quality of life in Monroe County.”

Charlie Robbins is Volunteer Federal’s Chief Information Officer. He has been part of the bank’s family for over 15 years.

Charlie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from East Tennessee State University (ETSU), and a Bachelor of the Arts degree in English from ETSU. He is an honor graduate of the Tennessee Bankers Association’s Southeastern School of Banking, and a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University (LSU). He also received a certificate from the Bank Technology Security School through the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Growing up, Charlie lived in and experienced the cultures of Japan, South Korea and Iran.

An active participant in his local community, Charlie coached recreational, travel and high school softball for over 25 years.

Charlie and his wife have been married for 30 years and counting. The couple have four daughters, in addition to four dogs and two cats. Charlie also has a pretty impressive collection of souvenir turtles!

Charlie enjoys traveling with his wife to new places and to his daughter’s softball games. He recently started gardening and playing golf, but says he isn’t really an expert in either—yet!

Most of all, he enjoys time in the kitchen, trying new recipes. He is determined to successfully replicate the recipes of his Japanese mother and his North Carolina grandmother.

In his free time, Charlie works on finding his IKIGAI—his work/life balance. He finds peace in his faith, family, friends and the outdoors.

Shelia Knox Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer

Shelia Knox

Chief Operations Officer

“The most rewarding feeling is to work as a team to take care of each other, our customers and our community.”

Shelia Knox is the Chief Operations Officer at Volunteer Federal. She has been in banking for nearly 30 years—all of which has been with Volunteer Federal.

Shelia obtained a banking certificate from Cleveland State Community College and is a graduate of both the Southeastern School of Banking and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University (LSU).

Shelia and her husband have been married for 30 years. They have four children and six grandchildren.

She enjoys spending time outside, camping, going to the beach, or walking at a park or on a short trail. In her spare time, you’ll find her spending time with her family—at the park, getting ice cream or just playing in the yard.

An infamous Shelia story: Once, she was vacuuming the elevator at the bank and the elevator door shut behind her. She went down two floors with the vacuum cleaner still plugged in! Years later, she and her coworkers still laugh about her near-death experience with the vacuum and elevator!