Independent Banker - September 2022 - 46

National Community Bank Service Awards
Emerging Community Bank
Service Program
Awarded to a bank that developed its
service program less than three years ago
SPONSORED BY
local child service centers. "
From there, FCB's Make a Diff erence
Program was born. The goal was to
assemble duff el bags with necessities
such as toothbrushes, toothpaste,
shampoo, washcloths, diapers, lotion,
deodorant, diaper wipes and other
comfort items for families entering
emergency shelters and child service
centers, often in the middle of the night
with whatever they could hurriedly take
in garbage bags.
FCB's Melanie
Hamrick and Bruce
Kimbell review the
bank's calendar of
community initiatives.
Community involvement, year round
By Paul Sisolak
n 2014, First Community Bank
of Western Kentucky rebranded
as First Community Bank of the
Heartland (FCB) to refl ect its
expanded footprint outside of its
home state. Five years later, in
late 2019, it decided it wanted to
do something big to give back to
its coverage areas in Kentucky
and Tennessee.
I
Team members initially launched
an adopt-a-highway campaign,
and while several bank associates
followed through with a volunteer
trash pickup along some local roads,
bank leaders knew the stand-alone
eff ort wasn't broad enough for what
they envisioned.
Then, Melanie Hamrick, FCB's
marketing director, and other branch
managers attended a conference
where they heard from another
community bank that donated teddy
First Community Bank
of the Heartland
Asset size: $370 million
Location: Clinton, Ky.
fcbheartland.com
bears to children entering foster care.
" We all came back from that
and decided to come up with a
community service purpose, " recalls
Hamrick. " The fi rst thing we decided
all together was opportunities in
46 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q September 2022
fDiversifying the Make
a Diff erence Program
Like the trash cleanup before it,
the duff el bag project was only a
stepping stone for more community
initiatives, though it continues to this
day. When pandemic lockdowns went
into eff ect, FCB embarked on another
community endeavor.
" It started with COVID in 2020, " says
Hamrick. " You heard all these stories
about people in nursing homes not
allowed visitors. It was a sad situation.
One of the fi rst things we did was put
together goodie bags to be delivered to
elder communities. We would knock on
the doors and leave [the bags] there, and
they would wave at us. They enjoyed
seeing people because they weren't able
to get out. I know how people to this day
say how special it was. "
After the success of the senior center
project, Hamrick, along with FCB
president and CEO Bruce Kimbell and
other bank leaders, considered the
possibility that the Make a Diff erence
Program could evolve and expand into
other diverse areas.
And so, in 2021, with the mindset
that volunteerism is needed all year,
not just on special occasions, FCB
crafted a monthly calendar of other
Make a Diff erence initiatives that
continue to be honored companywide.
fCreative community service
Each month's Make a Diff erence
initiative is tailored to the needs of the
community and infl uenced by what's
important to FCB associates.
In January, for example, the
Photos: Brad Rankin Studio
http://www.fcbheartland.com
Independent Banker - September 2022

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