Pub. 10 2021 Issue 1

The Commun i tyBanker 6 Chairman’s Message M E S S A G E By J. Michael Thomas VACB Chairman Select Bank, Forest Dear Fellow Community Bankers, W ith spring less than a month away, we can look forward to the promise of more daylight and warmer days ahead. A promise that is maybe more meaning- ful now than it has been in many years. Over the past year, we have been reminded that we all need and miss personal interaction in our daily lives. While we are not "there yet," vaccinations are becoming more widely available. The sense that there is light at the end of the tunnel is palpable and significantly boosts the entire country's overall mood and outlook. Fear is replaced with optimism and with optimism comes opportunity. Much has been written about the "new normal" within our industry in a post-pandemic economy. Disruption of the banking industry is not new but gained pace in the face of the pandemic. Our customers who had not yet adopted digital products did so out of necessity. (And most of them loved it!). While those habits are most likely here to stay and create un- deniable efficiencies for both the customer and the bank, our customers' need for human interaction has not dissipated. All banks, whether traditional, online or fintech, offer the same products. The one real product we have that differentiates us is our service to our customers and our communities. Our customers want both digital and human interaction, which was evidenced more than ever during this past year when customer needs were at their greatest. Bankers interacted with customers at all hours, via telephone, text, zoom, email, drive- up windows and curbside chats. This interaction and reliance on having access to your banker have created a renewed trust in community banks and our ability to execute in service to our constituencies. I have always been proud to be a community banker but never more so than I am today. In a time of disruption, having the opportunity to focus on serving our customers, communi- ties, and each other has brought new meaning to my personal mantra "It is a great day to be a Community Banker!" Indeed, it is a great day to be a Community Banker. We should all be proud of what our people, organizations, and industry have done to help our customers and our communi- ties through the coronavirus winter into a spring of renewed optimism. J. Michael Thomas Select Bank