Notes, news and views on community banking

Northwestern Financial Review, Jun 1-Jun 14, 2004

Kansas bank gives youngsters their own library

As the reading program, "The Gift of Knowledge Library," at First National Bank, Pratt, Kan., marks five years in operation, bank employees estimate nearly 20,000 area preschoolers have gotten a jump-start on a successful life.

Back in 1999, David Chandler, chairman and CEO of the $82 million bank, partnered with the Dollywood Foundation to launch a program that would encourage parents to first read to their young children and later for children to read on their own. "In order to be truly informed a person must acquire the ability to absorb the information presented from any avenue," commented Chandler in a statement posted on the bank's web site. That means they must learn to read, he added.

The Dollywood Foundation administers the program, selecting age-appropriate books which the bank purchases for distribution to eligible youngsters. Every pre-school-age child living in Pratt County Kansas who registers for the program receives a free book each month until the age of five. Children enrolled in the program at birth potentially can receive 60 books through the bank's program.

Bank employees estimate approximately 440 books are distributed each month; area senior citizens volunteer time to handle the mailing. "I want the First National Bank in Pratt to become a leader in helping the children of our community take full advantage of all the avenues available and to accumulate the knowledge necessary to become a leader, not only in our community, but the nation," Chandler said. When children graduate from the program - on their fifth birthday the bank gives them a library card.

LaSalle Bank buys naming rights to famous theatre

Chicago's Shubert Theatre, situated inside the Loop on Monroe Avenue, is to be renamed the LaSalle Bank Theatre when the 2005 theater season commences. The change will come once the historic landmark undergoes a multimillion dollar renovation, which it can afford thanks to the multiyear sponsorship with Illinois' second-largest bank. LaSaIIe Bank will become the first financial institution to put its name on a downtown theater according to the Chicago SunTimes. The bank plans to offer customers and employees theater-related promotions through the multiple-year sponsorship deal. The Shubert deal comes just one month after LaSalle Bank announced it had become the "official" bank of the Chicago White Sox.

North Central FWI group puts successful women in spotlight

Alisha Johnson, Highland Bank, St. Paul, Minn., Suzanne Sjoselius, Northeast Bank, Minneapolis, and Lynette Golly, Employee Benefits of St. Cloud, Minn., participated in a panel discussion on what it takes for women to achieve success in the workplace. Continued learning more than continuing education, peer-to-peer networking, developing a personal communication style and the glass ceiling were among the topics discussed.

Golly, who spent years working at a bank that promoted gender inequity, converted her frustration into ambition, launching her own business. Johnson, who is the director of marketing at her bank, viewed the glass ceiling more as an obstacle for bankers not engaged in lending. "There are women who will be president of their bank someday," Johnson said. "But they won't be coming out of marketing." The fact that lenders are more apt to move up ranks is just a fact in banking, Johnson said. "That has nothing to do with gender."

The event, conducted May 11 at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, was sponsored by the North Central District of Financial Women International.

Extras...

* Stephen J. Verdier has returned to the Independent Community Bankers of America as its new senior vice president and Director of the Congressional Relations Group. Verdier, who has nearly 30 years of legislative experience in Washington, worked previously for ICBA from 1983 to 1994 as senior legislative counsel. Most recently, he worked at America's Community Bankers.

* Yvonne Condell of Moorhead, Minn., has been elected to a one-year term as chairman of the board of directors for the $900 million Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union of St. Paul. Condell, who has been on the board since 1996, is regional volunteer director for AARP.

* Cathy Potter, a Wells Fargo correspondent banker in Iowa, recently received the Golden Spoke Award. The recognition lauds Potter's outstanding service to her customers. Potter has been with the bank 25 years serving customers in northwest Iowa. Part of the award is an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Hawaii, which Potter will share with her husband, Terry.

* Strategic planning and HR consultant Terry Saber, who says she's worked with 31 state banker associations, told attendees of the Nebraska Bankers Association's annual meeting that the Nebraska group was the "Nordstroms of state banker associations," referring to the Seattle-based retailer known for its commitment to service. "The Nebraska Bankers Association does everything so well, right down to the smallest detail," Saber praised.