The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) announced the election of its new chairman and its 2019-20 Executive Committee members during the final general session of the 2019 ICBA Live annual convention in Nashville.
Newly elected ICBA chairman Preston Kennedy, president and CEO of Zachary Bancshares Inc. in Zachary, La., also serves as chairman of the ICBA Executive Committee and board of directors and is an avid proponent of promoting new technology and other innovations in the community banking business, which was a theme throughout the conference.
Kennedy spoke of the importance in defining a community bank’s value proposition and the bank’s efforts in service of its customers, employees, shareholders and community. Doing so, he told the crowd of attendees, has helped his community bank thrive.
“Through ICBA, we have taken advantage of professional enrichment programs, been able to acquire the latest technology, and forged a sterling reputation with regulators, legislators and the general public,” Kennedy said. “We are smart, we are plugged in, we are well-respected, yet we constantly must prove ourselves as the best financial alternative.”
Community bankers are completive by nature, Kennedy said, and urged the bankers in attendance to embrace their roles as relationship lenders.
“This is the business we have chosen, and this is the way we have chosen to conduct it,” Kennedy said, pledging to work diligently alongside ICBA and its state affiliates to help community banks stay informed and innovative while retaining positive reputations.
“We ask for nothing but a level playing field on which to compete,” he added. “In a fair fight, I like our chances. Because nobody — nobody — will ever love our customers, our employees, our shareholders and our communities the way we do.”
Kennedy has served in many leadership roles at ICBA and is chairman of the Executive Committee and the board of directors. He is a member of ICBA’s Policy Development and Nominating committees. He also serves as Executive Committee liaison to the Agriculture-Rural America Subcommittee and the Minority Bank Council. He is past chairman of the Federal Delegate Board and previously served on the Cyber and Data Security Committee. Kennedy was treasurer on ICBA’s Executive Committee in 2014-16 and was an ICBA at-large director in 2011-12. He also served as ICBA’s state delegate for Louisiana.
“I have a deep and abiding respect for Preston and the work he has done in his community and on behalf of ICBA’s mission to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish,” ICBA Immediate Past Chairman Timothy Zimmerman, CEO of Standard Bank in Monroeville, Pa., said in a press release. “Preston’s leadership will serve our industry well as we continue to innovate and build more resilient communities through localized lending.”
Also elected to join the ICBA Executive Committee were:
- Chairman-elect: Noah W. Wilcox, president, CEO and chairman of Grand Rapids State Bank and its holding company, Wilcox Bancshares Inc., in Grand Rapids, Minn.
- Vice Chairman: Robert M. Fisher, chairman, president and CEO of Tioga State Bank in Spencer, N.Y.
- ICBA President and CEO: Rebeca Romero Rainey of Washington, D.C.
- Treasurer: Kathryn G. Underwood, president and CEO of Ledyard National Bank in Hanover, N.H.
- Secretary: Alice P. Frazier, president and CEO of Bank of Charles Town, W.Va.
- Immediate Past Chairman: Timothy K. Zimmerman, CEO of Standard Bank in Monroeville, Pa.
- Past Chairman: R. Scott Heitkamp, president and CEO of ValueBank Texas in Corpus Christi, Texas.
- ICBA Consolidated Holdings Chairman: William A. Loving Jr., president and CEO of Pendleton Community Bank in Franklin, W.Va.
Dodd Frank Update attended this year’s conference providing live coverage and gaining insights that can be found on this site now and in the coming weeks.