12 Hoosier Banker May 2015 Video Bonus: A Banker’s Musical Interlude empty nesting. She stays busy visiting grandchildren, and she does a great job taking care of our home.” What other people or influences have shaped you? “My parents, Jim and Margaret Maxwell, have been the strongest influences in my life. By their example, they taught me and my sisters that we could work hard to do what we want. They instilled in us independence and self-reliance. Dad is now 87 and Mom is 85, and they are both doing remarkably well. “I also have been lucky to learn various business models within banking and finance. I learned ag finance while working at Farm Credit. I learned community banking from the best at Old First/ Fort Wayne National. I learned about the business of banking and process management at National City Bank. “Here at Farmers State Bank, I’ve relearned the value of tradition and reliability. I have been positively influenced by many people in my career, but the most gratitude is for the individuals who gave me my banking opportunities: Dean Milligan and Lloyd Griffis at OFNB; Paul Shaffer, Jim Johnston and Mike Eikenberry at FWNC; and the board of directors of Farmers State Bank, who entrusted me to guide their bank.” You have several hobbies, including boating and playing the fiddle. How do these activities fit into your schedule? “My hobbies have always been passions. When I pick something up as a hobby, I’m ‘all-in.’ “Boating started with a 16-foot runabout purchased from my fatherin-law and, with several step-ups in between, we now have a cruising boat named ‘Maxwell House’ on Lake Michigan. I’m delighted to see gas prices going down. “Lake Michigan is our summer weekend place and usually the site of a summer vacation cruise. It’s a nice way to spend time with children and grandchildren. “Fiddling is something I took up when I first came here to Farmers State Bank. Julie was still in Bluffton, finishing up her teaching career, so we were together only on weekends. On weeknights I was by myself. I’m not much for watching TV, so I decided to try to play the fiddle again, at age 56. “I had tried briefly in the early ’80s, but back then we were busy taking care of our family, and it didn’t work out. This time I took lessons and also made use of teaching aids made available through the digital age. I could listen to CDs, watch YouTube and use other teaching aids, in addition to the lessons I took. “Now that I have started playing music, I enjoy it year round, almost every weekend. I’m what you call a ‘jammer.’ I go to jams on weekends, all over the state. “There is not a day that passes that I don’t pick up the fiddle and play a Continued from page 11. tune, usually for an hour or more. I never consider it practice, just fun. Most of all, I enjoy playing with others, because I sound the best when I am playing with the best musicians.” You have said that Kosciusko County is “God’s country.” Why? “When I was interviewing for this position at Farmers State Bank, one of our directors, Stan Pequignot, declared that Kosciusko County was God’s country, and that I would come to agree. The natural beauty of the county is unmatched. “In front of my house is the deepest natural lake in Indiana, Lake Tippecanoe, and behind my house is a 60-acre forest managed by the Nature Conservancy. Sometimes we see a bald eagle soar from that forest down to Lake Tippy. “It’s true. This really is God’s country.” t Greg Maxwell enjoys living and working in Kosciusko County. Greg Maxwell, president and CEO of Farmers State Bank, and John Bauman, owner and operator of Bauman Stoneware, Warsaw, enjoy “jamming” to traditional music. To view their rendition of American folk classic, “Old Joe Clark,” go to Hoosier Banker Digital, and click on the red YouTube arrow above. t Greg Maxwell (left) and John Bauman have forged a friendship through music. A vintage coffee can is an office tribute to “Maxwell House” family boat outings.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==