Independent Banker - April 2020 - 50

ICBA 2020/21 executive committee
people and seeing fi rsthand the good
the bank can do for our communities.
It has been extremely rewarding.
However, I would have loved to have
been a fi ghter pilot, but a lack of 20/20
vision stopped that career before it
even took off . All my life I've also
dreamed of being a race car driver. I
loved going fast as a kid and still do to
this day. I am still hopeful to one day
be a race car driver, but for now, I'm
just as joyful watching the bank help
our community thrive as I was when I
joined the bank 27 years ago.
Bolton: I honestly can't imagine
being anything but a community
banker. However, if that wasn't an
option, I think I would have seen
some success as an attorney. I am
a results-driven person who takes
no task without a plan, a followthrough
and a follow-up-and having
the documentation to back it all up
every step of the way. I often tell my
attorney that my documentation is
pretty good for a rural, " shade tree
lawyer. " He is quick to remind me to
stick to what I am good at: being an
accessible and responsive community
banker to my customers. I think that
is good advice, and I am fortunate
to have the opportunity to serve my
customers every day.
Deckard: While in college, I had a
goal of being a business consultant, so
I could learn various types of business
in several industries, view diff erent
management styles, observe unique
models for success and add value to
the client. During my junior year, I
started working at a community bank
and realized that I could achieve all
of these goals, and more, by being a
community banker. I realized that
every bank's color of money is the
same and that the critical distinction
As a fourthgeneration
community
banker,
I cannot imagine
doing anything else.
But if you asked my
wife ... she would say
I should be a chef. "
-Noah Wilcox
diff erence you can make and the
dreams you help come true is very
fulfi lling. If I had to pick something
else, it would probably be teaching or
something similar where I could feel
that I was really making a diff erence
through education.
is the value of what we community
bankers put with the green money to
make a diff erence.
Frazier: The quick answer: a
bartender. Great bartenders engage
with the customer, provide local
insights to newcomers, get to know
their regulars, connect others
around the bar and, oh, by the way, a
bartender serves others. I see many
of the same attributes in a passionate
community banker. However, the
late-night hours are not my " shining "
time, so I would probably opt for
something in marketing. I also enjoy
fi nding unique ways to develop
and distribute messages about
great companies.
Kennedy: Easy! I would be a writer of
some sort. Writing has always been a
passion of mine.
Zimmerman: That's a hard one,
because I love being a community
banker. It is an honorable profession
that gives you back more than
you give. Seeing the impact of the
50 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q April 2020
Heitkamp: I often joke and tell people
that if I left the banking industry
and you wondered where I went,
you would probably fi nd me selling
snorkel equipment in St. Maarten.
In all seriousness, there really is not
another job that I would choose. I
love what I do. I am passionate about
our bank, the people who work with
us, our customers and most of all our
communities. Community banking is
who I am.
Hartings: Maybe a CEO/CFO for a
small, locally owned business. I really
enjoy working with people, building
effi cient processes and workfl ows.
Removing the bottlenecks or
ineffi ciencies by using common-sense
decision-making. I love the local tie
to the community of a small business;
doing the right thing is second
nature, especially when it comes to
donations or lending a helping hand.
We all beam with pride when our local
community grows and fl ourishes.
Molly Bennett is executive editor of
Independent Banker.
More online
Read more from the 2020/21
executive committee at
independentbanker.org-
including what community
banks need to do to attract
younger customers.
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - April 2020

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