Midwest bankers flood ICBA leadership ranks

The Independent Community Bankers of America met in Orlando last week; Lucas White, president of the Fountain Trust Company of Covington, Ind., was elevated to ICBA president, and Jack Hopkins, president of CorTrust Bank, Mitchell, S.D., was installed as president-elect. Both distinguished bankers have been honored by BankBeat magazine. .White caught our attention in 2015 when he was named a BankBeat Rising Star in Banking, and Hopkins was named Banker of the Year in 2020..Like three generations of his family before him, White is a practicing attorney in addition to being a banker. Soon after White got his law degree from the University of Indiana, he rejoined the bank where he had worked part-time as early as his high school years. He wanted to get active in his state association and Joe DeHaven, president and CEO of the Indiana Bankers Association at the time, invited him to join the IBA's Future Leadership Division. He quickly became the FLD president, which came with a seat on the IBA board. ."He's a brilliant young man," DeHaven said in BankBeat's Rising Star article about White. "He's been quite involved in IBA and the things that are important to bankers. Being around him gives you confidence in the industry. He will be involved with the association for many years to come, and he absolutely will continue to contribute significantly. We have a really strong group of next generation leaders, and Lucas is at the core of that group." .Hopkins is a third generation banker, helping to build the franchise into a $1.6 billion enterprise with acquisitions in 2009, 2013, 2018, and 2020. Hopkins, his father and his grandfather (Boyd Jr., and Boyd Sr.) have a well-known history of being active in independent banking circles. Jack works in the bank with his brother, Todd; Jack's daughter McKinzie Hopkins, left a job as a tax attorney to join the bank in 2018. .Several other ICBA leadership positions are occupied by bankers from the BankBeat footprint:.Treasurer: Quentin Leighty, president and CFO of First National Bank Colorado in Las Animas.Past Chair: Noah W. Wilcox, president, CEO and chair of Grand Rapids State Bank and its holding company, Wilcox Bancshares Inc., Grand Rapids, Minn.At-large Director and Federal Delegate Board Representative: Brenda K. Foster, president and CEO of First Western Bank & Trust, Minot, N.D.Bank Education Committee Chair: Anita Drentlaw, CEO, president and CFO of New Market Bank in Elko New Market, Minn.Bank Innovations & Solutions Committee Chair: Michael J. Burke Jr., president of ChoiceOne Bank, Lapeer, Mich.Bank Operations Committee Chair: Sarah Getzlaff, CEO of Security First Bank of North Dakota, Bismarck, N.D.ICBA PAC Chair: Douglas E. Parrott, president, CEO and chair of State Bank of Toulon, Ill.Rural America and Agriculture Committee Chair: Verlin "Gus" J. Barker, president and CEO of First Community Bank, Newell, Iowa.Policy Development Committee Chair: Peter Nelson, president of Glenwood State Bank, Glenwood, Minn.