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
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Independent Banker - March 2023 - 80
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Cover3
Independent Banker - March 2023 - Cover4
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