Document:

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                                  EXHIBIT 10.5

                       Amendment to Employment Agreement
                           dated September 21, 2004,
                            between the Corporation
                               and C. James Bess

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                        AMENDMENT TO EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

      This amendment (the "Amendment") to the Employment Agreement by and
between North Country Financial Corporation, a Michigan corporation (the
"Corporation"), and C. James Bess (the "Employee"), dated August 1, 2003 and
amended by the parties on May 18, 2004 (collectively, the "Agreement"), is made
as of this 21st day of September, 2004. This Amendment replaces and supersedes
the Amendment to Employment Agreement dated as of August 10, 2004 between the
Employee and the Corporation.

      WHEREAS, the Corporation and the Employee wish to amend said Agreement as
hereinafter provided;

      NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises of the parties and
mutual consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is acknowledged by
both the Corporation and the Employee, the Agreement is hereby amended as
follows:

1. Paragraph 6 of the Agreement is amended in its entirety to read:

"6.   Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or of any other
      agreement, contract or understanding heretofore or hereafter entered into
      by Employee and the Corporation, Employee shall not have any right to
      receive any payment or other benefit under this Agreement if such payment
      or benefit, taking into account all other payments to or benefits received
      by Employee, would cause any payment to Employee under this Agreement to
      be considered an "Excess Parachute Payment" within the meaning of Section
      280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), (a
      "Parachute Payment"). In the event that the receipt of any such payment or
      benefit under this Agreement would cause Employee to be considered to have
      received a Parachute Payment under this Agreement, then Employee shall
      have the right, in his sole discretion, to designate those payments or
      benefits under this Agreement which should be reduced or eliminated so as
      to avoid having the payment to Employee under this Agreement be deemed to
      be a Parachute Payment.

      Unless the Corporation and the Employee otherwise agree in writing, any
      determination of the value of the severance and other benefits provided
      for Employee under the terms of this Agreement or otherwise includable in
      the calculation of the Parachute Payment, shall be made in writing by the
      Corporation's independent public accountants (the "Accountants"), whose
      determination shall be conclusive and binding upon the Employee and the
      Corporation for all purposes. For purposes of making the calculations
      required by this Paragraph 6, the Accountants may make reasonable
      assumptions and approximations concerning applicable taxes and may rely on
      reasonable, good faith interpretations concerning the application of
      Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code. The Corporation and the Employee shall
      furnish to the Accountants such information and documents as the
      Accountants may reasonably request in order to make a determination under
      this Paragraph 6. The Corporation shall bear all costs the Accountants may
      reasonably incur in connection with any calculations contemplated by this
      Paragraph 6."

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2. The Corporation and Employee hereby acknowledge and agree that the
Corporation and Employee have entered into a new employment agreement dated as
of August 10, 2004 (the "New Employment Agreement") which provides for
Employee's employment with the Corporation under that agreement to be effective
upon the closing under the Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of August 10, 2004,
as amended, between the Corporation and NCFC Recapitalization, LLC. Upon the
closing under the Stock Purchase Agreement, the Corporation and the Employee are
to have no further continuing obligations under the Agreement except for:

      (a) the payment covenants of the Corporation under Paragraph 2(a)(ii) and
the first sentence of Paragraph 5 of the Agreement, as limited by Paragraph 6 of
the Agreement, to the extent not paid upon the closing under the Stock Purchase
Agreement; and

      (b) the respective covenants of the Corporation and Employee under
Paragraph 13, 14(b) and (c) and 15 of the Agreement and Paragraph 3 below of
this Amendment which shall continue notwithstanding the New Employment Agreement
and the closing under the Stock Purchase Agreement.

The payments under the first sentence of Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 2(a)(ii) of
the Agreement shall be paid by the Corporation in accordance with those
Paragraphs, as limited by Paragraph 6 of the Agreement, except that if any of
the payments then require the approval of the FDIC or any other regulatory
authority the payments shall be made as promptly as practicable after the
requisite approvals are obtained or at the time such approvals are no longer
required.

3. The Corporation hereby agrees that it shall indemnify, pay and make whole the
Employee for all taxes, reasonable legal, accounting and other professional fees
and related expenses incurred by the Employee in connection with any tax audit,
proceeding or finding of the Internal Revenue Service to the extent such is
attributable to the application of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code to any
payment made or benefit provided in accordance with Paragraph 5 of the Agreement
as limited by Paragraph 6 of the Agreement. Such payments shall be made within
five (5) business days after delivery of the Employee's respective written
requests for payment accompanied with such evidence of taxes, fees and expenses
incurred by the Employee as the Corporation may reasonably require.

4. In the event that the Closing (as defined in the Stock Purchase Agreement) of
the transactions contemplated by the Stock Purchase Agreement shall not have
occurred on or before December 31, 2004, this Amendment shall no longer be
effective and the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect as if this
Amendment had not been made.

5. In all other respects, the Agreement is hereby reaffirmed in its entirety.

                  [REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.]

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      IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this Amendment to be
executed on its behalf by the Chairman of its Board of Directors, and the
Employee has signed this Amendment, all as of the date and year first above
written.

                                             /s/ C. James Bess
                                             -----------------------------------
                                             C. JAMES BESS, EMPLOYEE

                                             NORTH COUNTRY FINANCIAL
                                             CORPORATION

                                             By: /s/ John D. Lindroth
                                                 -------------------------------
                                             Its: Chairman<PAGE>

                                  EXHIBIT 10.6

                    First Amendment to Employment Agreement
                            dated December 15, 2004,
                            between the Corporation
                               and C. James Bess

<PAGE>

                               FIRST AMENDMENT TO
                              EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

                                 (C. JAMES BESS)

      This First Amendment (the "Amendment"), dated as of the 15th day of
December 2004, by and among NORTH COUNTRY FINANCIAL CORPORATION, a Michigan
corporation (the "Company"), and C. JAMES BESS ("Employee").

                                   WITNESSETH:

      WHEREAS, the Company and Employee are parties to that certain Employment
Agreement dated August 10, 2004 (the "Employment Agreement"); and

      WHEREAS, the parties desire to amend the Employment Agreement, on the
terms and conditions set forth herein.

      NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual
undertakings set forth herein the parties hereto agree as follows:

      1. The first sentence of Section 1 of the Employment Agreement captioned
"Employment and Duties" is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the
following:

                  In accordance with actions taken and authorized by the Board
            of Directors of the Company (the "Company Board"), effective upon
            the latest to occur of: (i) the payment of the amount due to
            Employee pursuant to Section 5 of the Employment Agreement dated
            August 1, 2003, by and between the Company and Employee, and (ii)
            the closing of the transactions provided for in the Stock Purchase
            Agreement dated August 10, 2004, as amended (the "Stock Purchase
            Agreement"), between the Company and NCFC Recapitalization, LLC (the
            "Effective Date"), Employee shall become employed and appointed as
            the

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            President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company's wholly-owned
            subsidiary, North Country Bank and Trust (the "Bank"), and shall
            have the duties and responsibilities commensurate with such titles
            and offices, including, without limitation, all such duties and
            responsibilities as now are or hereafter may be set forth with
            respect to such offices in the by-laws of the Bank.

            2. A new subsection (c) is added to Section 3 of the Employment s
      Agreement captioned "Cash Compensation" as follows:

                  (c) if, before this Agreement terminates or expires, the Bank
            is no longer subject (whether or not the Bank has received formal
            notice of such) to any formal or informal enforcement action
            including cease and desist orders, written agreements or memoranda
            of understanding by or with any federal or state banking regulatory
            agency, a cash bonus of $360,000.

      3. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning
ascribed to such term in the Employment Agreement.

      4. In the event there is a conflict between the terms of the Employment
Agreement and the terms of this Amendment, the terms of this Amendment shall
control.

      5. The Employment Agreement, as hereby amended, shall continue in full
force and effect, to the fullest extent not inconsistent with this Amendment.

                                      -2-

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      IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the
date first above written.

                                            NORTH COUNTRY FINANCIAL CORPORATION

                                             By /s/ John D. Lindroth
                                                --------------------------------
                                                Its Chairman

                                             /s/ C. James Bess
                                             ----------------------------------
                                             C. James Bess

                                      -3-

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