Henry for about six months on a traveling conversion team,” Mark said. “Trying to raise a family while traveling wasn’t the best logistical move for me.” Mark called his friend, Frank Hilton, who worked at Citizens National Bank, and asked if they had any job openings, and they did — Citizens National Bank was getting ready to open a new branch in Ozark, which was where he lived. Mark worked there from 2000 to 2010, when they were sold to Empire Bank. Most of the lenders were laid off during that merger, and Mark found himself looking for a job once again. He ended up going to work at Systematic Savings Bank in downtown Springfield. Systematic Savings Bank was an old savings and loan that was in the process of converting to a bank. “They brought me on to help get them converted over. At that point, they didn’t have anything but fixed-rate loans and CDs. They didn’t have checking accounts, debit cards or ATMs,” Mark said. “I set them up with standard policies for all different types of loans, implemented debit cards, checking accounts and savings accounts — basically, all the different types of accounts that a traditional community bank would have.” A year-and-a-half later, Mark received a call from a recruiter telling him about an opportunity at Bank of Billings. Mark told him that he already had a job. With great insistence, the recruiter told him, “You need to look at this position.” The Bank of Billings had been without a president for a while and was in some trouble. Mark rose to the challenge and came on as president of Bank of Billings in 2012. He got to work cleaning things up, and in no time, the bank was profitable and in good shape. Today, Bank of Billings is used as a training bank for examination staff to come and get their people trained. “We run a pretty clean ship,” Mark said. “We’ve been in a growth mode over the last 13 years. When I came to the bank, we were just over $50 million in size, and now we’re at $95 million. We’ve had steady growth.” Outside of the office, it is important for Mark to give back to his community. He recently served a three-year term on the Ozark School Board and is actively involved in the Ozarks Sertoma Club. Sertoma is an acronym, meaning “SERvice TO MAnkind.” The main beneficiary of their fundraising efforts is the Boys and Girls Club of Springfield. Mark is a member of the local Lions Club and is active in his local congregation. Mark has learned so much throughout his career, and sharing that knowledge through teaching opportunities and presentations is something he’d like to start doing more of. “I’m getting ready to teach a fraud prevention presentation to an elderly group at church,” Mark said. “My mom never had to deal with finances until my dad passed away two and a half years ago. Three months ago, she was approached by an online fraudster and didn’t know what to do. She panicked. Instead of calling me, she took out $10,000 and loaded it into a Bitcoin machine because she thought she was protecting her money.” When Mark found out about this, he reached out to his network and involved the courts. The money is still sitting in a Bitcoin account, but as soon as it is transferred, it can be seized and returned. Although this story is not over, it will have a better ending than most because the fraud was caught early. The rising wave of crypto scams against the elderly is alarming. Mark and his mother will be sharing their story to help bring awareness to this situation and prevent it from happening to others in their community. As chair of MIBA’s Legislative Committee, Mark welcomes the opportunity to do more to help shine a spotlight on issues like these. A good example is SB 99, which creates new provisions to prevent fraudulent activity on bank accounts, currently on Gov. Mike Kehoe’s desk awaiting his signature. If this bill were enacted, Mark would have been notified by his mother’s banker about the suspected fraud. “Legislation has not caught up to today’s problems. We are leaving huge segments of our community vulnerable,” Mark said. “In addition to stronger laws, our industry needs to do a better job at outreach and education when it comes to the communities we serve.” Mark and his lovely wife, Jennifer, have been married for 26 years this September. They have two children: Madeline and Luke. Madeline is 23 and currently teaches 7th-grade history at Ozark Junior High School. Luke is 19 and is getting ready to attend Missouri State University in Springfield this fall. Luke plans on getting his accounting degree and a CPA license. Both children have spent time working in the bank with their father, learning about the industry and what it takes to be a community banker. The Jenkins family legacy is being carried forward with a sixth generation of bankers. The Show-Me Banker Magazine | 11
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