From our Chairman
Commencement Offers a New
The month of May is full of graduation ceremonies ranging from preschool all the way to college. Tese ceremonies are called commencement, which as we all know means a beginning or start. I still remember the speech from the valedictorian from my high school graduation nearly 35 years ago.
John Everett, MBA Chairman Legacy Bank and Trust, Springfield
Our valedictorian moved to town from Nebraska just before we started high school. He was one of those people who was so naturally giſted that it didn’t seem like he ever had to study, and he was a complete class clown. His address to the audience at our commencement ceremony was simple. You are leaving behind every label, good or bad, and you have the chance to be the person that you think you are. Tis is a fairly generic message that you hear at many graduation ceremonies, but then came a bombshell that none of us knew.
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He had been arrested for vandalizing some retail stores in Nebraska while in middle school. He was labeled as a troublemaker and a bad kid. His family decided to move to Missouri so he could start over and not have his past held against him. Since we leſt high school, he has gone on to receive his doctorate from Stanford University, completed his residency at Johns Hopkins and is head of neurology treating Alzheimer’s patients at a California hospital.
Now that is a commencement. Te most important part is that a commencement can start any day of any month at any time.
Troughout my career, I have embraced opportunities as a commencement. Taking on a new responsibility, learning a new system or simply saying “Yes” to serve on a committee, each opportunity gave me a new perspective
of the banking industry and to connect with peers, both in the bank, in the community and in our state. More important, the reason I had these opportunities was the men and women before me — leaders in the banks and community — saw something in me. Tey gave me the chance to take a project and run with it. Sometimes I succeeded; others were oſten lessons learned. Regardless of the outcome, each opportunity provided another chance to learn more about this industry, and it prepared me for the next step in my career. It’s one of the reasons why I strongly advocate for giving opportunities to the next generation of leaders.
Recently, I had the pleasure to hear the participants of Banking Leadership Missouri present their visions about the future of banking. Joining me were Joselyn Baldner, president/CEO of Central Bank of the Ozarks
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