10 Hoosier Banker December 2015 county planners did a super job of taking advantage of areas outside of the floodplain to develop industrial sites on. “As a result, there is a tremendous industrial base here. It’s a prosperous county, with a low unemployment rate and high average earnings. Posey County does very well.” Personal Background Steve Bennett has always been a banker, apart from college summer stints with the Indiana State Highway Department. He began his career in 1977 with Old National Bank, Evansville, as a management trainee after earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hanover College. Bennett worked in several areas of Old National, including branch management, commercial lending, credit card and loan review. He completed an MBA from the University of Evansville in 1982. In 1994 Bennett was serving as vice president and manager of the Old National Boonville office, when he was sent to become president and CEO of Peoples Bank and Trust Company in Mount Vernon, an Old National affiliate. In 1999 Peoples was converted to an Old National branch office, and Bennett was named community bank president based in Mount Vernon ‒ also overseeing Carmi, Illinois, and some Evansville offices. His opportunities with Old National continued to expand, culminating with his position as executive vice president and corporate head of small business lending/ banking for Old National Bancorp. He joined Community State Bank of Southwestern Indiana in 2007, when he came on board as president and CEO. Bennett is married to Tina, a retired Mount Vernon kindergarten teacher who now works parttime at “A Pinch of Sugar,” a specialty bakery in Evansville. Their grown Continued from page 9. William Bender (left), chairman of the board of Community State Bank of Southwestern Indiana and local attorney, chats with Steve Bennett in the main office lobby.The background quilt commemorates the bank’s contributions to Relay for Life fundraisers for the United Way. son, Sam, has followed his father’s footsteps as a banker and is employed as a credit analyst for Old National Bank. Sam lives in Evansville with his wife, Christina, a social worker in a hospice center. What are your duties as president and CEO of Community State Bank of Southwestern Indiana? “Typical of a bank this size, I do a little bit of everything, from pulling weeds in the flowerbed to reviewing large loans. We’re one of the smaller banks in the state, with 22½ full-time equivalent people and five offices. There are seven of us in the main office ‒ and we’re all good at pulling weeds. “As with any bank, there are different groups that we are here to serve. We do everything we can to take care of our customers, and we also work hard to take care of our shareholders, to make sure they get a fair return for their investment. “Part of my responsibility also is to make sure our employees are happy, because we can’t accomplish any of our goals without retaining top people. We have very good employees here.” What influenced you to choose banking as a career? “My father, Alan Bennett, is a lifelong banker. He was a longtime banker with Peoples Trust & Savings Steve Bennett (far left) gathers with main office staff (left to right): Carol Rodgers, Christy Antey, Nancy Jessie and Kerry Cox. Among awards and recognitions in the office of Steve Bennett hangs a framed quote by President Calvin Coolidge:“There is no dignity quite so impressive, nor independence so important, as living within your means.”
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