Independent Banker - December 2018 - 52

says the president and CEO of Heritage Bank of Nevada, an
$825 million-asset community bank in Reno. " It allowed us
to prove that we are who we say we are. Every bank says it's
the best bank in town, but it takes a really good bank to see
its customers through a diffi cult time. "
Wilmoth says his community bank helped a number of
its business customers restructure their debt to match their
reduced topline revenues. " We got a lot of families through
the tsunami we were in at that time, " he says.
" Stan is a great community activist and a leader, " says
Bob Cashell, who was mayor of Reno from 2002 to 2014.
" I remember how he helped a lot of small businesses stay
in business [during the recession]. He's very supportive of
diff erent causes around here, and I appreciate that. "
Even now, as the economy recovers, Wilmoth says
solving customers' problems is one of his true pleasures.
And he makes sure he is always accessible.
" I put my cell phone on my business card, and I answer
it in all my non-sleeping hours, " says Wilmoth, who has
been president of Heritage Bank since 2001. " We even
advertised my home phone on the TV and radio for a while.
I didn't get many calls at home, less than 20, but it made a
statement about our bank. The very little time I spent on
the phone really reaped us huge benefi ts, because it showed
that we are doing something to help. "
Wilmoth is quick to give credit to his staff for the bank's
success. Heritage Bank employs 75 people across seven
branches, a lean staff considering the bank isn't far off
$1 billion in assets. " Our employees are here eight to 10
hours a day, and when they go home, they still need to feel
like they're being supported by the bank, " he says. " And it's
not just the employees but their kids and spouses, too. So we
try to stay involved with things their kids and grandkids are
doing, like sponsoring Little League and those things. And
we still give Christmas bonuses and have a Christmas party
every year. I think it's important to get together and show
the employees how much we appreciate
the things they do every single day. "
Happy to help
Kelly Wilmoth, an employee of
Heritage Bank and Stan's daughter,
attests that her father doesn't shy
away from the less glamorous jobs.
" He is not just the CEO/president but
can be seen shoveling snow, sweeping
the drive-through and fi xing the sink
in the break room, " wrote Kelly in her
father's nomination form. " And he is
super fun, like at the annual Christmas
party doing the 'YMCA' dance. "
Wilmoth, who was a volunteer
fi refi ghter for a decade in the 1970s
and 1980s, has shared his talents
52 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q December 2018
Every bank says it's the best
bank in town, but it takes
a really good bank to see
its customers through a
diffi cult time. "
-Stan Wilmoth,
Heritage Bank of Nevada
with numerous Reno-area organizations. He's been on
the board of the local Head Start agency for the past
quarter decade and spent six years as chairman. He was
also on the advisory board for the College of Business and
College of Education at the University of Nevada-Reno,
and was chairman of the Nevada Bankers Association in
2012-2013.
Heritage Bank is close to its community in another way:
It is owned by 352 families, some of whom invested as little
as $1,000 when the bank was organized in 1994. Wilmoth
takes pride in ensuring that those families are happy with
their investment. " I get the biggest bang out of them calling
me and saying, 'How are we doing, Stan?' " he says. " I wasn't
here when they invested their money in the bank, but that
was a lot of money to some of those folks, and to give them a
great return on their money is important to me. "
Ed Avis is a writer in Illinois.
Heritage Bank staff volunteered at
the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.
Independent Banker - December 2018

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