19 12 6 4 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Show Up, Learn and Grow By Loren Brown, President, MIB 6 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE The Value in Connections By Shane Scanlon, Executive Director, MIB 8 FLOURISH Getting to the Core of Innovation By Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and CEO, ICBA 10 FROM THE TOP Ensuring the Future of Community Banking By Alice P. Frazier, Chairwoman, ICBA 12 MIB FEATURED ASSOCIATE MEMBER United Bankers’ Bank 14 2026 MIB Convention and Trade Show July 22-24, 2026 15 2026 MIB Convention Speakers 18 2026 MIB Convention Activities 19 Bank of Bozeman Awarded Best Small Community Bank to Work For! 20 MIB at ICBA LIVE March 6-9, 2026 22 Compliance Q&A By Bill Showalter, Senior Consultant, Young & Associates Inc. 24 4 Issues Driving ICBA’s Government Relations Team in 2026 Stablecoin, the GENIUS Act and CFPB Activity Are Focuses for Community Bank Advocacy This Year By Bridget McCrea, ICBA 26 2026 MIB Membership Directory 26 MIB Associate Member Banks 27 MIB Associate Member Resource Guide Contents ISSUE 2 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 Shawn Dutton, ICBA State Director First Security Bank of Roundup sdutton@1stsecurityroundup.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 Mike Hawthorne First Montana Bank, Missoula Logan Hensley Valley Bank of Kalispell Brice Kluth First State Bank of Shelby Kenny Martin Independence Bank, Helena 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) | MBR Connect, formerly The newsLINK Group LLC. All rights reserved. Community Banker is published four times per year 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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