Scott Wakefield, president of First Minnesota Bank, Mayer, Minn., became chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota at the group’s 55th annual convention Aug. 9-12 at the JW Marriott Hotel next to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Wakefield is the first banker to succeed his father as chairman of ICBM. Lowell Wakefield was head of the trade group in 1982-83. (See page 38 for photo.)
WCCO TV Sports Broadcaster Mark Rosen, who MC’d the awards luncheon at the convention on Aug. 12, interviewed Wakefield on stage in front of the group. Following is an edited summary of the interview:
Rosen: Your dad was chairman in 1982; here you are in the same position 35 years later. What does this mean to you?
Wakefield: This is awesome, unbelievable.
Rosen: What does ICBM offer its members that you are most proud of?
Wakefield: Advocacy is the No. 1 thing. I have been going to the Capital Summit for the last five years. Our goal is to get more and more bankers to participate, so they can talk to lawmakers and do grassroots lobbying.
Rosen: What would you like to see in your year as chairman?
Wakefield: I want to build on that advocacy at the national level. We need to do something more for the metro banks, but not forget our rural and ag banks. They are important to me, having grown up on a farm.
Rosen: How did your commitment to ag develop?
Wakefield: We had cattle growing up; I have been around cattle and farming pretty much all my life. A lot of my customers are farmers.
Rosen: Would you paint an optimistic future for community banking?
Wakefield: Yes, absolutely. Community banking is where it is at.
Rosen: Tell us something people might be surprised to know about you.
Wakefield: I used to be a radio broadcaster. I went to Brown Institute in Minneapolis … I did radio in Sheldon, Iowa. It was a radio station owned by the Norse Press and Red Stangland, whose claim to fame was the copyright on Ole and Lena jokes. I was on in the evenings from 7 to midnight.
Radio is similar to community banking. You connect with your customers. When I was in radio, I had to sell advertising. I had to go into businesses and get people to do a 30-second ad or 60-second ad. Banking is the same thing. We have customers we call on. You develop a rapport with the business people you are visiting. Get your butt out of the seat and get out into the community. Don’t sit behind a desk all the time.