With the news of Hurricane Dorian, I was reminded of the terrible storm Katrina.
A number of years ago, I heard a President of a Bank from New Orleans talk about how his bank “survived” Katrina – at least the passing of the storm – but he knew he was in trouble when he was walking on a street near his Bank, and a trickle of water ran past his shoes (like George Clooney in O Brother Where Art Thou?). He had a sinking feeling in his gut that the levies north of town had been breached, and soon the entire area was flooded, after the Hurricane passed through.
Facing potential danger focuses one’s attention, but most days we do not have a looming storm to cause us to get prepared. In fact most of the time, we are kind of lackadaisical about being prepared.
- Recently Aaron Hicks presented to the Board the first draft of our Business Continuity Plan crafted by many. We want to be prepared!
- During Loan Committee we often ask what kind of life insurance or disability insurance the customer has. We want them to be prepared!
- We have implemented many systems (online banking, mobile banking, MobiMoney , e-alerts, e-statements) so our customers can be prepared to guard their money!
- We offer Investment Services so our customers can be prepared to retire comfortably or send their kids or grandkids to school!
There are many stories from our youth (The Ant and The Grasshopper, The Three Little Pigs) that remind us that being prepared is valuable and something we must stress around here – for our employees and customers.
Oh – the reference to Katrina Stay Out of My Bed – a song by the Red Stick Ramblers, a Cajun–Fusion band that played on my iPOD the other morning as I watched the progress of Dorian on the TV during my treadmill excursion.
A wonderful song with a great beat and a chilling story of a storm we would all like to forget, yet a reminder of the need to be prepared!
– Leton
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“Letters From Leton” is a blog series comprised of the weekly updates that Leton Harding – President, Chairman, and CEO of Powell Valley National Bank, shares with the Bank’s team members. These newsletters are full of uplifting anecdotes and intriguing insights that are applicable beyond the Bank, so we want to share them with you.
