Independent Banker - March 2023 - 60

premonition in the town's
water tower slogan, " You
can do better in Cando, "
but Jorde's career soared.
She worked her way up
the ranks at CountryBank
USA, eventually earning
the title of president and
CEO. Simultaneously, she
started volunteering with
both the Independent
Community Banks of
North Dakota and ICBA
and was named ICBA
chairman in 2006.
" When something isn't
right, I just feel like I've
got to speak up about
it, " Jorde says. " There
" Terry connects the dots in
so many ways, whether it's
community banking and ICBA,
a problem and a solution, or
people, plans and processes.
She has this innate ability to
connect the things that need to
be connected to make progress. "
-Lindsay LaNore, ICBA
have been a lot of things that haven't been right
for community banks over the years, a lot of
regulations that have trickled down from the
abuses of a few. I felt the obligation early in my
career to speak up and push myself outside of my
comfort zone, and that's how I became engaged. "
That passion served her well during her time
as ICBA chairman. Jorde's guidance helped
establish a strong defense of community bank

Jorde, Cindy
Blankenship and
Rebeca Romero
Rainey, all of
whom have been
ICBA chairmen, at
ICBA LIVE in Las
Vegas in 2018
business models, values and missions.
" When Terry was ICBA chairman and with a
small community bank in North Dakota, she took
on Walmart, held her ground and told her story
as only she could, " says Cynthia Blankenship,
director, charter shareholder, vice chairman and
corporate bank president at $750 million-asset
Bank of the West in Grapevine, Texas. " She took
on the Goliath and won. As understated as she
is, she can be as fierce as a lioness protecting her
cubs when it comes to preserving the community
bank franchise. "
Her engagement with ICBA only grew from
there. In 2010, she got a call from then-ICBA
president and CEO Camden R. Fine, who asked if
she'd be willing to consider a move to Washington
to take on a newly created role of ICBA senior
executive vice president and chief of staff.
" We had just sold our bank; it merged with
a much larger bank in the state, and I had no
intention of leaving, " Jorde says. " But this
opportunity came along, and we were in the
middle of the financial crisis, and I didn't want
community banks thrown under the proverbial
bus. So Mike and I talked about the opportunity
and agreed that it aligned with my passion for
both the industry and ICBA. In many ways, it
was a natural evolution of my career during a
critical time for our nation's community banks. I
was honored to serve. "
THE CONNECTOR
Jorde has worked with two ICBA presidents
and CEOs, including Fine and current chief
executive Rebeca Romero Rainey, both of
whom she deeply admires and is grateful for
the opportunity to work alongside. Jorde's
dedication to the role and ICBA has made a
lasting impression on the bankers and staff with
whom she's interacted.
" She's a connector, " says LaNore. " Terry
connects the dots in so many ways, whether it's
community banking and ICBA, a problem and
a solution, or people, plans and processes. She
60 // ICBA Independent Banker // March 2023
Independent Banker - March 2023

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