A job became available at Community First Banking Company in West Plains and Mark jumped at the chance to move home. He bought his grandparents’ house, moved home and settled in. His life had come full circle — he was now living and working where he always wanted to be. Today, Mark is president and CEO of Community First Banking Company. He enjoys working at a community bank and does a little bit of everything in his position. “Managing the bank requires everything from meeting with people to keeping up on ever-changing regulatory issues to protecting bank assets by ensuring that the latest cybersecurity protocols are in place. Whatever it takes to keep things moving forward,” he said. “You have to be familiar of all aspects of the banking system.” Community First Banking Company has a great team of employees and Mark is proud of all they accomplish. The bank’s success comes down to “the customer relationships and the people,” he said. “Unfortunately, banking is kind of the same everywhere. So, the only thing that makes you different is the culture that you provide and the presentation you give to your customers. And I think we have a very friendly, down-home, family atmosphere at the bank.” “I never liked working at a bank where I had to tell somebody, I’m going to have to run this up the chain and see what happens,’ or ‘I’m going to have to get with other people.’ Luckily in a small bank like this, you get to make most of the decisions at the frontline level, which is unique compared to a lot of larger banks,” Mark said. The bank supports the community in many ways and belongs to a number of civic organizations. Personally, Mark belongs to the West Plains Downtown Revitalization Board, which is doing a lot to revitalize the downtown area. “West Plains is just like a lot of older, smaller towns with a town square that used to be a focal point. Then as big box stores came in and opened up on the other side of town, it changed things,” he said. “We’re trying to revitalize the downtown area and make it more unique for our community.” Mark has also been involved in the Ozark Farmers Agriculture Cooperative and was the president of that for almost three years. “It’s important to help small farmers get to the marketplace, so we started a farmers market to put farmers in contact with consumers.” Since its origination in 1997, the bank has been a member of MIBA, something that Mark is proud of and continues to support to this day. “I think it’s very important to be able to have a centralized location for smaller banks to lean on for industry help,” Mark said. “Whenever you’re looking at training, guidance on new laws and insight into where the industry is going, MIBA is there to help.” Mark and his wife Ila spend time together gardening and enjoying the outdoors. Mark also enjoys kayaking and riding motorcycles. They have a German Shepherd named Merlin. The Show-Me Banker Magazine | 17
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