Independent Banker - December 2017 - 37

Forging his
own path
Christopher Palmer, Pioneer Bank's
president and COO, motivates
customers and inspires employees
through his personal connections
and a contagious enthusiasm for
community banking.
By Elizabeth Judd
A
mong the defi ning characteristics of Pioneer
Bank's ethos is the Wednesday Group, a professional
and personal development group
that crystallizes around a discussion of inspirational
books. Christopher Palmer, president
and COO of the Roswell, N.M., community bank, says group
members have read everything from It's Your Ship by Captain
D. Michael Abrashoff and The Advantage by Patrick
Lencioni to Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart.
Pioneer's weekly book group is just one of the ways
Palmer, a self-described " introverted leader, " forges
connections with his employees. Another is his commitment
to personal performance interviews. At least once a
year, he sits down with each employee for a one-on-one
meeting covering everything from that individual's performance
expectations for themselves to what they would do
if they were president of the bank.
Palmer also takes a unique approach to talent retention.
He encourages all employees of the bank, which has
$817 million in assets and 14 branches, to update their
resumes. " Ever since I've had a leadership role, I've told
people, 'I want you to be successful here or somewhere
else,' " Palmer says. He is not concerned if Pioneer is a stepping
stone to other career goals, so long as the bank gets
each employee's best right now.
In return, Palmer praises his entire team wholeheartedly
for their commitment to the bank and the local community.
As a board member at the United Way of Chaves
County, he is proud of the fact that 80 percent of his team
contributes to the United Way. In appreciation, he lets
anyone who makes a donation wear jeans on Fridays.
Palmer has also backed changes that will help Pioneer
remain an independent community bank, something it
has been since its founding in 1901, 11 years before New
Mexico became a state.
In 2014, for instance, he helped initiate an employee
stock ownership plan (ESOP) to discourage acquirers and
foster a greater sense of shared mission.
" We want Pioneer to last as a community bank and not
be gobbled up, " he says. To that end, he and his team have
done everything they could to make Pioneer Bank into
" We want Pioneer
to last as a
community bank
and not be gobbled
up. So we've done
everything we
could to make the
bank into a place
where people want
to come to work. "
-CHRISTOPHER PALMER,
PIONEER BANK
ICBA
Community Banker
of the Year 2017
Western
Christopher Palmer
President and COO, Pioneer Bank
Location: Roswell, N.M.
Asset Size: $817 million
Founded: 1901
Website: pioneerbnk.com
a place where people want to come to work. " One of the
things that we're trying to instill in the people who work
for us is that we're not Wells Fargo or Bank of America;
we're community bankers, " says Palmer. " And there's a
huge difference. "
He recently began identifying himself on his annual
tax return as a " community banker " -rather than simply
independentbanker.org
ICBA Independent Banker 37
PHOTO: STEPHANIE DEFRANCO
http://www.pioneerbnk.com http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - December 2017

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