WHERE ARE THEY NOW Right out of college, in 1982, Steve began working at the local community bank in Lincoln, which his father, Karl Kroenke, and others owned at the time, Farmers Bank of Lincoln. Karl started his career at the bank in 1953 and retired as president and chairman. Karl remained as chairman until 2020, when he retired from the board. Karl’s devotion to the industry and service to the community have been an inspiration to Steve throughout his career. As a second-generation banker, Steve was proud to carry on the legacy his father had started. Over the 38 years at the bank, Steve held positions ranging from loan officer, cashier and EVP. In 2000, Farmers Bank became entirely family-owned. Steve became president and CEO at that time. Together, Steve, his father and his brothers ran the bank — with two locations in Lincoln and Warsaw — always keeping a focus on serving the local community. “It’s no secret that there are many challenges that come with operating an independent community bank. However, there are many positive aspects to it, like the staff and officers I was fortunate enough to work with on a daily basis,” reflected Steve. When the opportunity for a merger came up in 2019, the family had the best interests of its employees and customers in mind. They spent considerable time in negotiation to ensure that, although they were merging with a larger bank, the two branches, to which they dedicated their lives’ work, would still operate like a small, personable, independent community bank. Steve remembers a specific moment in which he, his father and his brothers sat down to discuss the pros and cons of continuing to own their small community bank. They kept coming back to the fact that they valued the fantastic people in management positions and the autonomy this allowed them. When the merger was completed in 2020, and as Steve announced his retirement, he felt fortunate to keep part ownership of the bank and that each branch was able to maintain their autonomy. Though retired, Steve hasn’t stopped his involvement with the bank. He had spent years building up the community bank — essentially building up a family — and didn’t want them to feel like he was abandoning them when he retired. That’s how Steve operated as a Catching Up With Stephen Kroenke As part of our new series spotlighting the post-career journeys of retired bankers, we’re sitting down with some of the industry’s most respected names to learn where life has taken them after banking. In this issue, we are featuring Stephen “Steve” Kroenke, a long-time community banker and proud member of the Missouri Independent Bankers Association (MIBA). 8 | The Show-Me Banker Magazine
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