cycles, and the consolidation wave that has swept through community banking. “Our grandfather began working at the bank in 1923. Our family’s been involved 102 years now, and Nancy and I are first cousins,” explains Mark Schifferdecker, the bank’s President and CEO. The Schifferdecker family’s stewardship characterizes three generations of leadership, with Schifferdecker and Chief Risk Officer Nancy George carrying forward a tradition established by their grandfather William E. Schifferdecker during the Roaring Twenties. The institution operates under a four-pillar pledge that guides daily operations: treating others ethically, being adaptable, centering focus on customers, and investing time and resources in communities. “We call ourselves the GNBank family, not because we’re a family-owned bank, but because we look at our employees and our communities as helping each other out,” Schifferdecker says. George adds perspective on the bank’s employee-focused approach: “We value our employees and work diligently to give them opportunities to learn and grow in their careers.” SERVING RURAL AMERICA FOR A CENTURY From its headquarters in Girard, a town of 2,496 residents and Crawford County’s seat, GNBank has methodically expanded across the Great Plains. The institution now operates in communities across Kansas and Colorado, deliberately targeting rural county seats where agriculture forms the economic backbone.“We serve 15 rural communities throughout Kansas and eastern Colorado. More precisely, 13 in Kansas, two in Eastern Colorado.And many of those communities are rural and most of them are agricultural based,” Schifferdecker explains. The bank’s growth strategy signifies careful geographic selection rather than rapid expansion. Starting in the mid-1980s, the Schifferdecker family began building their footprint through strategic acquisitions and new market entries. “As we were blessed to be able to grow over the years, we’ve either started new banking facilities in new markets, or we’ve acquired another bank to grow our footprint,” Schifferdecker notes. The approach is characteristic of the institution’s foundational understanding of rural economics, where community relationships often determine business success. Each location operates with deep local integration, going beyond traditional banking services. “Our staff typically volunteer on most community civic boards, whether it’s hospital boards, school boards, even 4-H boards and committees that focus on the community,” Schifferdecker says. George emphasizes the operational necessity behind this community involvement: “For our communities to thrive, they need to have great banking services. But on the contrary, we need to be able to provide these professional services to help those communities grow.” 129 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 10 GNBANK, N.A.
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