10 Hoosier Banker January 2015 “Within the foundation, my responsibility is to coordinate the board meetings, the review of the grant requests, and monitoring of disbursements and subsequent results. We promote financial education, not only through funding, but also in providing hands-on guidance. “For example, we support a group which teaches financial basics, like balancing a checkbook, to those in need. We provided funding, but also helped expand the curriculum to wider issues, such as the use of credit cards, the fundamentals of mortgages and where to find financial resources.” What is your banking background? “When I grew up, my best friend’s father, Ben Bransom, was chairman of the board of a bank in Lexington, Kentucky. I spent a lot of time with his family, and enjoyed watching Mr. Bransom out and about. He was a larger-than-life banker who knew everybody in town, and everyone liked him. “One of his favorite sayings was that he liked to carry two handkerchiefs, in case he had to tell someone no. That way, if the person being turned down was crying, he could offer a handkerchief and also have one for himself … because he’d be crying, too. “I had a lot of exposure to banking through Mr. Bransom, and I credit him with inspiring me to pursue banking as a career. “In 1982, I completed graduate school, and I was looking for a job. Those were not the best of economic times, but I had a chance to interview with First National Bank of Louisville. You also serve as president of the First Savings Charitable Foundation. What does that position involve? “We established the foundation when we took the bank public. We had been a mutual organization and converted to a stock organization in 2008. At that time, we set aside $1 million of First Savings Financial Group stock to seed the foundation. Having been a mutual organization in the southern Indiana community for 71 years, we felt an obligation to give back to the community and to those depositors who helped build this organization. “Our focus is financial education. We’re a strong supporter of Junior Achievement. We provide funding that allows every fifth- and seventhgrader in the southern Indiana market to attend Finance Park and BizTown. Continued from page 9. Larry Meyers is active in the community through several organizations, including the Lincoln Heritage Council of the Boy Scouts of America. “I was one of the last interviews of the day, and the person who was interviewing me – who is now a good friend – seemed uninspired while flipping through my resume. It was a typical college kid resume – heavy on the education, but with little professional work experience. “Finally she came to the last page, which held my references. She saw the name Ben Bransom, and all of sudden she lit up. She asked, ‘You know Ben Bransom?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m good friends with his family.’ She said, ‘Well, I used to work for Ben.’ “I know that the first thing she did after the interview was call Mr. Bransom. The president of the bank at the time, Leonard Hardin, also knew Mr. Bransom. That’s how the stars aligned to launch my career. “I’ve also been inspired by my father’s late cousin, Jay Myers, who was an influential banker in Washington, Indiana. He was president of United Southwest Bank, which was eventually sold to Old National Bank. “Cousin Jay was a great benefactor to his community. He was never married, so when he passed away, he gave all his money – I’d guess in the millions – to Indiana University and to the Community Foundation Alliance. If you go to Washington, Indiana, you’ll see a statue of Jay sitting on a park bench.” Please summarize the difference types of banking environments you have worked in. “My background has given me a level of experience from the perspectives of both a large regional bank and a smaller community bank. Thirty years ago I entered the management training program with First National Bank of Louisville. “At the time, First National was the largest bank in Kentucky, with a diverse menu of products and services. It had correspondent banking, international, leasing, asset-based lending and agricultural lending, as well as regional, commercial and industrial lending. As I spent a few months in each area, I received a very good overview of each activity. Larry Myers welcomes visitors to his office in Clarksville.
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