ABA Banking Journal - September 2010 - (Page 56)
First person | laurie Stewart, Part One Up Kilimanjaro, for a cause Banker tackles fabled peak for cancer research You never know where your reading will take you. Laurie Stewar t’s decision to climb Mount Kilimanjaro began with the board’s annual request for her to set five goals for the bank and herself . Stewart, president and CEO, at $337.8 million-assets Sound Community Bank, Seattle, was mulling the personal element while scanning the publication of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. When Stewart’s husband, Ken, died nine years ago from a rare form of liver cancer, she had donated to the center. Stewart flipped a page and read about “Climb for a Cause,” a nonprofit group that organizes mountain expeditions that raise money for charities. Stewart noted that a Mount Kilimanjaro trip was coming up and recalled how climbing the volcanic peak had Laurie Stewart planned to keep in touch with friends and ABA Banking Journal via been a longtime goal for her husband. satellite phone. See “Dispatches from Kilimanjaro” at www.ababj.com When the time came to present the five days help participants’ bodher goals, Stewart revealed that she planned to climb Kilimanjaro. This caught ies grow used to the altitude. Hired the directors off-guard, to say the least. bearers carry the bulk of the equipThe directors were surprised, but their reaction was mild. “My friends think ment, which includes multiple changI’m crazy,” says Stewart, 61, “and my mother will barely discuss this with me.” es of clothing. The climbers pass from Stewart actually took on twin goals. The physical challenge, of course, was equatorial lowlands to snow and ice. daunting enough. But the second concerned the point of the climb. Each By contrast to the climb, the climber, in addition to handling their own gear, transportation, and other descent, not requiring acclimatizaexpenses, must commit to raise at least $10,000. (As she awaited her plane tion, occurs in one long day. Stewon Aug. 9, Stewart’s donation “thermometer” reached $8,210, toward her art and the others will rise at midown goal of $12,000. More than $2,500 came from bank staff. To see the latnight and complete the final ascent est tally, or to donate, visit this speedlink: http://bit.ly/firstpersonmtk ) to the summit in time to see the sun Stewart is no stranger to business challenges. She converted Sound Comrise. Then they’ll head back down. munity Bank to a mutual savings bank from a credit union in 2003. And As she headed to Africa for her six years ago, she set a personal goal of losing weight (she’s dropped 100 first mountain climb, Stewar t pounds) and getting into shape. She began walking, then running, and admitted to some trepidation, but worked up to a full marathon. That gave her the courage to try the climb. resolved to do her best. “It’s about The charity expedition that Stewart joined in mid-August planned to ascend the journey,” she said. in a five-day approach. The route is a very challenging walk, rather than a Next month: Stewart's on-moun“technical” climb, due to the mountain’s gradual slopes. However, the terrain tain experiences and insights. n is sufficiently rugged, and the risk of altitude sickness significant enough, that 56 | ABA BANKING JOURNAL | September 2010 photomontage by melissa zayas
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