54 MAY / JUNE 2023 HB Digital: Click to view a biography of Brad Monts, or visit indiana. bank/about. IBA Board Review Bradley J. Monts North Region Director Indiana Bankers Association President & CEO Hoosier Heartland State Bank Get to know Bradley J. Monts, north region director with the Indiana Bankers Association Board of Directors. Monts is president and CEO of Hoosier Heartland State Bank, Crawfordsville. What was your first job, and what did you learn from it? My first job was in high school working at the local grocery store in Ladoga. I worked on the weekends and summers, and learned how important customer service was, not only to the business but the community you serve. I was fortunate to work with several people and it provided a great opportunity to learn how to work with different personalities. Ultimately, I came back to work just three doors down from the grocery store when we opened a new branch office in 1993. What drew you to banking? While at Franklin College I worked as a part-time teller for Bargersville State Bank in New Whiteland for two years. During my senior year in college, I was given the opportunity to create a class in conjunction with the bank where I was given the opportunity to spend afternoons working in each department within the bank. This gave me a great insight into the operational and lending side of banking as well as the retail side. What advice do you have for those starting careers in banking? Be willing to do whatever it takes in each role you have. Take the time to truly understand the needs of your customers as well as the needs of the team you are working with each day. Be the problem solver for both the customer and the team while taking in what you are learning each day to carry you forward in your next role. What do you do for fun when not working? This is a great question as it continues to change. Currently our kids are grown, and my wife and I have taken up relaxing out on the water. We purchased a boat a couple of years ago and make it a point to get out on the water almost every weekend that we can. When we are not on the boat, we enjoy traveling with friends and family and can usually find a project in our home to work on during the winter. If you weren’t a banker, what would you be? I have never really thought about anything but banking since my first opportunity 35 years ago. I feel this is my calling to serve our customers and community. What’s one item on your bucket list? For the longest time it was to go to Rome and visit the Vatican. Fortunately, our daughter studied abroad while in college and we were able to visit her and check that one off the bucket list. I think I would like to visit Ireland on St Patrick’s Day. Reflecting on your career, what accomplishments are you most proud of? What excites me about my career is the impact this organization has had – and allowed me to have – on the community and customers we serve. As we as an organization restated our vision and mission 10 years ago and focused on truly what it means to be a community bank and to give back our time, talents and 10% of our net income, it makes me proud of what we have accomplished. I feel that as a team we continue to make an impact on our community each day, whether it has been for raising funds for a need or project in our community, working with our Youth Service Bureau to give prom dresses away to our local high school girls or helping our school with financial literacy programs. It is truly a blessing to work with a team who wants to give back to our customers and community. Please share a bit about family/home life. I have an amazing wife, Karen, of 31 years who has been so supportive and loving of me and our kids. She is an elementary school librarian and loves to work with kids to find their passion for reading. We have two kids: Taylor, 28, who lives two miles from the beach in South Carolina; and Brooke, 27, who lives one mile from the beach in California; so we have great destinations to visit. We have found that we love to travel to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, with a group of friends each year just to relax on the beach, enjoy a laidback time with friends and enjoy the local cuisine. HB
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