Pub. 1 2021 Issue 6

14 | The Show-Me Banker Magazine By high school, L. Kyle Williams had developed an interest in accounting and business classes and planned to attend Missouri State (formerly Southwest Missouri State University). The Cassville, Missouri, branch of Commerce Bank offered a scholarship to a local high school senior every year, and Kyle filled out an application during his senior year. The bank chose him as the recipient in the spring of 1992. Jon Horner, who was vice president of commercial lending at Commerce Bank, offered Kyle the scholarship and a summer job as a teller. Kyle worked summers and the Christmas holiday for two years at the bank, then transferred to the Springfield branch of Commerce Bank. He worked there the remaining three years of college, part-time during school and full-time during each summer. Another transfer after graduation took him to the St. Louis branch of Commerce Bank for more than four years of management training. Kyle has been significantly influenced as a banker by Gary Kuhn at Citizens Bank in New Haven, Missouri. Kyle met Gary when Kyle came into the bank looking for a home equity loan on a Saturday, five minutes before closing. On the following Monday, Gary offered Kyle a job that was similar to what he was doing in St. Louis. “Gary did have an impact,” said Kyle. “I am where I am today because he offered me a job and gave me an opportunity to work for a community bank as a change from working for a larger institution.” Switching banks wasn’t a hard decision: Kyle and his wife had settled in New Haven, Missouri, and he and his wife wanted to start a family. Round trip, the St. Louis commute took him two hours and 40 minutes every day. His home was just down the street from Citizens Bank, and the commute was about 30 seconds long. He calls the switch the best decision he ever made. Kyle had always worked with a larger bank, but he discovered that working for a small- town community bank is a little different. For Kyle, it meant feeling more invested in the community where he lives. Banking had been just a job for Kyle up to that point, but Gary saw it as a passion, and he encouraged Kyle to have the same attitude. Gary was involved in the community and looked every day for ways to make the bank a better place. During the 2007-2008 crisis, Gary always gave the bank first place in his mind and wanted to make sure he got the bank back to pre-crisis levels. “He really taught me his approach the best he could,” said Kyle. Helping people within his community is the most rewarding part of Kyle’s career. “In small communities, the town bank is typically one of the biggest donors to charitable organizations,” said Kyle. “You work the concession stand at the Friday night football game, and you get involved in helping out at the fairs, festivals and church dinners. It all allows you to give back to the community.” Kyle has learned three things that he would share with someone he was mentoring: 1. Always have respect for your co- workers. Respect is not a given, it is A BACKGROUND ON ... L. KYLE WILLIAMS