Where is your bank located?
Branson Bank is a $366 million-asset community bank with five locations in Stone and Taney Counties, Missouri.
What is something unique about your bank?
Branson Bank recently celebrated 25 years of service to the community. Our associates work hard to build relationships with our customers, and we encourage them to participate in community events. We even allow paid time each year for associates to get involved and serve.
How did you get started in the banking business?
Originally, my grandfather, Lester “Giz” Rowland, told me I should apply at one of the banks in town. I started the day after graduation. My grandfather drove me back and forth to my training every day for a week in Springfield, Missouri, so that I could catch up on some sleep while he drove.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned from this career so far?
To not doubt myself. It is natural for associates to want immediate answers, but as a compliance officer, you won’t know all the answers; you just have to know where to find them.
Tell us about the bank’s community investment efforts.
First and foremost, Branson Bank believes that, as a true community bank, it is important to be an active community lender. By maintaining a high loan-to-deposit ratio, we keep local deposit dollars working throughout our local community in the form of high-quality personal, mortgage and business loans.
We prioritize giving back to our community. We support many local, nonprofit organizations directly through budgeted giving and various others through giving of our time and resources.
To encourage involvement, Branson Bank provides paid time off to associates (during work hours) to get involved and serve, which is one of our company’s core values.
We help area organizations like Elevate Branson to secure grant funding (FHLB AHP $1 million grant), which helped underwrite the new tiny home village. This community will serve area residents in need of affordable housing.
We honor veterans every quarter through our Veteran of the Quarter program, created in 2009. Every quarter, a veteran is selected by a panel of peers based on service history, accolades and community involvement since retirement from the military. Veterans must reside in Stone or Taney County and be willing to share their story for posterity. Learn more about our veteran stories or nominate a veteran of the quarter.
We provide multiple high school scholarships as well as a scholarship to a College of the Ozarks business student each year. We also have an intern program for Ozarks Technical College and College of the Ozarks students interested in banking.
What is the bank’s biggest challenge in the area of internet banking/mobile banking?
The biggest challenge around internet/mobile banking is fraud. In today’s society, our customers must be diligent in guarding their private information. To help our customers combat fraud, we have taken a big stance on educating our customers and community by deploying educational videos via social media and offering speaking engagements to organizations, clubs, religious groups, etc. Additionally, we helped create the Tri-Lakes Financial Crimes Group, which includes area law enforcement and bankers from surrounding financial institutions and Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS, the Missouri Department of Revenue Criminal Taxation Division, etc. The group meets monthly to get training and discuss current scams in Stone, Taney and surrounding counties. In July, the group celebrated our one-year anniversary with over 50 members.
What’s your favorite thing about your bank/banking in general?
My favorite thing in banking is educating associates and customers. We don’t know until we know!
If you didn’t have a career in banking, what other career would you choose?
Teaching! Besides banking, I worked in children’s ministry for 27 years. During those years, I worked in a nursery, taught first and second grade Sunday school at Children’s Church, taught AWANA Cubbies for 18 1/2 years, and was the director of Preschool Ministry and Children’s Ministry.
Any last thoughts?
Without God, my amazing family and co-workers, I would not be where I am at today.
