Independent Banker - March 2023 - 49

Community banks have
a great reputation
with legislators and
regulators because
of our track record
of safe and sound
performance and our
support of consumers
and small businesses. "
-DEREK WILLIAMS
do that but encouraged me to do it. "
Williams has a passion for
relationship building, whether
it's sitting on the boards of local
museums or fundraising for Relay for
Life, and he admits he's always the
first person to stand up and take on
those roles as a way of getting to know
the neighborhood he's working in.
A rapid ascent
Williams set himself a goal of
becoming CEO of a bank by the age of
40. He achieved it at 34 years old at
First Peoples Bank in Pine Mountain,
Ga., where he stayed for 15 years,
from 1998 to 2013. During that time,
he took the community bank through
the Great Recession of 2008-09.
" That's when the bottom fell out,
and Georgia was markedly hit, " he
reflects on the tumultuous period.
" We lost 90-plus banks to failure in
between 2008 and 2013. So, it was a
very, very difficult time. "
What drives Williams-and what
got him through that time-is " an
absolute belief in and a love for the
model of community banking. " As
chairman of the Community Bankers
Association of Georgia during that
recession, he would remind others of
the importance of their roles.
" I told them, 'Guys, what we do
matters, what we do works and the
model works,' " he recalls. " 'And yes,
we're having some exceptionally
tough economic times right now, but
there's always going to be a place
for local banks to take deposits from
people they know, live with and work
with, people they understand, and loan
that money to people that they know
and understand-local community.' "
It's a belief he still holds. " There's
always going to be place for it, no
matter how big the big banks get,
no matter how automated they get,
no matter how much things change.
There's always going to be a place for
that model. "
Williams believes there is great
potential for a resurgence in
community banking, thanks to
shifting demographics. He describes
Derek Williams
and his family
at his daughter
Betsy's wedding
in 2022
FAMILY FIRST-ALWAYS
Derek Williams has many strings to his bow, but ask him how
he likes to spend his time most, and the answer is simple: with
his family. He and his wife, Karen, just celebrated 37 years of
marriage, and she has stayed by his side as he built his career,
a fact he is keen to acknowledge, given the frequency of their
moves from bank to bank as he advanced his career.
" Her dad is a retired lieutenant colonel in the army, and
she still jokes that I moved her around more than he did, " he
laughs. " That's pretty bad! " The couple have three daughters
and spend as much time as they can with them, whether it's
boating near their home on Lake Sinclair or playing with their
three granddaughters.
independentbanker.org // 49
Photo by Justen Clay
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - March 2023

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