Independent Banker - April 2017 - 7

From the Chairman
By Scott Heitkamp, chairman of ICBA
We are the
diff erence makers
A
s I write my fi rst column as ICBA chairman,
I'm fi lled with excitement, pride
and determination. I look forward to
seeing so many of you throughout the year as I
travel the country and have the honor to represent
and advocate for our great industry.
I had a taste of what this year will be like
when I joined so many of you at ICBA Community
Banking LIVE in San Antonio last month.
There, I had the opportunity to speak with you
about my priorities as chairman, our common
challenges and goals, and one of my favorite
stories, which demonstrates the power we all
have to make a difference and how each action
has a ripple effect.
The story recounts a man who was walking
along the beach when he noticed a boy picking
something up and gently throwing it back into
the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked,
" What are you doing? "
The boy replied, " Throwing starfi sh back into
the ocean. "
The surf was up and the tide was going out.
" If I don't throw them back, they'll die. "
" Son, " the man said, " don't you realize there
are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of
starfi sh? You can't make a difference! "
After listening politely, the boy bent down,
picked up another starfi sh and threw it back
into the ocean. Then, smiling, he said, " I made
a difference for that one! "
Now that we're all back home in our communities,
I wanted to remind you of that powerful
visual and narrative.
We are difference makers, just like that little
boy. That loan you make, that idea you have, is
a difference maker in the life of your customer
and for the community. Never forget that. As
community bankers, we not only power capital,
we also power dreams.
To showcase the power of community banks
to make a difference, ICBA recently released
a video, " Community Banking: Know the
Difference, " which you can share during ICBA
Community Banking Month. But as you'll see,
the video should be shared long after the event
wraps. In the video, you see money from a water
tower going into the small businesses that line
Main Street. And that's what we do every day.
While money doesn't really pour out of water
towers-it sure would be nice if it did-the
analogy holds: Community banks are the water
towers that keep their communities thriving and
protected from a capital drought.
If you haven't seen the video yet, or downloaded
ICBA's Community Banking Month
marketing and communications toolkit, I encourage
you to do so. That way, you can continue to
spread the positive story of your community bank
and community banks across the nation with your
local media, customers and other stakeholders.
We need to build on the storytelling that
Rebeca Romero Rainey, our fearless immediate
past chairman, encouraged us all to do. We must
tell our story, and ICBA Community Banking
Month is a great time to do it. If we don't talk
about how community banks are difference
makers, nobody else will. It's up to us to make
sure everyone knows where community banks
stand and that we're the difference makers for
our communities.
R. Scott Heitkamp is president and
CEO of ValueBank Texas in Corpus
Christi. Follow him on Twitter,
@sheitkamp.
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Independent Banker - April 2017

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