Independent Banker - July 2018 - 68

CONNECTIONS
Community Spirit
Making a case for
First Resource Bank
When four students at Immaculata
University in Pennsylvania partnered with
bank president and CEO Glenn Marshall in a
national competition, the whole team won.
By Jolene Johnson
L
ike so many community banks around
the country, First Resource Bank in Exton,
Pa., has built a reputation of going above and
beyond to help its neighbors. During the Great
Recession, the bank helped troubled businesses
recover. Today, it supports children, veterans'
groups, seniors and many others through a variety
of programs.
Now college students are on that list, too.
It began in the spring of 2018, when Dr. Elizabeth
Faunce, an associate professor and advisor
at nearby Immaculata University, asked First
Resource Bank president and CEO Glenn Marshall
to partner with four undergrad students to
compete in a nationwide academic competition.
Marshall didn't hesitate. " I said, 'It sounds like
fun,' and jumped in, " he recalls.
The 2018 Conference of State Banking Supervisors
(CSBS) Community Bank Case Study
Competition had tasked 51 student teams from
45 U.S. colleges and universities with developing
an original case study that evaluated how banks
use technology in their daily operations. The
Immaculata team consisted of two sophomores
and two juniors, all of whom happen to be on
the men's soccer team. Their mission: to create a
video and write a 24-page paper, which required
that they meet with Marshall several times. " He
was always available when we needed him, " says
team leader Connor Lindsay, an upcoming junior
and accounting major at Immaculata.
" You feel good about helping a younger generation
get smarter. And if we can have a little part
68 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q July 2018
in that, then that's good, " Marshall says. " I don't
think we sit around on all these things that we're
involved in and count the pennies of goodwill
that we get. We just do it because we think it's
part of our brand. "
Marshall also impressed Faunce. " He was
fantastic, " she says. " He was very open with the
boys. He gave them all kinds of documentation
he thought they would need-the most recent
annual reports and what have you. He was very
helpful and spent a signifi cant amount of time
with them, letting them ask questions and answering
them very openly. "
The proof is in the report
What did the students learn about the bank?
" The most important thing about this bank is the
fact that it claims to be a high-tech, high-touch
bank, and we support in our paper that it is both
of those [things], " Lindsay says.
Take FRed (First Resource Easy Deposit),
for instance. It's a bank-issued remote deposit
capture machine that scans and electronically
deposits checks. The $260 million-asset bank
provides this device to about 160 business customers
for free. So instead of the offi ce manager
running to the bank to deposit checks, the machine
can scan them within seconds at the offi ce.
It also saves the bank money. Though it has
just two branch locations, in Exton and West
Chester, First Resource Bank doesn't need to
expand to be close to its customers. That's because
" with remote capture, it doesn't matter, "
Marshall says. " [Customers] can be anywhere. "
He adds that it's also why " we don't charge for
those services, because we view it as saving us on
sticks and bricks. "
However, First Resource Bank still values
face-to-face interaction with its customers. So
First Resource Bank
president and CEO
Glenn Marshall
with Immaculata
University students
Alexander Noel,
Nicholas Boule,
Connor Lindsay and
their professor, Dr.
Elizabeth Faunce,
on the university's
campus in
Immaculata, Pa.
Photo: Shawn Sims
Independent Banker - July 2018

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