Independent Banker - October 2017 - 36

her grandmother, Wyona. Her father,
Ted, fi rst came to work for the bank
in 1973 and led it from 1989 until his
retirement in 2010. Currently, longtime
bank employee Dean Dreessen
is president and CEO, and Hofer is
being groomed for the position.
While Hofer may be the child of
the bank's former leader, she's earned
her stripes. After graduating in 2002
from Tulane University and becoming
a certifi ed public accountant,
she served as an auditor of fi nancial
service companies for PwC, working
with bank examiners at the Atlanta
offi ce of the Federal Reserve Bank.
" There's no better experience than
to go into other banks and conduct
an audit or a bank exam, " she says.
" I've actually met a lot of people from
family-owned banks who have gotten
jobs as bank examiners fi rst.
" You can see so many different
things over the course of the year
about how things are done at other
banks, and that training from other
banks and examiners is valuable. "
The family learned a hard lesson
about succession planning when
Hofer's grandfather, Harris Hofer,
suffered a stroke in 1989, and Ted,
her father, had to step in to run
Merchants State Bank. Now, succession
planning is a priority. Emily
Hofer is the only family member
involved in the community bank's
day-to-day operations, but a handful
of other family members serve on the
board of the holding company. She
says the bank is the only place where
the family talks about banking issues.
" My grandmother was on the board
for many years, and now she's 87, "
Emily says. " She hasn't been involved
for over 10 years, but she still feels as
if it is her baby. So we really make a
point of not talking about the business
unless we're at the bank. We're
just cognizant of everyone's feelings
and what they think should be done. "
Still, it can pose a challenge when
closely held businesses have to be
creative to create liquidity for shares
without diluting ownership of other
family members. " It's very emotional, "
Emily says.
However, on a day-to-day basis,
the rest of the Hofers are comfortable
giving Emily a wide berth.
" Everything at the bank is going
Be especially respectful of older,
long-term, experienced personnel
at the bank. Be available to do whatever
needs to be done, even the smallest
task. Others are watching, so you need
to set a good example. You have to
earn the respect of the staff . You
can't make them respect you. "
-PAUL T. BENNETT, SOUTH BANKING
COMPANY AND PINELAND BANK
well, " she says. " We've never been
doing better fi nancially, and we're
at the edge of technology. All of the
changes I've made in the last few
years have been great, and I guess it's
easy for my family to let me handle
things right now, as we're making so
much money. Of course, let's see what
happens if we go into a downturn. "
Ownership issues
Ownership transition at a family
bank has to be dealt with along with
management and director succession.
Both can be tricky, says Jeffrey C.
Gerrish, founding director of Gerrish
36 ICBA IndependentBanker October 2017
Independent Banker - October 2017

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