Joe Armour was born and raised in historic St. Charles, Missouri. From a young age, Joe knew that he wanted to be a banker, making him the first to choose this career path in his family. “I think the reason why I went to banking is that, as a banker, you get to help people. Many people don’t see banking that way, but that’s what bankers do, they help people,” Joe said. While attending St. Louis University, Joe worked in the grocery business to help pay his way through college. After graduation, he stayed one more year in grocery and then started his career in banking, participating in the Super Money Market program. The program provided overall training in all facets of banking, including lending, deposits, management and more. Joe started off working as a teller, then a personal banker, a credit analyst and a lender. He was able to learn about the banking business from the ground up, gaining an understanding of what each employee must do in their role to ensure that the team as a whole and the bank thrive. This experience has served Joe well over the years. In 2010, Greg Smith, a colleague, asked Joe if he would like to make a move with him and join the management team at 1st Advantage Bank. The bank was only 5 years old at the time, along with being in the middle of the Great Recession. Joe said, “Greg brought me along as part of the management team. He selected me along with a few other talented people and gave us the opportunity to continue developing.” He liked the challenge of being able to work out a difficult situation and help the bank grow. Greg, now retired, was the CEO of 1st Advantage Bank. Joe credits Greg for helping him get to where he is today. “Greg worked here with me for 17 years, and he was certainly a huge part in the development of my career. Greg took a chance on me and helped mold me into where I am today,” Joe recalled. “Attitude is everything,” Greg would often say. He made a point to teach those around him that you can accomplish so much with a positive attitude. Joe took that lesson to heart. Today, Joe is the CEO and president of 1st Advantage Bank. He enjoys the fact that no two days are the same. Taking on the challenge of the day is something Joe looks forward to. In fact, when we were speaking with Joe, the challenge of the day was snow. Yes, you read that right, snow. Joe explained, “It’s amazing how things have changed over the years with people’s attitude towards snow. It used to be that you either came to the office or you didn’t, and now we are trying to get people to work from home if they can. We need to be flexible but, ultimately, still have to have the bank open.” The Show-Me Banker Magazine | 9
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