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Wisconsin Community Banker
May/June 2014
Chairman’s View
by Stan Leedle, CBW Chairman
Step Up: Your Role in the Future of
Wisconsin Community Banking
If,
at the end of a particularly challenging day
at the bank, you harbor any doubts about
the future of our industry, reading the article on
page 14 should relieve them. CBW’s BOLT Board
of Directors respond to the question: “What is
the future of community banking in Wisconsin?”
and their replies are eloquent endorsements
for the health, strength, and prospects of our
industry. Clearly the future of community
banking across our state is in good hands.
By the time you read this column, our first
BOLT Summer Leadership Summit will be a
much valued memory. It will undoubtedly result
in enhanced leadership skills, new knowledge,
and connections forged across our institutions.
It will also build our banks’ abilities to remain
profitable while offering customers of all ages and
circumstances the products and services they
need.
The BOLT Summer Leadership Summit is
not the only opportunity for leadership develop-
ment offered by your association. Beginning this
fall, CBW is offering the “Leadership Develop-
ment for Community Bankers” program, in
partnership with the Center for Professional
and Executive Development at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. To read the details, turn to
CBW President and CEO Daryll Lund’s column
on page 6.
You do not need to wait until September to
learn and network with your CBW colleagues by
participating in our new Leadership Develop-
ment program or by attending our 2014 Manage-
ment Conference and Expo in Wisconsin Dells.
If you have not yet registered for one of our ever-
popular Member Appreciation Days, there is still
time to sign up and attend the event on July 9 in
Madison or July 14 in Altoona. For more infor-
mation, visit
and
click the Membership tab in the left column.
In addition to all the various meetings and
educational workshops, I hope you will stay con-
nected by reading our weekly Wisconsin Com-
munity Banker Today e-newslet-
ter and CBW’s other email and
print announcements.
This magazine offers multiple
opportunities to learn and make
new connections by reading
about colleagues’ successes (and
failures), ideas, and innovations.
Turn to page 10 to learn how Pioneer Bank has
helped the city of Ladysmith thrive following the
triple challenges in the past decade of the closing
of a college, a tornado, and jobs lost during the
Great Recession. Learn about North Shore Bank’s
strategies for adopting new technologies on page
18, and turn to page 8 to read about one commu-
nity banker’s decision to enter state politics.
However you like to connect, I invite you to
take advantage of all the opportunities that Com-
munity Bankers of Wisconsin makes available to
its members.
Stan Leedle is Executive Vice
President of Choice Bank in
Oshkosh
CBW offers multiple opportunities to connect, learn,
and build your skills.
