Heritage Bank is honored to be selected by the Willmar Area Community Foundation as the recipient of the Community Builder Award for 2016.
On behalf of all of our employee owners, we want to thank the Willmar Area Community Foundation for selecting Heritage Bank as the recipient of its Community Builder Award.
Receiving this award is such a great honor as it recognizes Heritage Bank’s commitment to our communities.
Our goal is to find ways to make our communities even better because a strong, vibrant community is going to bring success and growth to all in the area.
We reinvest in our employees for that very reason.
We owe a huge thank you to our employees who contribute so much of their time and talents to make this possible. We truly are a team at Heritage Bank and what we do wouldn’t be possible without all involved.
We also want to recognize Gary Geiger, Tom Geiger and the entire Geiger family for creating this culture at Heritage Bank of giving back to the communities in which we live, work and serve. This is a culture that encourages community involvement by its employees and we are privileged to continue developing this culture into the future.
And finally, a very special thank you goes to our customers and community members for the continuing support of Heritage Bank.
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Investing in employees and building community through charitable donations and volunteering are cornerstones of Heritage Bank.
Heritage Bank began in 1969 when the Geiger family started purchasing small community banks in Iowa and Minnesota. This bank has since grown into a pillar of our community, now known as Heritage Bank, and includes twelve locations. In 2014, Heritage Bank became an employee-owned company in order to continue its long legacy of giving back to others who contribute to its success.
Heritage Bank’s strong history of giving generously to the community and investing in its employees is evident. Heritage prides itself on building community by participating in local projects and causes and by empowering its employees to give back. From volunteering with and donating to the Barn Theatre and the KCEO Program to providing scholarships for high school graduates and partnering with other lenders on a Community Lending Consortium, Heritage Bank and its staff embody the spirit of community building.
Employees have volunteered with numerous local organizations, including the United Way of West Central Minnesota, the Willmar Area Food Shelf, Kandiyohi County Economic Development Commission and the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. Heritage is so invested in giving back to our communities that they formed an internal Donation Committee ten years ago to assess the many donation requests they receive each year. Community giving is such a core philosophy for Heritage Bank that job descriptions for many positions have long included community involvement as a job requirement. Bob Mathiasen, Chief Credit Officer, says it best: “We can only be as successful as the community we serve.”
When asked to give advice to other businesses on getting involved and being a community partner, Kelly Gardner, Retail Lending Manager, says, “If we all get involved, then we can make a huge impact together.”
Helping People Succeed Financially. We see every customer as an individual and treat our customers’ businesses as our own. Our dedicated, experienced staff is there for our customers on every step of their journey.
