23 Hoosier Banker March 2015 all boards are fully complying. Use this as an opportunity to be strategic. 2. Don’t brush off the importance and value of gender and ethnic diversity. Many times boards look at diversity of thought, geographic, and functional expertise, looking then to their immediate networks to fill these vacancies. These are important, but should not be looked at in isolation, because it is possible to achieve this diversity as well as gender and ethnic diversity. 3. Don’t buy the excuse that the diverse talent does not exist or is too hard to find. Organizations like Catalyst, Executive Leadership Council, Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility, IT Senior Management Forum, Hispanic IT Executive Council, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics Inc. and National Association of Corporate Directors represent just a few organizations that are loaded Reprinted with permission from the Winter 2015 edition of New Jersey Banker magazine. Bath State Bank participated in the annual Richmond Junior Achievement Bowl-a-thon banquet. The bank earned top fundraiser honors for its individual employee and overall donation totals. The bank contributed $2,300 as a result of employee donations and a bank foundation match. Representatives of Girls Inc. – (left to right): Patti Peterson, Beth Harrick and Katie McConnell – and Girls Inc. youth meet with Gale Ramsey (far right), West End Bank, Richmond, for the bank’s donation presentation. bAnking on coMMunity Bath State Bank earns top fundraising honors in the Richmond Junior Achievement Bowl-a-thon. West End Bank, Richmond, selects a nonprofit organization each month as a focus for charitable efforts. For December, the bank donated $320 to with very talented board members from diverse backgrounds. These diverse members are adding significant value to boards and organizations. As an example, the Hispanic IT Executive Council, which I co-founded and serve on the board of, has board members who are CEOs from many Fortune 500 corporations. 4. Implement the Rooney Rule in your board and senior executive hiring. In 2003, John Rooney, as the owner of the Pittsburg Steelers and chairman of the NFL’s diversity committee, helped create this rule to ensure that minority coaches, especially African Americans, were considered for highlevel coaching positions. The rule requires that, anytime a high-level coaching position comes available, at least one minority candidate is interviewed for that position (no quotas on hiring have been instituted). From a results perspective, there are now 23 coaches or general managers in the NFL. From a winning perspective, seven of the last eight Super Bowls have featured at least one team with a minority head coach or GM. 5. Diversify your own personal networks. Challenge yourself to broaden and diversify the networks you belong to and the relationships you have. You can be in a position to recommend diverse leaders that you have built relationships with. As it relates to diversifying boards, Marty Coyne, board member at Akamai, says, “Given the abundance of diverse board candidates, there is no excuse for any board not to be diverse.” These are just a few perspectives in these dynamic times to help strengthen your boards and ensure competitive advantage is gained by leveraging diversity. t the Richmond Salvation Army, $300 to the Hagerstown Lion’s Club and $300 to the Liberty Lion’s Club. For January, the bank donated $247 to Girls Inc. t Carl Sharp, Liberty Lion’s Club, accepts a donation check from Judy Stang,West End Bank, Richmond.
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