Page 4 - 638271 IBAT with links for Flip Book_v3

Searching for Love

CHRISTOPHER L. WILLISTON, CAE

PRIL 1, 1989. THESE DAYS I CAN BARELY REMEMBER WHAT I HAD FOR LUNCH, but that day
I remember vividly. I walked into the expansive office on the seventh floor of what was
A then the United Bank building at 15th and Lavaca in Austin. The staff—all five of them—
were gathered in the lobby to greet me on my first day on the job as the new executive director of
the Independent Bankers Association of Texas.

They wasted little time showing me to my hope that a new candidate can be recommend-
1,500-square-foot office, which had recently ed for approval to the IBAT board in early June.
been repainted and adorned with plants, flow- If all goes according to plan, the new CEO will
ers and cards from well-wishers across be introduced to the IBAT membership at our
A new honeymoon will Texas. The honeymoon had started for September convention.
start soon for someone me following a 12-year stint at the Tex- The committee has a huge mission ahead
as Bankers Association, followed by 15 of it. Finding just the right someone who
with a fresh face and months of whirlwind travel with Alex shares a passion for community banking and
fresh ideas. We all Sheshunoff and Co. I was looking for will approach this position as a labor of love,
look with anticipation love, and boy did I find it. and not just another job, is a daunting task.
Still, to this day, I thank the good But I know they are up for it.
to the future while Lord that the IBAT volunteer leader- The future of community banking is being
celebrating our past. ship saw something in a 35-year-old kid tested as never before. We sit on the cusp of
and gave me a chance to build on what finally obtaining meaningful regulatory relief
I would characterize at the time as “a sleeping legislation in the U.S. Congress, but our job
giant of an organization.” is never done. There will always be more of-
It won’t be long—December 31 to be ex- fensive and defensive battles to come and we
act—before I relinquish the CEO position and must continue the great legacy of volunteer
spend half of 2019 as a goodwill ambassador involvement and advocacy to maintain com-
for the organization, making ample time to munity banking’s exclusive voice.
visit many of you in your hometowns. I have A new honeymoon will start soon for
always taken succession seriously. I heed the someone with a fresh face and fresh ideas. We
advice of my dad, who spent some 35 years in all look with anticipation to the future while
the association business and preached the im- celebrating our past. A seasoned staff second
portance of succession planning. to none, who love this industry, awaits new
Recently, at most of the regional meet- leadership. I know that you, the IBAT fami-
ings held across the state, I outlined the time- ly, will go to great lengths to welcome the new
line to search for IBAT’s next CEO. The IBAT CEO and show him or her the same courtesies
leadership and board have adopted a carefully and support you extended to me.
crafted policy as to how to proceed in the se- The sleeping giant, as I referred to the as-
lection. A blue-ribbon search committee com- sociation all those years ago, has awakened.
prised of the IBAT executive committee, past Now it is time to take the organization to the
chairmen and members at-large began their next level.
work in early February by carefully outlining EDITOR’S NOTE: Save the date! Chris Willis-
the minimum job requirements necessary for ton’s retirement reception will take place at the
candidates. Today, as I write this column, the Austin Country Club on December 6. Details
deadline to receive résumés has passed and will be coming soon. H
the committee will begin the process of se-
lecting three to five candidates to interview. Chris Williston is president and CEO of the
The interview process commenced in April Independent Bankers Association of Texas. He can
and will proceed through early May, with the be reached at 512/474‑6889 or [email protected].

4 | THE TEXAS INDEPENDENT BANKER