Mark Hewitt of Northwoods Bank in Park Rapids, Minn., was NorthWestern Financial Review’s Banker of the Year for 1995. Mark was chairman-elect of the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota at the time. Apparently, once a leader, always a leader — he served as ICBM chairman again in 2007-2008.

Early in Hewitt’s career, he moved the bank from a town of 20 people to Park Rapids, which was a booming vacation town. The better location translated into substantially more business for the bank, and it grew substantially — from $5 million in assets in 1980 to $37 million in 1995.

In addition to running a successful bank, Hewitt was selected for bringing technological advancements to his industry. Through his work with ICBM, he was the person behind the creation of FutureBank, a bank expo featuring the latest in technology. He always had an interest in technology but he found that many sales representatives from the bank tech companies didn’t want to come to little towns located in remote parts of the state. So Mark worked to launch FutureBank as a place where vendors could show off their latest technology in a single place. FutureBank grew into a big success; ICBM eventually sold the rights to the show. After a few years, ICBM started another similar show called TechXpo, which in 2011 is scheduled for April 26.

Hewitt also worked with the Minnesota Department of Commerce on a new approach to exams which would substantially reduce the amount of time examiners would spend in the bank. The Commerce Department developed a system for collecting bank information via computer, so that it could examine bank files and other data in its own offices before venturing out to the bank. It was called the bifurcated exam, meaning that it was an exam that could occur in two places at once. 

Hewitt combined business acumen with a drive to use technology to improve the industry. Those qualities helped Hewitt stand out from other bankers and earned him Banker of the Year honors from NorthWestern Financial Review.

NorthWestern Financial Review named Myron Pfeifle of Bank Center First in Bismarck, N.D., it’s Banker of the Year in 1994. I had seen Pheifle at many industry meetings during the previous eight years or so, and he was always full of energy. He was always wearing a suit, even when everyone else was dressed in khakis and a golf shirt. This is a guy who meant business. Early in his career, he had set a goal of being a bank president by the time he was 40; he came pretty close, gaining the top spot at the Bismarck bank 13 months after his 40th birthday.

Bank Center First was started in 1977, and he joined the bank soon after that to build its loan portfolio. He was named president of the bank in 1980.

Pfeifleis perhaps best known as the bank that hosted the nation’s first investment center. He worked with Tom Gunderson, who was running a company called First Dakota Investment Services, to set up an investment center in the bank. It opened in June of 1985, and by January 1994, the center had more $100 million in investments under management. Gunderson changed the name of his company to Investment Centers of America, and went on to set up such centers in 200 banks across 17 states by the time Pfeifle was named Banker of the Year.

Pfeiflewas also instrumental in working with the Independent Community Banks of North Dakota to set up a program that made it economically feasible for small banks to offer credit cards. (Pfeifle was president of the ICBND in 1988-89.) It was an innovative program at the time, and nearly three dozen banks were participating.

The article also mentions Pfeifle’s people skills. He said he lives by the motto: “Treat your customers the way you want to be treated.” And he hired people who believed the same thing. Pfeifle said he didn’t hire anyone who couldn’t smile or communicate. “We can teach them everything else, but we can’t teach them personality,” he said.

David Ballweg, of State Bank of Union Grove, Wis., was named NorthWestern Financial Review’s Banker of the Year on Jan. 3, 1993. At the time, David was serving as president of the Independent Bankers Association of America, now called the Independent Community Bankers of America.

The article describes a man convicted about the unique nature of community banks; he commented that too-big-to-fail, in particular, divided the industry. Despite legislative attempts, he said, he does not ever expect too-big-to-fail to disappear.

Although Ballweg called industry-wide unity unlikely because of too-big-to-fail, he said the industry should work together on specific issues where there is agreement; those would include issues such as the need to reduce the regulatory burden and the need for bankruptcy reform.

Ballweg drove several improvements at his bank, which grew from $21 million in assets in 1975 to $80 million in assets in 1993, under his leadership. He brought new retirement planning services into the bank, as well as a tax preparation business. He also expanded the bank’s travel agency and obtained trust powers for the bank.

David was very involved in community activities and local economic development efforts. On an industry basis, he was among the people who started the Bankers Bank in Madison, Wis., and he helped start the Independent Community Bankers Association of Wisconsin, now called the Community Bankers of Wisconsin.   

The article also notes David’s people skills. An employee at the bank said Ballweg is as concerned about his staff as he is about the community, a fact perhaps evidenced by the ESOP he established, which owns 20 percent of the bank.

Alan Tubbs, CEO of Ohnward Bancshares of Maquoketa, Iowa, was the 1992 Banker of the Year. Al’s father, Ed Tubbs who passed way in September at the age of 90, was also very active in banking and would have made an excellent Banker of the Year selection. Al was president of the American Bankers Association at the time of his selection, but the NorthWestern Financial Review story focuses on his economic development work.

At the time, Ohnward Bancshares owned the Maquoketa State Bank and the First Central State Bank of DeWitt, both in eastern Iowa. Al Tubbs was president of both banks. Tubbs’ involvement in the various economic development organizations in the area literally preserve the towns of Maquoketa and DeWitt.

Maquoketa thrived as the home of the Clinton Engine Factory, employing nearly 2,000 people locally. When the company went out of business in 1967, community leaders went into action. The company that purchased the bankrupt company’s assets retained only about 200 of the employees. Tubbs was instrumental in forming the Timber City Development Corporation, which pooled federal and local money to capitalize a $150,000 redevelopment effort. The money was used to purchase farm land that the town wanted to turn into an industrial park. The development corporation constructed a 20,000-square-foot industrial building on speculation. It wasn’t long before the building was sold to a company that moved into the area and hired many of the locals. The development company used the proceeds of the building sale to construct another industrial building, which also was sold. The cycle was repeated nearly a dozen times, with each business employing 25 to 300 people.

DeWitt, which has always been a purely farming community, suffered in the 1980s when the ag economy got in trouble. Tubbs and other community leaders went to work again and The First Central State Bank participated in the capitalization of another economy development company. It constructed an industrial building and this one sold before it was even completed. Eventually, the effort succeeded in establishing an industrial park in DeWitt. The effort successfully diversified the community’s economy beyond agriculture.

Tubbs, modest by nature, downplays his role in the economic development efforts, crediting others with much of the work. But it is clear that by preserving the communities, he preserved the banks. Tubbs is a PhD economist who has been wooed by many, offering prestigious opportunities in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. But he stays in Iowa, serving the local communities through the banks.

Bankers in Iowa and South Dakota might remember NorthWesterrn Financial Review’s 1991 Banker of the Year, Les Olson. He worked at the Commercial Trust and Savings Bank (now called CorTrust Bank, N.A.) in Mitchell, S.D. at the time he was featured in the January 12, 1991 edition. Prior to that, for a long time he was a correspondent banker with the Toy National Bank in Sioux City, Iowa.

Like Clint Kurtz, NFR’s previous Banker of the Year, he didn’t have a college degree but advanced to a leadership position in the bank and industry through hard work. For years, Olson taught courses for the American Institute of Banking. He was president of the Iowa Bankers Association in 1979-80 and the South Dakota Bankers Association in 1991-92. It is interesting to me that he was interested in putting another year in as an association president after having done it once.

Olson was known for his up-beat personality and writer Jennifer Driscoll described Olson as having “heart.” Another banker noted his ability to get things done. “He is a proven do-er,” the article said.

Apparently his industry connections reached far and wide. As a correspondent banker, he naturally knew a lot of people, but when Driscoll asked him for a list of people to contact for her feature story on him, he handed her a list three pages long.

Olson considered himself to be a good administrator. When he came to Commercial Trust, the bank was in trouble, a CAMEL 4 with a negative ROE and ROA. He hired good people, and was open with employees about the condition of the bank. Within a couple years, he was able to turn the operation around, reaching 1.25 percent ROA and topping 15 percent ROE.

Olson was involved in dozens of organizations, including being president of the Rotary Club, president of the local development corporation, head of the Chamber of Commerce, and leader of the United Way, hospital board and much more.

One colleague summarized: “I’ve never seen Les really down. I like to be around people like that. He makes the best of his opportunities whenever the setbacks come. He has moral goals and lives up to them.”

Clinton Kurtz was NorthWestern Financial Review’s second Banker of the Year, named in January 1990. Clint was president and CEO of Citizens State Bank of Norwood, Minn. Today, the Citizens State Bank of Norwood Young America is owned by the Pieschel family and its president is Perry Forst.

Clint’s bank was struggling through the ag crisis in the mid 1980s, but by 1990, he had turned things around. Throughout that difficult period, Clint remained active in the industry and his community. He was so busy that he gave the impression of being part of a much larger organization — you could say he was larger than life. The article states:

Williams Sands of Western State Bank and Insurance Agency, St. Paul, says, “His bank isn’t that large [it's about $20 million in assets]. Judging by his involvement, you’d think it’d be a $500 million bank.”

He was involved in both the Minnesota Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota. He was also active in the American Bankers Association, serving on its tax committee. He was also treasurer for the old MBA Minnesota Enterprise Network, which was focused on economic development. He also worked to promote his hometown community through the West Carver Partnership.

The article notes his “friendliness, alertness, communication skills, logical thought,” and the fact that he “backs up what he says and does with action and effort.”

He was one of the first community bankers in the state to use a computer software program to risk rate loans, and he was the first community bank to set up an investment center in the bank in 1986.

A colleague said that he works to motivate and empower employees. “He wants everyone to grow, from top to bottom.”

Kurtz said he lives by this motto: “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle your customers and employees, use your heart.”

The leadership quality that impresses me the most about Clint Kurtz is that he didn’t let the difficult times of the mid-1980s get him down; he didn’t look to get out of the industry. He was able to fix the troubles at his own bank, while still finding time to work on broader industry and community problems.