2004 BUYER'S Guide

Northwestern Financial Review, Aug 15-Aug 31, 2004 by Pflipsen, Jeffrey J, Veselsky, Wayne J, Strunk, William

A list of select product and service providers for community bankers

Developing leaders and communities

Dynamic course helps bankers lead the way

For more than 90 years, Leighton State Bank in Leighton, Iowa, has maintained its local ownership and shown a strong commitment to its community. Leighton has a population of 153, so the bank's community involvement is very visible and important.

Leighton State Bank reinforced its community focus by endorsing Calvin Bandstra's participation in the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines' Leadership Development Training Program. Bandstra is Leighton State Bank's vice president of lending.

"In a small town, there are a limited number of people available for leadership roles in community-wide projects," noted Bandstra. "Because of this, our board of directors places a great deal of emphasis on education and training for bank personnel. They were supportive of my desire to attend the bank's leadership training."

The Home Loan Bank introduced leadership training in 2002 and added a follow-up session in 2003. Training topics range from building community relations and creating community foundations to managing community conflict. There is also a community-resource roundtable, which gives community members an opportunity to talk one-on-one with representatives from different funding agencies.

Bandstra found that the community conflict session was applicable in Leighton. "Big projects in small communities draw their share of conflict due to the many interrelationships among the people involved," Bandstra said. "During the leadership training, I learned how other communities approached and handled complicated situations and realized that communication with residents is vital."

The bank's Leadership Development Training Program is an opportunity for bankers and community leaders to participate in a one-and-a-half-day session facilitated by the nationally-recognized Heartland Center for Leadership Development. The Heartland Center uses a team approach to leadership development and encourages teams of three to five people who are dedicated to positive change and action in their communities to attend. Home Loan Bank members are community leaders and must be part of the community's team.

To date, more than 200 people from more than 60 communities in the bank's five-state district of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota have participated in the program. They have learned about the resources and acquired the skills needed to sustain their communities' development.

The following dates and locations are set for the 2004 Leadership Development Training Program:

* Mandan, N.D., Sept 15-16, 2004

* Chamberlain, S.D., Sept. 21-22, 2004

* Lake Ozark, Mo., Sept. 29-30, 2004

* Ames, Iowa, Oct. 26-27, 2004

* Deerwood, Minn., Nov. 2-3, 2004

For more information about the Leadership Development Training Program, including the agenda and registration, visit the Home Loan Bank's web site at www.fhlbdm.com or contact Kevin Welsch at 800.544.3452, ext. 1025.

Kirk Gross Company girds for growth

Kirk Gross Company is a turnkey design-build organization specializing in financial institutions throughout Iowa and the Midwest. It has been a well recognized Waterloo, Iowa-based business for more than 67 years and is known for its industry excellence, dependability and knowledge. KG offers "true" turnkey capabilities with in-house architectural and interior design, construction and commercial furniture divisions.

The company has remained resilient and has even expanded services and market share during periods of economic downturns, industry declines and growing competition in the marketplace. The stability of the company is a credit to its management and unwavering commitment to a vision for the future. During the past 18 months, KG has made a significant commitment toward preparing for the future with investments in human capital, development of new systems, policies, procedures and a thorough assessment of all areas of business operations. According to KGs President Robert Buckley, "We aren't reinventing ourselves at KG but we recognize the need for continued improvement in order to maintain the highest level of service and commitment to our customers as our business continues to grow. I foresee exponential growth for the company in the near future and we are prepared with a top-notch management team, dedicated staff and faithful customer base to sustain our vision." KG reports it currently maintains the largest backlog of projects in the company's history.

According to Keith Veir, the company's vice president of operations, "The quality of our projects and customer support far exceeds our high growth expectations established last year, and the momentum is increasing. Our ability to meet the demand for services is being constantly evaluated and addressed to ensure both quality and timely response to our customers."

The company's average project footprint has more than doubled in the past year. KG staff is managing the increased workload and size of projects with increased emphasis on efficiency, communication and strategic approaches to project development.