26 14 12 4 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Your Involvement Matters By Loren Brown, President, MIB 6 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Building on Momentum Advocacy, Education and Opportunity in 2026 By Shane Scanlon, Executive Director, MIB 8 FLOURISH Marching Into 2026 on the Advocacy Frontline By Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and CEO, ICBA 10 FROM THE TOP It’s a Wonderful (Community Banking) Life By Jack E. Hopkins, Chairman, ICBA 12 Montana Heritage Center Opens to Public After 20-Year Journey 14 MIB FEATURED ASSOCIATE MEMBER Cushing Terrell The Architects Behind the Montana Heritage Center 16 Finding Common Ground on Deposit Insurance Reform Community Bankers Share Common Goals for Protecting Depositors By Jenna Burke, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Government Relations and Public Policy, ICBA 19 2026 MIB Convention and Trade Show July 22-24, 2026 20 Off and Running Community Banks Set for a Robust 2026 By Jim Reber, CPA, CFA, President and CEO, ICBA Securities 22 Compliance Q&A By Bill Showalter, Senior Consultant, Young & Associates Inc. 24 We’re Making Progress in the Fight Against Fraud By Scott Anchin, Vice President of Senior Operational Risk and Payments Policy, ICBA 25 Main Street Capital Access (“Main Street”) Act 26 PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT It’s Time To Hit the Weights By Jim Reber, CPA, CFA, President and CEO, ICBA Securities 28 2025 MIB Membership Directory 28 MIB Associate Member Banks 29 MIB Associate Member Resource Guide 30 Bank Training Webinars Contents WINTER 2026 2026 MIB EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Loren Brown, President Ascent Bank, Helena lbrown@ascentbank.com Amber Brown, Vice President Peoples Bank of Deer Lodge abrown@pbdl.net Clinton Gerst, Secretary Bank of Bozeman cgerst@bankofbozeman.com Laura Clark, Treasurer Opportunity Bank lclark@oppbank.com Tim Schreiber, Immediate Past President Farmers State Bank tims@farmersebank.com Kenny Martin, ICBA State Director Independence Bank, Helena kennym@ibyourbank.com 2026 MIB BOARD OF DIRECTORS Amanda Burgess Madison Valley Bank, Ennis Tom Christnacht First Security Bank of Deer Lodge Bill Coffee Stockman Bank, Miles City Daniel Day Bank of Montana, Missoula Shawn Dutton First Security Bank of Roundup Mike Hawthorne First Montana Bank, Missoula Logan Hensley Valley Bank of Kalispell Brice Kluth First State Bank of Shelby Scott Mizner American Bank, Bozeman Joel Rosenberg Three Rivers Bank of Montana, Kalispell Andrew West Eagle Bank, Polson Phil Willett Pioneer Federal Savings and Loan, Dillon ASSOCIATE BOARD MEMBER Ryan Fritz Citizens Alliance Bank rfritz@citizensalliancebank.com MIB STAFF Shane Scanlon, Executive Director Montana Independent Bankers shane@mibonline.org ©2026 The Montana Independent Bankers Association (MIB) | Memberlink Solutions DBA The newsLINK Group LLC. All rights reserved. Community Banker is published four times per year by The newsLINK Group LLC for MIB and is the official publication for this association. The information contained in this publication is intended to provide general information for review, consideration and education. The contents do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. If you need legal advice or assistance, it is strongly recommended that you contact an attorney as to your circumstances. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of MIB, its board of directors or the publisher. Likewise, the appearance of advertisements within this publication does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any product or service advertised. Community Banker is a collective work, and as such, some articles are submitted by authors who are independent of MIB. While a first‑print policy is encouraged, in cases where this is not possible, every effort has been made to comply with any known reprint guidelines or restrictions. Content may not be reproduced or reprinted without prior written permission. For further information, please contact the publisher at (855) 747-4003. MONTANA INDEPENDENT BANKERS 1812 11th Ave. PO Box 4893 Helena, MT 59604 (406) 449-7444 shane@mibonline.org mibonline.org Community Banker 3
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