Independent Community Bankers of America Past Chair Jim Ghiglieri died Dec. 9 at the age of 69.
A third-generation community banker, Ghiglieri was president of Alpha Financial Group in the small Illinois community of Toluca. He was active in the ICBA, having served as chair from 2007-08. Ghiglieri also served on the ICBA Securities Board, co-chairing the association’s Hurricane Katrina Task Force and chairing the ICBA Credit Union Task Force. Ghiglieri was past chair of the Community Bankers Association of Illinois.
Ghiglieri graduated in 1976 with a finance degree from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind., where he pitched on the baseball team. Following graduation, Ghiglieri returned to Toluca to become the third generation of his family to work at what was then Citizens National Bank, later becoming bank president. Citizens National Bank, which was eventually renamed Alpha Community Bank, was sold to Morton Community Bank in 2008. Ghiglieri was later named senior vice president of corporate communications at SHAZAM Network.
“ICBA expresses its deepest condolences to Ghiglieri’s family and gratitude for his tireless service on behalf of the nation’s community banks,” the association wrote in a statement following his death. “ICBA will long remember Jim for his dedication to this industry, his constant smile, and his genuine care and compassion for all who were lucky enough to call him a friend.”
