Independent Banker - March 2023 - 61

has this innate ability to connect the
things that need to be connected to
make progress. "

Terry Jorde with
her husband,
Mike, who
Blankenship agrees, saying Jorde
exemplifies the relationship-first
approach that is central to community
banking. " Terry has the natural ability
to connect with an individual or an
audience, " she says. " I believe her
passion and background have been
instrumental in her effectiveness,
both as a community banker and a
defender of our industry. "
Certainly, Jorde's strengths have
supported significant advancements
during her tenure, including
helping to create a true home for all
community bankers at ICBA.
" I know for a fact that a lot of the
people who followed her as chair have
used her as an example for their leadership, "
says Derek Williams, incoming chairman of
ICBA and president and CEO of $365 millionasset
Century Bank and Trust in Milledgeville,
Ga. " In addition, as community bankers, we like
continuity, and Terry has provided continuity
at ICBA. She's been the common bond, the
common factor and makes us feel at ease. Terry's
been there for all of it, consistent and solid and
always looking out for community bankers. "
indirectly led her
to community
banking
That caring commitment has drawn bankers
and staff into Jorde's inner circle, and the bonds
she has created transcend the work.
" Terry's a dear personal friend, " says Dale
Leighty, CEO and chairman of the board at
$560 million-asset First National Bank Colorado
in Las Animas, Colo. " She and Mike are good,
warm people you want to associate with. Life's
too short to deal with people who aren't good,
and they are the kind you want to be around. "
The ICBA impact
Having spent more than a
decade as senior executive
vice president and chief of
staff for ICBA, Terry Jorde has
left a sizeable imprint on not
just the community banking
industry but also on the way
the association responds to
community bank needs.
" Terry is a community
banker through and through, "
says ICBA president and
CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey.
" Whether it is in a meeting
we're having and discussing
a priority or policy issue,
editing a document, whatever
it may be, her passion,
knowledge and perspective
come through the lens of a
community banker. "
That deep understanding
of the industry, combined
with strong leadership skills,
has made her both a guiding
resource for ICBA and an
inspiration for staff.
" Terry has the keen ability to
identify people's strengths and
connect them to those roles
and responsibilities where
they will flourish, " says Lindsay
LaNore, group executive vice
president and chief learning
and experience officer at ICBA.
" She always knows when to
challenge you, sometimes
recognizing a strength that
you didn't know you had and
bringing it out in you. Terry
has been instrumental in my
professional growth, and I have
watched her do the same for
others at ICBA. We are all so
grateful for that. "
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Independent Banker - March 2023

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