Pub. 10 2021 Issue 5

Pub. 10 2021 Issue 5 11 Steve Ebert will be celebrating 50 years at Farmer State Bank in Westmoreland this year, where he currently serves as Executive Vice President. After graduating from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s in Animal Science and Industries, he began working as an Ag Loan Officer with Ed Moore in 1971. Steve likes the small hometown atmosphere that his bank has and the opportunity to have closer relationships with his bank’s customers. Since Steve began and aided by his passionate ideas and work ethic, Farmers State Bank has increased from $4 million in assets to $225 million, 35 employees and three locations, one each in Manhattan, Onaga and of course, Westmoreland. Over the past 50 years, Steve made many friends throughout his career and has seen several changes in the banking industry, including how banks did not have much compliance early on and written policies that banks have and need today. He has been training Alan Engelken (who has a degree from KSU in Agronomy) to take over many loans. And even though Alan will be taking over a lot of Steve’s work, Steve plans to continue working part-time doing loan audits. In February 1971, Mike Gibson began working at the Miami County National Bank in Paola, KS, after graduating from Kansas State University and being hired by former KBA President W.C. “Dub” Hartley. Mike began work in the bookkeeping department of the $20 million bank, and progressed through every department, getting his community banking “degree” along the way. In 1981, then-Vice President Gibson won a national American Bankers Association contest by describing a community bank in 50 words or less. “A community bank is the financial lifeline of the community, providing the resources through which consumer and commercial customers perform the financial transactions of the local economy. These services are rendered personally, confidentially, and economically while striving for community improvement and achievement of the investment return expectations of its shareholders.” In 1986, Mike led a group of inside officers in a leveraged ESOP buyout of the Miami County National Bank, the first ESOP bank buyout in the nation. As President of the resulting holding company, Team Financial, Inc., Mike took it to the market as a publicly traded stock offering in 1999. Upon retirement, Mike invested in and became a director of Merit Bank, in Overland Park, KS. He also invested in and remains a director of the First Security Bank of Overbrook, KS, with former KBA Chairman Kent Needham. John E Morrissey started his first banking job at First National Bank in Topeka, KS, in May 1968, where he worked as a computer operator through the summer. He received a degree in Business Administration from Emporia State University in 1970, and his education continued with basic training and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. On Sept. 15, 1971, John began his employment at First National Bank in Wetmore as a teller then was promoted to Cashier and Executive Vice President. In 1989, when banking law allowed multi-bank holding companies, First National Bank of Wetmore was merged with Kansas State Bank in Holton, and he went on to serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In 2002, Kansas State Bank was purchased by the Schifferdecker family, where John moved back to Wetmore to serve as Community Bank President and Investment Officer for GNBank. Slowly closing in on retirement, John gave up his duties as President and now serves as an Investment Officer at GNBank. Steve Ebert Mike Gibson John E Morrissey Continued on page 12