10 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018 COVER STORY Clay Ewing Leading with an eye for the future Clay W. Ewing 2018 Chairman Indiana Bankers Association Serving the Indiana Bankers Association as 2018 chairman of the board is Clay W. Ewing, president, chief banking officer and secretary to the board of directors of German American Bancorp Inc., Jasper. A banker for more than 35 years, Ewing began his career in the accounting field, out-of-state, before meeting an opportunity to join banking when he and his wife Barbara returned to their hometown of Tell City, Indiana, in 1978. At that point Ewing received a job offer from Citizens National Bank, which he served for more than 15 years, eventually as executive vice president. In 1994 he joined German American as president and CEO of a subsidiary bank of the company. Ewing is very active in regional economic development. He is chairman of the Perry County Development Corp., an executive board member of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, and serves on various other civic and community boards. For the IBA, he has served on the board as first and second vice chair and as a southwest region director. Ewing is a graduate of Lockyear College and of the School for Bank Administration at the University of Wisconsin. Barbara Ewing, Clay’s wife of more than 40 years, likewise is extremely civic-minded, having recently completed two terms of service as mayor of Tell City and over 30 years as an elected official. She now dedicates her time to the Ewings’ three grandchildren, ages five to 11, while continuing to volunteer for numerous civic and not-forprofit organizations. Daughter Micki Kidder lives with her husband and children in South Bend, where she is an associate vice president of development at the University of Notre Dame. The Ewings’ son Matthew and his wife live in Boise, Idaho. Coincidentally, Matthew’s line of work is similar to his sister’s; he is an associate vice president of development at Boise State University. Hoosier Banker recently interviewed Clay Ewing about his career and plans for the IBA during his chairmanship. Why did you choose banking as a career? “Ironically, I did not originally choose banking as a career path. When I graduated from college, we had a family business, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to do. My degree was in accounting, and I was interested in finding something along those lines. “My mother suggested I apply for a job at one of the local banks. She told me, ‘You will have a job for the rest
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