Independent Banker - March 2023 - 48

experience I had with banking
growing up was him as a bank
customer. I knew the bankers in
town because my dad knew them,
and I learned a lot just from being
around them and watching how
dad dealt with them. He had a great
relationship with banks and bankers,
and that attracted me, just from the
standpoint of what they did to help
my dad. "
That said, Williams left the
University of Georgia, Terry College
of Business, in 1984 with a BBA in
finance, determined to get out of
Barnesville and become " the next
great corporate financier. " But the
world had other plans. He graduated
into a recession, one of two that
would have a profound influence on
his career. During that time, at an
interview for a job as a stockbroker,
he asked one of the brokers how well
his office performed. The response he
received reshaped his career. " I don't
have any idea what the office does, "
the broker told him. " I only worry
about what I do. "
The implication was simple: The
broker didn't care about anybody he
worked with, which was anathema to
Williams. " So many of the jobs that
I looked at in the corporate finance
world, and certainly the stockbroker
world, were very much like that, " he
recalls. " I was used to family, I was
used to teamwork, and I need that. I
needed camaraderie. "
So, he joined a training program at
what was then Citizens & Southern
National Bank, once the largest bank
in the southeastern U.S., now part
of Bank of America, before moving
to Griffin, Ga., in 1987. " I went to
work for a community bank, kind of
by accident, and found the job love
of my life, " he says. " I got a job with
First National Bank of Griffin, and I've
been a community banker ever since. "
That love of community has
defined his career. " One thing about
community banking that I love
is we get paid to be active in the
community; that's part of what we
do, " he explains. " We're committed
to the community, not just from the
standpoint of its financial health,
but community banks, especially in
small towns, are really their financial
centers. They're where everybody
gathers, where people come in
the morning.
" I like that, and I like the idea of
being able to be active in the chamber
and active on the local boards. This
was a job that not only allowed me to
Top: Derek Williams
and fellow Georgia
community bankers
at the 2013 ICBA
Washington Policy
Summit, now the
Capital Summit
Bottom: Williams
filming a video to
be shown at ICBA
LIVE 2023
48 // ICBA Independent Banker // March 2023
Photo (top) by Stephen Gosling

Independent Banker - March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - March 2023

Table of Contents
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Intro
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Cover1
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Cover2
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Table of Contents
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 2
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 3
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 4
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 5
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 6
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 7
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 8
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 9
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 10
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 11
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 12
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 13
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 14
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 15
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 16
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 17
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 18
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 19
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 20
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 21
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 22
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 23
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 24
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 25
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 26
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 27
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 28
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 29
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 30
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 31
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 32
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 33
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 34
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 35
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 36
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 37
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 38
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 39
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 40
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 41
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 42
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 43
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 44
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 45
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 46
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 47
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 48
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 49
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 50
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 51
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 52
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 53
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 54
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 55
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 56
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 57
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 58
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 59
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 60
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 61
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 62
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 63
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 64
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 65
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 66
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 67
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 68
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 69
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 70
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 71
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 72
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 73
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 74
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 75
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 76
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 77
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 78
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 79
Independent Banker - March 2023 - 80
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Cover3
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2017
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com