Bill Berkley, State Bank of Downs in Downs Congratulations to Bill Berkley on his 50 years in banking! Bill attended Downs High School in Downs, Kansas. He received his business degree and Juris Doctorate (law degree) in the 1970s from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He has held various positions in his banking career and is a third-generation banker. He began his career at the State Bank of Downs in Downs, Kansas, in the mid-1960s as a teller during high school. After graduating from Washburn University, Bill worked with his father, Paul, and his uncle, Jerry, at the State Bank of Downs. During this time, he also joined the Berkley & Berkley law firm, where his uncle and father practiced law and operated the bank. Paul Berkley retired as President in 1995. Bill took over as President of the State Bank of Downs upon his father’s retirement. He oversaw the expansion of the Bank into Englewood, Colorado, in 2005. In 2008, Bill was sworn in as a United States Supreme Court member in Washington, D.C., with his dad and son. Today, the State Bank of Downs has two locations, one in Downs, Kansas, and the other in Englewood, Colorado, operating under the tradename Berkley Bank. Bill is significantly involved in his hometown of Downs, Kansas. He coaches his kids and is involved in community, charitable, civic and business organizations. Bill is currently Chairman of the Board after his day-to-day retirement in 2016. He enjoys traveling with his wife, Claudia, and visiting his three children (Bradley, Cara and Brandon) and eight grandchildren. Mark Berkley, Bank of Tescott in Tescott Mark grew up in Tescott and had his first exposure to banking by working in high school and college summers at The Bank of Tescott and on the farm. He did help take the high school basketball team to the school’s first two and only state tournaments, winning the first in 1957 undefeated, 29-0, with his cousin Mike’s lead. They were the first undefeated men’s team to win the title in the Class BB competition, which included 249 Class BB schools. It was the first and only time he remembered the bank and town merchants closing for something other than a funeral or a flood. He majored in accounting and finance at Kansas State University, graduated with honors and received the Haskins & Sells Award for Excellence in Accounting. He received his law degree from the University of Kansas in 1966 and passed the Bar exam following the devastating Topeka tornado. He immediately went to work for Arthur Andersen & Company, a large CPA firm in Kansas City. He passed the CPA exam while in law school, but to get his certificate, he had to work for two years in public accounting. In August 1969, his uncle, H.J. (Jack) Berkley, who had started working in The Bank of Tescott in 1924, passed away, leaving a void in the small staff in the bank. His cousin, Hal Berkley, who he worked with for more than 55 years, called and asked if he would consider coming to join the bank. He started working in The Bank of Tescott on Sept. 9, 1969, and has been on the Board of Directors since. 23
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