Pub. 17 2020 Issue 3

4 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S A TRIBUTE TO DON KIDD My Grandfather’s genius was his uncanny common sense, ability to think outside the box and his deep understanding of human nature. I n this article for the New Mexico Bankers Digest, I would like to pres- ent a brief biography of senator, banker, philanthropist, high school dropout and GED recipient, Don Kidd. As many of you may be aware, Don lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Aug. 28, 2020, at the age of 82. Mr. Kidd, as he demanded I call him at work, was the smartest banker I have ever known and my Grandfather. Don grew up in Crowell, Texas, under very humble beginnings. He began working at the age of 10 in a grocery store earning $3.50 a day. Soon after, he began working for his father as a house painter earning $1 per hour. When he turned 14, his family moved to Wichita Falls, Texas, and Don decided to stay in Crowell by himself and continue to work for a drugstore, movie theater and grocery store. He decided to drop out of high school before his junior year to focus on work. His main goal was to someday get a job where he could wear a necktie. This dream became a reality when Don eventually joined the Marine Corps Reserves and moved to Wichita Falls to join his family. He took a job with a small loan company as a collector of defaulted loans in some of the seedier parts of Wichita Falls and later in San Angelo, Texas, where he met his future wife, Sarrah. On their first date, Sarrah accompanied Don on one of his collection routes. After getting married, Don joined Pio- neer Finance, where he could handle larger loans, and then to the Southwest Invest- ment Company (SIC) as a loan manager. He quickly became the youngest branch manager in SIC’s history. Don said this was one of the major turning points of his life because the job required a high school diploma. When he told his boss that he did not have one, he thought he would either be fired or passed up for the position. How - ever, seeing his potential, his boss allowed him to take classes and eventually earn his GED. He said his fondest memory was get- ting a Christmas bonus at SIC that enabled him to buy his three girls Christmas pres- ents that he otherwise couldn’t afford. He vowed to provide the same bonus anywhere he was in management, and he kept that vow for over 50 years. Don moved up the ranks of finance again when he was hired as the AVP, then VP and manager of the installment loan depart- ment at the Bank of Commerce in Abilene, Texas. He enrolled in the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU and graduated in 1972. He was incredibly proud of his SMU degree. Don’s career took another turn when he joined the Kipp-Rich Banking Group that sent him to Coradado Bank in El Paso, Texas, in 1972. Kipp-Rich eventually acquired an interest in what would become Western Commerce Bank in Carlsbad, New Mexico, where they made Don president and CEO. He would later serve as board member, president and CEO of many Kipp- Rich banks, including Alamogordo, Clovis, Las Cruces and El Paso. At one point, Don was in charge of nine different banks at the same time. Over many years, Don took advantage of opportunities to purchase an interest in these banks. He said he would borrow as much money as anyone was dumb enough to lend him and then pray he could make the payments. Sarrah PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JASON WYATT NMBA PRESIDENT