JULY/AUGUST 2004

Ag Bankers Lend Helping Hand To Community
“Be a Hero” Program Begins Third Year


Ag bankers are an important part of any rural community. They serve as business advisors, financial consultants, community leaders and friends. Both on and off the job, they’re frequently called on to lend a helping hand to the community. For the third consecutive year, New Holland is partnering with the American Bankers Association (ABA) to help an ag lender do just that in a program called "Be A Hero In Your Community.”

Recently the city of Kingman, Kansas, received the donation of a New Holland yard tractor, thanks to the Citizens Bank of Kansas, N.A., the American Bankers Association and New Holland. ABA member Howard Silvey, Senior Vice President of the bank, won the New Holland yard tractor for his community in a random drawing held during the 2003 ABA Agricultural Bankers Conference in San Antonio. New Holland donated the tractor to the ABA for the drawing and the winner, in turn, was asked to contribute it to a worthy community or civic group in his or her local area.

Dale Robinson, (center) Kingman Public Works Superintendent, accepts delivery of a New Holland yard tractor from Howard Silvey (left), Senior Vice President of Citizens Bank of Kansas, and Ron Seiler, (right) sales manager at Agri-Center, a New Holland dealer in Hutchinson, Kansas.

 

“This mower is going to be a very good addition to our fleet because of its size and equipment features," says Kingman City Manager Cheryl Beatty, adding that the unit would be used to help maintain the city's parks and facilities.

“Service to the community is integral to the mission of Citizens Bank of Kansas, N.A.,” says Silvey. “We have a proud tradition of serving south central Kansas for more than four generations. We are very pleased to be able to make this contribution to the City of Kingman.”

The ABA is a national trade and professional association serving the entire banking community, from small community banks to large bank holding companies. The organization has a special section dedicated to providing advocacy, information, training, education, and public relations for banks that make and service agricultural loans or provide credit and other financial services to those living and working in rural America. For more information, visit their website at www.aba.com

Ag Lenders “Sowing Seeds” in 2004

The 2004 ABA National Agricultural Bankers Conference, with the theme, “Sowing the Seeds of Change” will be held Nov. 14-17, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ag Bankers can register online at www.aba.com. The website also will carry periodic updates on the conference.

For more information, bankers can call ABA’s customer services at
1-800-bankers.