Pub. 5 2017 Issue 2

4 The Community Banker www.mibonline.org President’s Address A s this is my first President’s address to all of my friends and associates at MIB, I thought I would provide everyone with a little background on me. I am the banker who never planned to be a banker. A long time ago in a place far away . . . I met my wife-to-be in Bozeman at MSU. We were the graduating class of 1982, and for those of you who study history, it was the period of the highest unemployment in the past 40 years. It exceeded the rate during the Great Recession. Janet and I announced our plans to get married in June after graduation to our shocked parents over Thanksgiving. My par- ents’ only question was, how will you support your family? I assured them I would have a good, high-paying job by June preferably in a big city. I used to tape the ding letters to my bedroom wall, but eventually changed my mind and started tossing them. In early June we graduated, I gave up my apartment, sold an old, rusted-out Triumph TR-4 for $600 to pay for the honeymoon, and started my two- week vacation fromMacy’s, never expecting to return. We returned from our honeymoon and I STILL did not have job. We moved into a pickup truck camper parked in the Sunshine Campground and I got my bride a job at Macy’s for $3.90 an hour. After another five months of looking for work in a big city in any field except banking, I got a call from one of the employment agencies I was using. He had a job interview in a small town for a small bank. I was desperate and agreed decided talk with the bank. I told my wife we would give Deer Lodge a try for a couple years and then move on. Well…. I decided that working for a small Montana bank, First Security Bank of Deer Lodge, was an extremely rewarding life. I cannot believe it has been 35 years at the same place. We have raised our three daughters, and as I write this we are eagerly awaiting the birth of our second granddaughter. Smalltown banking has given us way more than I could have ever expected. Even with the ever-increasing reg- ulatory burden, it is still fun. There is nothing better than putting together loan deals and seeing the success of your customers and friends. I look forward to serving in this role as MIB’s president over the next two years. MIB has a great board of directors that I have enjoyed being a part of, and the role of president will provide a set of new challenges, experiences, and opportunities that I am looking forward to. I encourage you to contact me or Jim or Laura with any questions or suggestions for Montana Independent Bankers. Our purpose is to serve you, and we do it with enthusiasm. Tom Christnacht, MIB President 2017-2019 and President of First Security Bank of Deer Lodge