April is Community Banking month. It is a time to celebrate and reflect on staff members’ achievements and involvement across this great nation who serve within their communities.

Not only is it a time to recognize and reflect, but it is also a time to continue giving back as well. Since it is also Financial Education month, it is good to look at financial literacy within our communities. Our bank, for example, has traditionally participated in the “Teach Children to Save Day” programs in our local schools during this month (although due to COVID-19, not this year). There are other ways, including holding town hall-style gatherings to cover topics ranging from savings to fraud avoidance. These are good ways to involve the community, educate them in the process and possibly add some new customers along the way?!

Community banks are the heart and soul of most communities. For example, through this COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed countless community banks step up to the plate to serve their communities through the PPP loan program. This has been ongoing for some time (and still going as I write this article), but further evidence of how integral a role we play within our hometowns. We are ensuring the well-being, and in some instances, the survival, of our friends, our neighbors and businesses. While the fees being generated are a nice bonus for our banks, the true spirit of service to others should not be overlooked.

In closing, I would like to finish with this thought: Continue to demonstrate all the good that Community Bankers do. Celebrate and embrace involvement to help make our communities safer and stronger places to live and work. We are not Wall Street, we are Main Street, and if we continue to make a difference in each of our communities, that adds up to a large difference overall.