Independent Banker - April 2022 - 46

The benefit of hindsight
If board members could give their 22-year-old
selves advice, here's what they'd say:
Find a career that provides an intellectual challenge,
allows you to honestly and genuinely help people,
and one that makes you proud of what you do,
knowing that you earn people's trust and respect.
That is what I found in community banking.
 TIM ZIMMERMAN, ICBA PAST CHAIRMAN AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
AND COO OF STANDARD BANK, FSB, MONROEVILLE, PA.
Watch and listen to successful community bankers
and soak up all of their advice and wisdom. There
is so much to gain, and the fundamentals of good
banking never change. Technology changes our
processes, but the way we build relationships in
our communities never changes.
SCOTT HEITKAMP, ICBA PAST CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT AND CEO
OF VALUEBANK TEXAS, CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
with community banks serving their
customers in their communities.
This is why we must all advocate
and share our customer stories with
policymakers, so they understand
that our business model is unique.
Recent proposals for collecting data
on consumers and small businesses
bog down the process and drive up
unnecessary cost for all customers.
Q: Are there any other
opportunities you'd like to
highlight?
Slow down and have better work-life balance.
I missed a lot of my kids' events because I had
" too much going on at work. " Work life/home life
balance is so important.
DOUG OUELLETTE, ICBA AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Learn much, give back, and there is no " I " in team.
BRENDA FOSTER, ICBA AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Work hard and put in more eff ort than those
around you.
MARK HESSER, ICBA AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Collect a mentor from every job you have.
JILL SUNG, ICBA AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Bolton: Passing the Enhancing Credit
Opportunities in Rural America Act
(H.R. 1977/S. 2202) (ECORA) and
SAFE Banking Act would be a big win
for our communities. Also, waking up
policymakers to the negative eff ect
of the credit union industry and
showing that it should be subject to
taxation and CRA requirements will
continue to be at the forefront of our
advocacy issues. In addition, closing
the ILC (Industrial Loan Corporation)
loophole to keep another uneven
playing fi eld from being created
is critical.
Williams: As the too-big-to-fail
banks continue to consolidate and
drive away customers, community
banks have a great opportunity to
further solidify our stellar reputation
with policymakers for the way we
consistently and eff ectively meet
consumer and small business
banking needs. This opens the door
for some huge advocacy opportunities
in the coming years, but we must
continue to tell our customer stories
and showcase the community
banking diff erence.
White: We have a real opportunity to
draw attention to credit unions and
how far they have strayed from their
original mission. Nobody can argue
with a straight face that credit unions
should be buying banks.
44 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q April 2022
Independent Banker - April 2022

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