Independent Banker - April 2020 - 7

FROM THE TOP
" As a fourth-generation
community banker, this
industry is in my blood. It's
not just what I do; it's part
of who I am. "
Noah W. Wilcox
Chairman, ICBA
Noah Wilcox is president, CEO and chairman of
Grand Rapids State Bank and its holding company,
Wilcox Bancshares Inc., Grand Rapids, Minn.
It couldn't be more fitting that I'm penning
my fi rst column as chairman during Community
Banking Month. As a fourth-generation community
banker, this industry is in my blood. It's not
just what I do; it's part of who I am.
I know I'm not alone in that sentiment, and in
having the opportunity to see so many of you at
ICBA LIVE last month, I was reminded of this
tenfold. Many of us come from a long line of community
bankers, but even if we're fi rst-generation
inductees, once you're a community banker,
you're always a community banker.
The way I see it, we are one community doing
good for all communities, and we depend on
one another. That's how we thrive. This interdependence
is critical as we work to execute our
legislative and regulatory platform, Community
Focus 2020 (icba.org/communityfocus2020).
This will take action from each and every one
of us. Poet Maya Angelou once said, " Words
mean more than what is set down on paper.
It takes the human voice to infuse them with
deeper meaning. "
So, I encourage you to double down on your
advocacy eff orts. Increase your calls and emails
to legislators. Take the time to visit them on
Capitol Hill and host them in your banks back in
their districts. Write op-eds for your local papers.
Use your infl uence on social media. Implement a
My Top
Three
My top three
priorities as ICBA
chairman are:
1. Inspiring
increased
advocacy in
Washington, D.C.
2. Encouraging
succession
planning and
next-generation
engagement
3. Urging ongoing
personal growth
through programs
like Community
Banker University
and LEAD FWD
grassroots advocacy program in your bank. With
the resources in ICBA's Take Action: Be Heard
grassroots advocacy toolkit (icba.org/advocacy),
we all can implement this program in a turnkey
fashion, empowering our employees and families
in the process. We have the right-and the obligation-to
speak up in support of the communities
in which we live and work.
But I implore you to infuse your actions with
meaning. Allow them to exemplify who you are:
a proud, determined, hard-working community
banker. With that assured attitude, our voices
will be heard. They cannot be ignored.
Each month, I have the opportunity to speak
to you from this column, and it's a gift to be able
to use my voice in this way, but I see it as a twoway
street. We can't make an impact without
your input. Please reach out to me to share your
thoughts, ideas and concerns, because if they
matter to you, they matter to our entire community
banking family.
I'm humbled and honored to be ICBA's 90th
chairman, and I look forward to working with all
of you this year to ensure we are heard and community
banks continue to fl ourish!
Connect with Noah @NWWilcox
independentbanker.org Q 7
http://www.icba.org/advocacy http://www.icba.org/communityfocus2020 http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - April 2020

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