Independent Banker - April 2023 - 40

THE JOY OF COMMUNITY BANKING
Board members look back on memorable
moments in their careers.
community bankers to leverage
ICBA's national campaign in their
local markets to help spread our
important message that community
banks are different.
Brenda Foster
One of my most memorable
moments was assisting a
business customer, who is a
restaurant owner, open another
restaurant in our community.
And as he was talking to those
gathered for a ribbon-cutting, he
thanked our bank and me as his
lender. He was very emotional
as he described the longstanding
partnership we have,
and I thought, 'Wow, this makes
me so proud of what we do as
community bankers each and
every day.'
John V. Evans, III
The most memorable moment
of my banking career would
be the economic boom and
bust cycle that occurred from
2007 to 2009, which resulted
in the Great Recession and
many bank failures. It taught me
the importance of managing
for the long-term, limiting
risk and maintaining credit
quality through all types of
economic cycles.
Jill Sung
Once I had to handle the
platform side at one of our
branches. It was both rewarding
and stressful to resolve our
customers' questions and issues.
From that experience, I learned
to have a lot of respect for all of
our frontline employees.
Tommy Bates
There have been so many
memorable days and events
in my banking career, dating
back to being a bank examiner
during the S&L crisis. However,
the best memory is from
Nov. 12, 1998, when the state
commissioner of banking issued
our team with the charter for
Legends Bank. It was amazing
to be part of the process of
starting a community bank.
Anita Drentlaw
One of the most recent
memorable moments was
taking over as the chairman
of BankIn Minnesota (formerly
ICBM) in August of 2021. [My
father and I were] fortunate
to be the first father/daughter
to both have the privilege of
leading that great organization.
During my tenure, we as a
board decided to change our
name to BankIn Minnesota and
announced it at our convention
in 2022, which also happened
to be the 60th anniversary of
the association. It was a great
year that took a lot of hard work,
and I feel fortunate to have the
opportunity to work with the
great BankIn Minnesota team to
make it so successful.
Michael Burke
The day I became chair of our
state association is probably
the most memorable event in
my career. I still can't believe
I was asked to lead the group
that represents all community
bankers in Michigan.
(continued on page 43)
Sills: Community banks have a
tremendous opportunity today to
pursue innovation in the delivery
of financial services through
relationships with fintechs and
other collaborations. Advances in
technology present a vast array
of options and opportunities that
community banks did not have in
previous decades. From a foundation
of strong capital, core deposits and
trusted relationships, community
banks have the ability to be nimble
and competitive in communities
they serve.
Bolton: Our biggest opportunities
revolve around closing the ILC
loophole and crafting commonsense
digital asset reforms that keep the Fed
from creating a CBDC and tailor any
digital asset bill in a way that will not
disenfranchise community banks. I
also see a real opportunity to exploit
credit unions' taxpayer abuses as they
continue manipulating their mission
buying taxpaying community banks.
Hopefully, we can get more states to
take this issue up at the state level so
we can put pressure on Congress to
stop ignoring it as well.
Fisher: Split government is always
a positive for our industry and
our country. It forces both sides to
work together to get things done. A
stalemate can actually be a win. I'm
always hopeful that we can tee up
some good, pro-community bank
legislation. Legislation can take many
years to advance through Congress.
Wilcox: ICBA always has opportunity
in advocacy, [and] the largest
opportunity I see right now is to grow
member grassroots involvement,
40 // ICBA Independent Banker // April 2023
Independent Banker - April 2023

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