Latest / Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden / Elevate Ep 24: Small Town Values & Billion Dollar Business, Kevin Wright President of STAR Financial

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Elevate Ep 24: Small Town Values & Billion Dollar Business, Kevin Wright President of STAR Financial · Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden

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[music]
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>> Welcome to the Elevate podcast, powered
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for updates and behind-the-scenes
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content. [music]
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Now, let's dive in.
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Hey everybody, Jason Aum here with
0:44
another episode of the Elevate powered
0:46
by Braden podcast, and I've got a new
0:48
friend with me. But we've crossed paths
0:49
a couple of different places, I'm sure,
0:51
in the non-profit world, so it'll be fun
0:53
to talk about that. And I've learned a
0:55
little bit of your story from the
0:57
background when you and I first chatted,
0:58
but Kevin, welcome to the show. So maybe
1:00
just a quick intro for you. Yeah, sounds
1:02
good. Kevin Wright here, currently
1:04
president of Star Financial Bank, uh
1:07
proud fourth generation family member of
1:09
one of the founders, and so just really
1:11
uh blessed to to be able to to continue
1:13
on the legacy of my great-grandfather,
1:16
uh grandfather, father as well, uh but
1:18
also looking forward to uh to talking a
1:20
little bit about, you know, what got me
1:21
here. Yeah, it's awesome. It's going to
1:23
be a lot of fun. This this, you know,
1:24
you and I first chatted, fourth
1:25
generation leader, those types of
1:27
things, it's going to be a lot of fun to
1:29
talk about Star. But before we get
1:31
there, let's go back to the beginning.
1:32
Where are you from originally? The the
1:35
big city of Shirley, Indiana. Now, okay,
1:38
I've been in Indiana my whole life. I I
1:39
think we thought about this last time
1:41
when we talked. I had no idea where
1:42
Shirley is. Yeah, so where is Shirley?
1:44
>> Yeah, well, I always say uh that it's a
1:47
suburb of Wilkinson,
1:49
which you may have never heard of. No
1:51
one's heard of Wilkinson. Okay, so a
1:52
suburb of Wilkinson. So it's a great
1:54
little community, sits right on the
1:55
Hancock-Henry County line. Okay, I'm
1:57
kind of equidistant between Greenfield,
1:59
Newcastle, and and Anderson. Got you.
2:01
Okay. All right. So, central Indiana,
2:05
right? But, uh so Shirley, and so
2:07
growing up in Shirley, what was that
2:09
like? High school was was fairly small.
2:11
Which high school did you go to? Eastern
2:12
Hancock High School, which sits right
2:15
along I-70, okay, east of Greenfield
2:18
consolidated school district. Um
2:20
graduated about 75, you know. One of my
2:23
closest friends. Okay.
2:25
>> And
2:25
uh and absolutely loved it. Uh small
2:27
community, uh really rooting for each
2:29
other. Not that there was not issues and
2:31
then that kind of thing. Not not
2:33
perfect. Not Pleasantville.
2:34
Uh but just a great community to grow up
2:36
in and you really supported it. All
2:38
right. So, 75 people in your class in in
2:40
high school, what did it look like? What
2:41
were you doing? Sports, right? Yeah.
2:43
Lots of sport. I mean, so uh the only
2:45
neighbor I had really was my grandma and
2:48
grandpa. Okay. So, we walked through we
2:50
built we built a house on uh carved out
2:52
5 acres of their property.
2:54
And uh built a house there, so grew up
2:56
to, you know, next door to them and they
2:58
were the neighbors. And uh so, if you
3:00
weren't hanging out with grandma and
3:01
grandpa, you know,
3:03
uh messing around with their horses and
3:05
and and and livestock and pets, um you
3:08
were trying to find a basketball game or
3:10
a Okay. Or whatever around town or or
3:12
somebody come pick you up to to go play.
3:14
Okay. All right. So, playing basketball
3:16
from a young age. Playing in high
3:18
school? Play right at it. Okay. All
3:19
right. So, what position?
3:21
Point guard. Um couldn't couldn't uh
3:23
throw ball in the ocean, but but tried
3:26
to figure out a way to impact the game.
3:28
And so, uh you know, when you're
3:32
Yeah.
3:32
When you can anticipate a little bit and
3:34
try to read the game, um
3:37
and and you you you know, try to give it
3:39
all you have every every possession.
3:40
Yeah. Yeah. Um you tend to find a a
3:42
spot, right? So, yeah. Yeah, I think I
3:44
think, you know, I played point guard,
3:46
too. And then, you know, I was I was the
3:48
the leader of the team, not necessarily
3:50
the guy who could score the most points,
3:52
but I was certainly one of the leaders,
3:53
right? And could get people in the right
3:55
positions and All right, so playing
3:57
point guard going to high school
3:59
and obviously growing up in a family
4:01
business, right? So, by this time your
4:03
dad is working for the organization, but
4:05
as you're coming out of high school,
4:07
where are you going to go, you know,
4:09
where do you go to school?
4:10
>> Yeah, we had a a successful basketball
4:12
team. My my class in high school, uh
4:16
you know, my dad coached us growing up,
4:17
you know, in AAU basketball and so this
4:19
little bitty school district playing
4:21
against uh
4:22
you know, trying to get games in
4:23
Indianapolis. The sports scene then
4:25
didn't look near what it looks like
4:26
today, right? Um
4:28
you know, my my kids are playing in
4:30
tournaments every weekend, right? And of
4:32
course can't have in this the ring,
4:33
right? And the trophy, but uh you know,
4:36
we had to find games, right? There
4:37
wasn't there wasn't tournaments all the
4:38
time. So,
4:40
um
4:40
so we had fun, you know, playing against
4:43
uh much bigger schools, much bigger
4:44
Okay.
4:45
>> uh AAU programs, you know, Speice was
4:47
big back in the day as well as a few
4:48
others and Sully, uh Okay, that was B's,
4:50
yeah. So, we you know, we we took every
4:52
game we could get and
4:54
uh I think my dad's favorite part of of
4:56
coaching us was uh
4:58
kind of luring a a bigger program into
5:00
playing these these kids from this small
5:02
community and I mean they likely can't
5:03
play basketball and
5:05
we come in, we're disciplined, we got a
5:06
game plan, we work hard, work together,
5:09
uh we're fundamentally sound and and put
5:11
up a good fight.
5:12
>> Yeah, of course. That's right. So, so
5:13
had uh had some guys that I I grew up
5:16
playing basketball with and uh
5:18
uh in fact, we made it to the final four
5:20
uh our senior year of high school and so
5:22
that was a fun run. I know part of that.
5:24
No kidding. Yeah, and of course you get
5:26
a chance at that point are you playing
5:27
down at Conseco Fieldhouse or where was
5:29
the final four played?
5:30
>> So, our our final four game was played
5:32
at Southport High School. Okay, got you.
5:34
>> Which is kind of a fun story there. Uh
5:36
we played uh the game after uh two 4A
5:40
schools play and they had several D1
5:42
players Oh, yeah.
5:44
>> uh playing in that game, but I'll tell
5:45
you I I spoke a little bit about the
5:47
community I grew up in and and the
5:49
impact it had on me and and the the
5:52
support for each other that community
5:54
really um you know
5:56
embraces.
5:58
It it was evident especially, you know,
6:00
during this run.
6:01
We had two 4A schools, several D1
6:03
players on the court, and we're sitting
6:05
there watching that game and uh it's the
6:08
gym's a third half full. Yeah.
6:11
And so we go in at halftime uh get ready
6:14
for our game and and we start to walk
6:17
out that tunnel and it is a sold out uh
6:20
just a fantastic How awesome is that,
6:22
right? It's so good. Of course you lose
6:23
the game, but anytime you're playing in
6:25
in Indiana high school basketball is a
6:27
great experience. I mean, Friday
6:29
Saturday nights everybody comes out from
6:31
the town and supports you. It's it's
6:33
such a great If you're not from Indiana,
6:35
it's hard to explain. And and so during
6:37
that run I I I knew I always wanted to
6:40
Well, I always wanted to play in the NBA
6:41
and I knew that was going to happen.
6:43
Right, of course. Yeah, uh until about,
6:45
you know, my junior year when, you know,
6:47
it wasn't IU, Purdue,
6:49
Duke, North Carolina calling me. It was,
6:51
you know, some smaller schools and and
6:54
really
6:55
kind of you got check moment, right?
6:56
Sure. Of how how important is this game
6:59
to you and and how big of a part of your
7:01
life do you want to be for the next, you
7:02
know, several years. And so
7:04
um knew that I wanted to play uh was
7:07
getting some some Division III
7:09
uh looks, you know, to go play and um
7:12
during our our our state tournament run
7:15
um
7:16
the head coach of Taylor University Mhm.
7:19
uh was recruiting two of my teammates
7:21
and uh
7:22
it was an ugly game uh
7:25
we back and forth uh low scoring. We we
7:27
scored a lot of points typically. Low
7:29
scoring game. Okay. Nobody had a great
7:31
game. Um
7:33
but the coach came and spoke to me after
7:35
game and he said, "Hey, I'd like to get
7:36
to know you. Better. Um just saw
7:39
something out there on court. Not
7:41
necessarily your stat line. Right?
7:43
Nobody had a great stat line that game,
7:44
but there was something there.
7:45
>> Yeah, sure.
7:46
>> something about um
7:49
uh how the team came together and how
7:51
you were there to compare you up with
7:52
your teammate or or encourage your
7:54
teammate or, you know, try to keep
7:55
positivity going and and uh and focus on
7:58
that that victory. And so uh spent a
8:00
couple months getting to know him. Um my
8:03
other two teammates that were getting
8:04
recruited by him didn't end up going to
8:06
Taylor, but um
8:08
but I chose to go there and uh the
8:10
success continued on the basketball
8:12
court, you know, for the time that that
8:14
that I played and and just really um
8:17
again, community, right? I mean,
8:18
community
8:20
uh that team was just there for each
8:22
other and and uh you know, when when
8:24
conditioning starts the second day of
8:25
school and
8:27
uh we were fortunate enough to play in
8:28
the national tournament uh multiple
8:30
times. Um
8:32
that season doesn't end until, you know,
8:34
about spring break. And so uh together a
8:36
lot and uh and really enjoyed, you know,
8:39
that experience and the opportunity to
8:40
compete at the highest level I could
8:42
compete. That's where I challenged
8:43
myself was if you're going to do this
8:47
uh go go
8:49
play somewhere that's the highest level
8:52
for kept. Mhm. Right?
8:54
>> Yeah. Uh where is it that if you go
8:55
somewhere else you're probably not going
8:56
to get to play uh but but be a part of a
8:59
team that can be competitive and sure
9:01
and win, you know, win a lot of games
9:02
and try to compete national. Oh, it's
9:04
awesome. So, while you're at Taylor, you
9:06
got a chance to play in the tournament.
9:08
Where were some of the coolest places
9:09
you guys got chance to play?
9:11
Yeah, prob- other than the national
9:13
tournament um
9:15
uh we we got to play uh the Tiernan
9:17
Center or I'm sorry, excuse me. We got
9:18
to play at uh at uh Ball State. Okay.
9:21
>> And so that was probably the the biggest
9:23
um
9:24
the largest school we played against.
9:25
Okay. We got to play down at at Murray
9:27
State. Um The Racers, girls or were they
9:30
Racers, right? Yeah, yeah, okay.
9:31
>> couple trips uh there and and and
9:34
really, you know, both of those games um
9:37
were competitive. We didn't win either
9:38
one and and if you look at final score,
9:40
it's not competitive. I think we lost by
9:42
20 or or both games, but particularly at
9:44
Ball State, uh, you know, with 8 minutes
9:47
to go, you know, it was a single-digit
9:48
game. No, I don't know. And still on
9:50
tight. That's pretty That's pretty good.
9:52
>> It was competitive. Okay. Exactly. So,
9:53
get out there, compete, play our game.
9:56
You know, we were a slow, methodical,
9:58
every possession matters, um,
10:00
which which stats are we tracking and
10:02
can we win these categories? And if I
10:04
can win these categories,
10:05
uh, the likelihood we're going to win
10:06
the game is is really really high. You
10:08
know, it it sports is is a a amazing
10:11
place to be able to learn a lot of
10:12
things about life, right? To what
10:14
control the controllables, right? Hit
10:16
the free throws, don't foul, don't get
10:18
in trouble, don't make bad passes.
10:20
There's some things you can control.
10:21
There's a lot of things you can't
10:22
control, just like in life, but sports
10:24
is a great opportunity to learn those
10:26
things. So,
10:28
you're a Taylor playing basketball,
10:30
enjoying it, having fun, but school gets
10:33
mixed in, right? I mean, at some point
10:35
you got to go to class. So, what are
10:36
what are you studying in school? Yeah.
10:37
Yep. So, business management major, uh,
10:40
Taylor and and just a really good,
10:42
again, community. It's in a small town
10:44
of of Upland, Indiana. That's right. You
10:46
know Taylor University and you know
10:48
Ivanhoes, the ice cream shop. Everybody
10:50
knows Ivanhoes. That's right.
10:51
Everybody's been there, especially if
10:52
you were a kid and went to Taylor for
10:54
basketball camp like a lot of us did.
10:55
So, everybody went to Ivanhoes. Yeah,
10:57
okay. Yes, you got it. And and, uh, and
10:59
some family heritage there, too, Mike.
11:01
Uh,
11:02
my my grandpa grew up in Upland and so,
11:04
Okay. um, so so really just enjoyed
11:06
being able to reconnect with, you know,
11:08
a place that other than basketball camp
11:10
hadn't been a part of my,
11:12
uh, life up to that point, but really,
11:13
you know, leaning into that community
11:15
and great education,
11:17
um,
11:18
and continues, you know, that place
11:19
continues to grow in terms of of both
11:22
student body, but also accolades. Um,
11:25
and so, just just a special place, uh,
11:27
for me,
11:29
um,
11:29
you know, growing up. Again, not
11:31
perfect, right? But but you know, always
11:33
leaning in, learning,
11:35
figuring out, you know,
11:37
what mistakes have I made and how do I
11:39
be a better person, you know, through
11:41
through learning them and and and where
11:43
do I fit in, right? And
11:45
you know, back to the basketball side of
11:47
things,
11:48
you know, the coach said, "Hey, you can
11:49
walk on here, but I can't I can't
11:51
promise you anything." Sure, a
11:52
nationally competitive program, you
11:54
know,
11:56
"I like what I see in you, but I need to
11:57
see more of it." Right, right. And so,
11:59
uh
12:00
you know, getting to be a part of that
12:02
team and and you know, I think my
12:03
freshman year I played,
12:05
you know, maybe a couple minutes a game.
12:07
Okay.
12:09
It's it's a really growing in
12:11
later in my career to to um
12:13
to playing a lot of minutes and
12:15
starting. So,
12:17
you know, understanding how do you find
12:19
a place
12:20
to make a positive impact
12:22
on your team and that was sort of the
12:24
mentality, right? What do we need? How
12:25
do I get there? So, it was I had two
12:28
All-Americans
12:29
on our team and so, it was
12:31
how do you get them the ball? How do you
12:33
get them the ball?
12:33
>> For your positions, yeah, you know. How
12:35
do you how do you help them be more
12:36
successful? Right, exactly.
12:38
How do you know, can you can you make an
12:40
impact on the defensive side of the
12:41
ball? Can you bring the ball up the
12:43
floor
12:44
without turning it over and and not only
12:46
that, but get us in positions to score?
12:48
And then you know, uh I don't speak to
12:51
it too often, but
12:53
one of the the the proudest moments in
12:55
my career at in college is
12:59
is figuring out, okay, I'm going to be
13:00
open a lot.
13:01
>> Mhm. I've got two All-Americans on this
13:03
team. They're going to be open. That's
13:04
right, yeah. So, you better be able to
13:06
shoot the ball, right? That's going to
13:08
add value.
13:10
And so,
13:11
uh really went from, you know, very poor
13:14
three-point shooter in high school to uh
13:17
to getting to work with on this machine
13:20
we called it the gun. I'm not sure what
13:21
they call it these days, but it was a
13:22
machine that had a net on it and a and
13:25
an arm that rebounded for you. It passed
13:27
you the ball. Yeah. It would oscillate
13:29
and you could you know, create your own
13:31
workout basically.
13:32
>> Yeah, sure. Get in the gym and grind on
13:33
that thing, bring a couple teammates and
13:35
and get a good sweat going, try to try
13:38
to get better. And so
13:39
went from really a a poor In fact, my
13:42
grandmother
13:43
she
13:44
she asked me one day uh
13:47
do you need glasses?
13:49
>> [laughter]
13:50
>> I said, "Great, well how do you say
13:51
what?" I've been going to your
13:52
basketball games, Gavin. I've noticed
13:54
maybe you can't hit the
13:55
can't hit the shots. He said, "You spend
13:57
an awful lot of time practicing
13:58
basketball. I would think that you could
14:00
shoot it better than that."
14:01
>> [laughter]
14:02
>> Yeah. I should Okay, I got to say here,
14:03
you're the first guy that's been on the
14:05
show that's been called out by his
14:06
grandma. That's hilarious, by the way.
14:08
All right, so grandma calls you out. But
14:10
but going into college though, you get
14:11
yourself you improve a lot, right? From
14:14
a shooting perspective. Wasn't there Was
14:17
there a game or something where you hit
14:18
a bunch of shots? What What was there
14:19
was something about the three-pointers?
14:21
I think I remember. Yeah, so so went to
14:23
to to now uh hold the single season
14:26
three-point record. That's what it was.
14:27
Taylor yeah, I remember there was
14:28
something. Yeah, not many attempts and I
14:30
was wide open almost every time. Uh but
14:32
you still got to I still had to hit the
14:33
shots though. Yeah, I got to be in the
14:34
right spot. Got to catch the ball, you
14:36
got to hit it. There's people there in
14:37
the gym, everybody's yelling. There's
14:39
guys playing defense. Yeah. You got to
14:40
hit shots. So That's what I said, have
14:42
fun. Yeah. Okay, that's good. Okay, so
14:44
you're studying business. I'm curious
14:46
though, like growing up playing
14:48
basketball, I didn't realize your dad
14:50
was your coach. That's cool. Right?
14:52
That's That's really cool to be able to
14:53
have your dad, you know, be able to
14:55
coach you there. You're seeing the
14:56
family business, you're going to Taylor,
14:59
studying business. What did you think
15:01
you were going to do when your four
15:03
years ends at Taylor? What What do you
15:05
think's going to come next for you?
15:06
Yeah, I wasn't sure and and you know
15:10
grew up with with dad being my coach and
15:12
so spent a lot of time in this, you know
15:14
father-son but also, you know,
15:16
coaching-player relationship and
15:19
but learned how to learn from him.
15:20
Right. And uh and then saw him and my
15:23
grandpa, you know, we did lots of
15:24
dinners at grandma and grandpa's where
15:26
they they had dinner at our house and
15:29
and had a lot of family functions in
15:30
fact, but saw those two, you know,
15:34
enjoying spending time together,
15:37
but I never heard them talk about
15:38
business. Really? And so I knew my dad
15:41
where my dad worked,
15:43
but didn't understand
15:45
I didn't put it all together in high
15:47
school, but
15:48
there was something about the way that
15:51
those two gentlemen, and I'm sure
15:53
others, but those are the two I was
15:54
paying attention to, right?
15:56
Were were treated and trusted by the
15:59
community
16:01
and just saw the impact that they were
16:04
able to make,
16:06
you know, across several small
16:07
communities that they were involved in.
16:09
So always had this connection of work in
16:12
community and service,
16:15
you know, as I as I had them in mind.
16:16
And so
16:18
through high school, you know, that was
16:19
sort of the thought process. As you get
16:21
get to college, you know, you start
16:22
thinking a little bit more about what's
16:23
next and
16:25
I'm pretty sure it was the first
16:26
conversation that I had with dad about
16:29
about star,
16:30
you know,
16:32
was talking about the business, but then
16:33
also, you know, one of our family rules
16:36
is you got to go work somewhere else for
16:38
at least a couple years if you're a
16:39
family member.
16:41
And so
16:43
you know, for me it was a challenge,
16:45
right? It was like, okay, go go work
16:47
somewhere else, you know, have a little
16:48
success
16:50
and sort of, you know,
16:52
make a little bit of of a name for what
16:54
my work ethic is
16:56
and in the for the companies that I was
16:58
working
16:59
and then, you know, hopefully come back
17:01
and at least give star a shot, right?
17:04
You know, am I going to like this? I
17:05
know my it's been very
17:07
important to my family, but am I going
17:09
to like it?
17:10
Is this where you are going to you know,
17:12
fit in? You know, it's interesting
17:14
though, you're hanging around with your
17:15
dad and your grandpa and you never
17:16
really heard talk about the business.
17:18
But they hung out together, and they
17:19
enjoyed being together. It's It's You
17:22
don't hear that today. A lot of people
17:23
find identity in what they do, for
17:27
example, as opposed to maybe the people
17:29
they're with and those things. So, it's
17:31
interesting. I guess I would have
17:32
thought you would have heard more about
17:33
the family business than you did. Um and
17:36
also, I'm curious if your dad was your
17:37
coach, right? So, your dad was coaching
17:39
basketball. Was he rough on you? Was he
17:41
Was he Was he Was he Was he Was he
17:42
rougher on you than other guys out there
17:44
getting more audio? The closer you are
17:45
to Okay, cordial and stuff, right? Just
17:47
like any other All right, one mistake,
17:48
I'm out. That's right. Yeah, somebody
17:50
else makes three or four, they're out.
17:51
And so, uh you you learn, you know, you
17:54
learn when to take chances, right? Yeah,
17:56
maybe he was training me for banking. I
17:58
don't know. He might have a lighter What
17:59
did I say? He He wasn't talking about
18:00
banking. He was teaching your banking
18:02
through basketball, right? So, you
18:04
learned all that kind of stuff from him.
18:05
Okay, so, you finish up Taylor, and you
18:09
can't go work in the family business.
18:10
You've got to spend at least a couple of
18:12
years somewhere else. So, where do you
18:14
go, and what is it you're going to do?
18:16
Yep. So, Taylor offered a a Series 7
18:18
study course. Okay. Um and and so, uh I
18:22
took that my senior year there.
18:25
Um was able to to
18:27
pass that exam, get securities licensed,
18:30
and um came to work here in Indianapolis
18:32
for uh the local John Hancock sales arm.
18:36
Uh Keystone Crossing area. And but But
18:38
knew I wanted to live in the big city,
18:40
right? I grew up in little town of 800.
18:41
And so, I knew I wanted to live in the
18:42
big city. So,
18:44
I moved in with a buddy and his cousin
18:46
Buddy from college and his cousin uh to
18:48
Riley Towers and uh downtown
18:50
Indianapolis and just just loved it. Oh,
18:52
yeah. You're living life there, right? I
18:54
mean, so So, from a town of, you know,
18:56
800 or whatever it was to now there's
18:58
800 people on your block, she's right.
19:00
Now you're Now you're in a new city.
19:01
Okay, so, working there, and you're in
19:03
sales or what are you doing?
19:04
>> Yeah, in sales, kind of in the training
19:06
program initially, and then uh and then
19:08
in sales role for John Hancock. Um
19:12
That being said, you know, my college,
19:14
you know, best buddy
19:16
that was a girl
19:18
became my girlfriend in college and then
19:20
we weren't necessarily dating as we
19:21
graduated college, but pretty soon
19:23
after, okay, you know, I realized,
19:25
hopefully she did as well, that hey,
19:26
maybe this maybe this is a pretty good
19:28
option. Let's explore Okay.
19:30
>> serious relationship here and so my
19:33
college best buddy becomes my
19:35
girlfriend, but even though you weren't
19:37
really dating in college, you were just
19:39
friends.
19:40
So ultimately, either she really liked
19:41
you or you liked her, but you guys
19:43
definitely hung out together, yeah. And
19:44
then after college, you guys are Did you
19:47
get engaged pretty much after college or
19:49
Yeah, we we started dating pretty
19:50
seriously,
19:51
you know, probably three three months or
19:53
so after after we graduated. She lived
19:56
in the suburbs of Chicago. Okay.
19:58
>> Western suburbs, so she lived in in Glen
20:01
Ellyn at the time and so I
20:04
you know, my mind and I, you know,
20:05
trying to think a little forward and and
20:07
trying to get my sales pitch put
20:08
together on, you know, if this if this
20:10
works out, I'm going to ask her to marry
20:11
me. So, okay, thinking was, you know,
20:14
move to Chicago
20:15
area,
20:17
get to know her family a little bit,
20:18
right? Sure, her family was in in that
20:20
area as well.
20:22
Uh I find a job up there and really
20:24
spend time in the same community, her
20:25
and I. Um do we we we like each other
20:28
from afar, but you know, do we love each
20:30
other? We have to spend life together.
20:31
>> Yeah, will really work, right? Okay. All
20:33
right. So I got a job at a steel company
20:36
up in Chicago. We we basically bought um
20:39
standard diameter
20:41
metal wire from the mills and then we we
20:45
um
20:46
drew it down to spec for our customers.
20:48
Okay, like Whirlpool dishwashers. They
20:50
were our biggest customer at the time,
20:52
so they would take us they'd buy spools
20:53
of
20:54
of wire off of us and CNC it, powder
20:56
coat it, and put it in the dishwasher.
20:58
So
20:59
I really found
21:01
a place there. It was a great great
21:02
team,
21:04
great great leadership, great mentor.
21:07
My boss was was there and and had some
21:09
fun being an inside sales rep for the
21:12
state of Indiana, the state of Ohio,
21:14
Michigan and then a little bit, you
21:16
know, south of Indiana as well. Just
21:18
really got to know those sales guys,
21:19
their processes,
21:21
what's it mean to be in sales, how do
21:23
you grow your book of business and then
21:25
again, what's my role in that, right?
21:26
How do I help them
21:28
grow their business as well. So, really
21:30
enjoyed enjoyed that. It was a family
21:33
owned business. I got to see
21:36
what it was like to be a non-family
21:38
member in a in a family owned business,
21:40
the good, the bad, the ugly. Yeah, sure.
21:41
And
21:43
I do want to I didn't even think about
21:44
that as part of your story to to go to
21:46
another family owned business where your
21:48
last name, you know, isn't part of that
21:50
family, right? You got a chance to
21:51
experience what that's like to be an
21:54
employee there. How long were you at
21:56
that organization in Chicago?
21:58
>> Yeah, just just about a year. Okay.
21:59
there
22:01
and but but really got connected and
22:03
plugged in with the teams and the
22:05
operations and trying to understand you
22:07
know, what what they're trying to do,
22:09
you know, as a part of their their their
22:10
strategy. Sure.
22:11
>> They they were in the process of having
22:13
a non-family owner for the first time
22:15
lead that business. I'll say wow, yeah.
22:17
And so, getting to pick that gentleman's
22:19
brain and understand, you know, what's
22:22
his goals, how how's he going to make
22:24
this work, where where does he see the
22:26
uh the potential challenges and and the
22:28
potential opportunities as well and so,
22:31
just really got to learn a lot in a
22:33
fairly short amount of time. Yeah, what
22:34
a great experience, right? So, at this
22:36
point you're up there for about a year
22:38
and have you guys gotten married yet
22:39
during this time?
22:40
>> We've not got married. Okay. Did we did
22:42
get engaged,
22:44
we did get engaged and and I always tell
22:46
the the story and I've not confirmed
22:49
this with my dad mostly because if it's
22:51
not true, I I don't want to ruin it.
22:53
Uh but you know, I think that my mom
22:56
probably came to him and said Tom
22:59
they're getting married. If they start
23:00
having kids up there
23:02
you know, they they may not come back.
23:04
Oh, no kidding. If that's the case, I'll
23:06
never forget. I That's how it sort of
23:08
plays out in my So, that that's how you
23:09
remember, right? Mom comes to the dad
23:11
going, "If you let our boys stay in
23:13
Chicago, we're not going to be good
23:15
here." You got Okay. Okay, I got you.
23:17
I'm sure that's not play-by-play, but
23:18
that's I like that story, you know.
23:20
>> Great story. So, I'm not going to ask.
23:21
>> Yeah, for it.
23:23
Um so,
23:24
uh got to meet with our chief credit
23:26
officer at the time at Star, and and we
23:28
had a
23:29
an open credit analyst position at the
23:31
time. Another family rule is you got to
23:33
be qualified for the position that that
23:35
you apply for, and we're not going to
23:37
create a position for you. Yeah, I was
23:38
going to ask that question, right? So,
23:40
coming back into the family business,
23:41
you're not just going to get slotted
23:43
into some role that's made up. It's got
23:45
to be something in the business,
23:46
legitimate need, and you're qualified
23:48
for it, right? And so, this is a
23:50
qualified role for you, and I'm just I'm
23:52
just curious though, so your wife though
23:54
is from Illinois.
23:56
You now have to go tell her parents,
23:58
"Hey, by the way, I'm I'm taking your
23:59
daughter to Indiana, right?" How did
24:01
that conversation go? Fortunately, it
24:03
was the the the groundwork was laid
24:05
about Flint, right? So, there were
24:06
conversations about future interests,
24:08
desire. I'd say
24:10
uh and my wife's father, very savvy
24:14
businessman, and and, you know, uh
24:17
and so, he would always ask, "What's the
24:18
future?" He would In fact, you know,
24:20
lots of Sunday mornings uh
24:22
or Saturday mornings, he would say,
24:24
"Hey, I'm working on this inside of the
24:25
business." And
24:27
"Would you mind taking I'm trying to
24:28
find 3 cents per meal."
24:30
>> He was in He was in uh senior living.
24:32
Oh, so no kidding. He said, "We we don't
24:34
We're not skimping on quality. We're
24:35
not, you know, but but how can we find 3
24:37
cents per meal?" Cuz if we do that times
24:39
uh number of meals per day times the
24:41
number of residents per day times the,
24:43
you know, our locations, this is the
24:44
impact can make. And so,
24:47
uh was really fortunate uh to be able to
24:49
to spend some I was not qualified to
24:50
answer that question, and he knew that.
24:52
>> Yeah. Uh but he was he was mentoring me
24:54
and and and trying to understand how do
24:56
I think and and how can you challenge
24:58
me? How how awesome is that, right? So
25:00
so okay, so so you got a you got a
25:02
girlfriend up there, you guys are
25:03
engaged, her parents are awesome, and
25:06
they're okay cuz you've kind of laid the
25:07
groundwork, right? Cuz you're you're in
25:09
sales, you're you're essentially you're
25:11
speaking this into life, you're going to
25:13
close this deal, I want to marry your
25:14
daughter, she's coming home with me.
25:17
Okay, so after a year up there, you end
25:20
up coming back down to start getting
25:22
started. What was that role again? So
25:24
that role was a credit analyst role.
25:25
Okay, and
25:27
and so it's it's underwriting our
25:28
commercial loans.
25:30
Uh and so I knew [clears throat] I had a
25:31
couple cousins that were in the
25:32
commercial line of business, they were
25:34
commercial bankers.
25:35
>> Okay.
25:36
And got to see them,
25:37
you know, at family functions, talk
25:39
about what they do, those kinds of
25:40
things, and how much they were enjoying
25:42
it. And then just really hearing about
25:44
Star trying to grow, right? Trying to to
25:46
expand particularly
25:48
in the Indianapolis and surrounding
25:50
areas. And so
25:51
we had just opened
25:53
a new office Keystone Crossing. Okay.
25:57
It's it's now where Lucas Oil's
25:58
headquarters just been remodeled. So we
26:00
were in that building for 15 years. And
26:02
um
26:03
and so started as a credit credit
26:05
analyst. So
26:06
I was working with our commercial
26:07
bankers underwriting deals and
26:10
and trying to be helpful there. So
26:11
again, back to role, I was trying to
26:13
understand how do I define success in
26:16
this role? How do I know if I'm through?
26:17
I know if I'm getting better. How do I
26:18
know if I'm making an impact on the
26:19
organization? And
26:21
through conversations with, you know,
26:23
folks in our credit department, but also
26:24
then you know, the bankers out in in our
26:26
sales leadership,
26:28
uh
26:29
customers care about
26:31
how quickly do they get an answer? Mhm.
26:33
>> And how quickly do they get their money?
26:35
Yeah, right. What do you want? Yeah,
26:37
right. Right. Um and and so if that's
26:41
the case, then then I need a quality
26:43
product as quickly as I can get it done.
26:46
Yeah. And so my measurement of success
26:49
was
26:50
are our bankers going to request that I
26:52
underwrite their deals for them. Okay.
26:55
Cuz cuz ultimately the banker goes out,
26:57
talks to the clients. They need somebody
26:59
to get the underwriting done. And they
27:00
have a choice. Not necessarily a choice
27:02
that I would have had Yeah, all right.
27:03
So, they go into the queue and then the
27:04
queue gets sort of assigned out. Okay.
27:06
Uh but my goal was if if I
27:09
if they're asking for for me to
27:10
underwrite their deal, then then that is
27:13
that's a compliment.
27:14
>> Of course it is, right? Right at that
27:15
point, right? Uh and so was able to do
27:18
that and then and then was able to
27:19
interact heavily with our bankers. So,
27:21
the other success metric was if that's
27:23
what I want to do,
27:25
uh how do I spend more time with them?
27:27
Okay, proximity effect if you're So, uh
27:30
then the goal was how do I get on more
27:32
sales calls with these folks and and
27:33
have a credit mind, you know, ask them
27:35
questions and and and understand the
27:37
business so I can come back and help the
27:39
the banker present the deal internally
27:41
and and and and hopefully we can get,
27:43
you know, good approval and go win the
27:45
deal. Yeah, sure. And create a strong
27:47
relationship uh our kind of customer.
27:49
So,
27:50
had some fun doing that. Game plan
27:51
typically in that role is 2 years, 18
27:54
months 2 years.
27:55
Then if we have an opening for a
27:57
commercial banker, you know, you you you
27:59
go do do that, see if you can make it on
28:01
the on the business generation and and
28:03
client service side of business. And uh
28:07
this was, you know, through the
28:08
recession and so you know, not a ton of
28:10
of economic activity happening and loan
28:13
growth happening. And so
28:14
uh
28:15
uh had an opportunity My my dad and Jim
28:19
and Tom Mark Selling, they are our
28:20
business partners, uh
28:22
came to me and said, "Hey, we don't have
28:23
this opportunity, but we we really
28:25
appreciate what you're doing and uh we'd
28:27
like to ask you to lead the group of of
28:28
credit analysts." Okay, with time. All
28:30
right.
28:31
Uh so really went from, you know, from
28:34
being uh
28:35
you know, peers of my co-workers to the
28:38
next day, you know, on the on the
28:40
business hierarchy chart, right? Uh
28:43
you know, being their boss, which you
28:45
You is not a term that I that I, you
28:47
know, really resonate with, right? It's
28:49
It's how do we
28:50
how do we work together to to accomplish
28:52
our goals and and get done what we get
28:53
done. So, uh really it was the first
28:55
opportunity for for me to uh
28:58
to uh to see if that lives out in the
29:00
world, right? It works on a basketball
29:01
court. Yeah, sure.
29:03
But does it work in your business world?
29:05
Yeah. And so, fortunately, we had a
29:06
great team.
29:08
Uh our predecessor had built a great
29:09
team. And so, we we uh we had some fun.
29:13
We tried to increase our process. We
29:14
tried to measure our turnaround time.
29:16
Can we Can we hold ourselves
29:17
accountable? And then yeah, we Can we
29:19
really measure success within our group?
29:21
Um and develop, you know, tracks good
29:23
talent and uh and develop our existing
29:25
team and and have some fun, you know,
29:28
while we're at it. So, did that for a
29:29
couple years and then uh you know, we we
29:31
were starting to grow.
29:33
Uh this you know, there's more activity
29:34
going on in the marketplace and uh uh
29:37
was asked to go, you know, to go be a
29:39
commercial banker. You know,
29:41
so I was ready. Right. So, so ultimately
29:42
it it at that point when you first came
29:44
into the business, was commercial
29:46
banking where you wanted to get to as
29:47
kind of as soon as possible?
29:49
>> Yeah. Okay. All right. So, now you're
29:50
you're in that position, but this was
29:53
also the first time really you've led a
29:54
team, right? Is that Is that correct in
29:56
your career? So, working with those
29:58
folks, leading that team, and and kind
30:00
of putting those processes in place,
30:02
obviously, you were successful. Then
30:04
moving into commercial banking, what's
30:05
that look like for you? How does that
30:07
change and do you like that as you as
30:09
you thought you would? I had no idea
30:10
what I right what I
30:12
just signed up for, right? Except for
30:13
this what I wanted to do. Right, because
30:15
I enjoyed so much interacting with our
30:18
customers, right? And learning, you
30:21
know,
30:22
how how did they go come up with the
30:24
idea, right? If they started the
30:25
business or uh what what attracted them
30:28
to the business if they purchased it or
30:30
as a as a next generation family member,
30:32
you know, what you know, why are they in
30:34
the business? So, that curiosity just uh
30:38
ruled my decision. Sure, that's where I
30:40
want to be, right? And so, but you go
30:42
from credit where it's
30:44
you know, you got 20 deals you're
30:45
working on and you sort of take the one
30:47
off the top, do your best to get it to
30:49
get it worked through to the best of
30:51
your ability and as quickly as you can
30:53
and and hand it off and then then you
30:55
turn to take the next one off the stack.
30:56
Yeah.
30:57
>> Right.
30:57
Uh
30:58
to having no stack Right.
31:01
>> having no customer base. They they sort
31:03
of came and said, "Hey, you're not going
31:04
to have We're not going to give you a
31:04
portfolio. You need to go, you know,
31:07
earn your stripes out here and learn
31:09
it." Uh
31:10
if if you want to and I said, "Heck
31:12
yeah, I'll do it. Let's go and try this
31:13
thing out." Uh and so, you go from no
31:15
customers, no no workload to process
31:18
>> Yeah. Um and an empty calendar. No
31:21
kidding.
31:22
How How's this going to go?
31:23
>> Yeah. Probably the the the the most
31:27
at least one of the most fun times in my
31:29
career of just how do you figure this
31:31
out? And you learn pretty quickly that
31:32
you don't do it by yourself. Yeah,
31:34
right. And so,
31:35
great leader of that team and mentor
31:38
and then it's several others across the
31:40
organization and outside the
31:41
organization that again, who who do you
31:43
want to be like and and not necessarily
31:45
other other bankers outside Star, but
31:48
who are we going to work well with,
31:50
right? And go build relationships and um
31:53
I often tell young bankers uh
31:56
you know,
31:57
go Star is more than happy to buy a
31:59
hundred cups of coffee for you to meet a
32:01
hundred different people, right?
32:03
>> Right. Um
32:04
and you don't know who you're going to
32:05
connect with necessarily,
32:07
uh but when you find, you know, those
32:08
those connections uh you're really able
32:10
to support each other and help each
32:12
other out Yeah. From a from a referral
32:14
and networking perspective and then
32:16
um you're likely going to bump into a to
32:18
a few good, you know, customers that you
32:20
can start a relationship with as well.
32:22
So,
32:23
uh so, just really that was the the
32:24
probably the most challenging time in my
32:26
career, but also one of the most
32:28
rewarding yeah, as well. So, did that
32:30
for six years. We We our whole team had
32:32
success um
32:34
significant uh you know, within our the
32:37
Indianapolis area with the brand that
32:38
didn't have a ton of
32:40
of recognition at that point. Um
32:43
and the head of our commercial bank uh
32:46
after after being a banker for 6 years
32:49
uh was ready to retire. Okay. And so um
32:52
he along with uh my dad and and Jim
32:55
Markselly came to me and said, "Hey,
32:58
you know,
32:58
you're probably not ready for this one
33:00
on paper. Yeah. Uh but you've got a
33:02
great team around you. You've got the
33:05
support of your dad and I
33:08
um and we'd like to give you this
33:09
opportunity if if you're willing to take
33:11
it and if you're willing to lean into
33:12
the the help of it that is around you."
33:14
And so
33:16
um jumped in there and uh uh I
33:20
had a blast with that as well. And and
33:21
again, had a great team. My my my goal
33:24
was not, you know,
33:26
prove something to the organization. My
33:28
goal was
33:29
we we have a great team already. My
33:31
predecessor built a great team. So,
33:34
how do we optimize it, right? Where
33:35
where are the hurdles, you know, that
33:37
are that exist in the organization
33:38
today? Uh what what's our market um
33:41
presence? Uh what you know, what do they
33:43
think about us? What do our prospects
33:45
think about us? And how do we sort of
33:47
fine-tune that to, Yeah. um
33:50
uh to help overcome some of those, you
33:51
know, uh some of those hurdles. And so,
33:54
really work together to to make tweaks,
33:55
right? It's not massive redirection.
33:58
It's not big strategic shifts. It's
33:59
really tweaks and fine-tuning. Sure. We
34:02
are who we are.
34:02
>> Yeah. Uh to help, you know, accelerate
34:05
that growth. So, now you're the point
34:06
guard of the team, right? You're getting
34:08
people Yeah, you got the right people on
34:09
team, get them in the right positions,
34:11
right? And helping them just a little
34:12
bit to make sure they're open and and
34:14
help them, right? So, so is that that's
34:16
the role you're in today is the
34:17
president role? So, so then about 2 and
34:20
1/2 years ago, my dad uh
34:23
partially retired. Okay. Uh his role at
34:25
the time was was president, you know, of
34:27
Star
34:28
Bank as an organization. And so, uh you
34:31
know, similar conversation. They came to
34:32
me and said, "Hey, if if you're you
34:34
know, if you're willing to to I see. So,
34:36
the role before was right before you
34:38
became the president. Yeah, I got you.
34:39
That was commercial banking folks. Yes,
34:41
and so now
34:42
now I'm I'm working
34:44
with all of our lines of business and uh
34:47
uh
34:48
and a lot of other family members as
34:50
well. Which is a lot of fun. We've got
34:52
between
34:53
um third and fourth generation, uh there
34:56
are eight of us. No kidding.
34:57
>> Across our 470 teammate base and uh and
35:00
so it's a blast to work with fam with
35:03
Let me let me rewind.
35:05
We're not blood related.
35:06
But we have been business partners for
35:08
83 years. Yeah, so that that's fam and
35:10
so is that that's as close as you get to
35:12
that, right?
35:13
>> Apparently. And you know, we often say
35:15
across the organization
35:17
um the Star family and that doesn't mean
35:20
uh the Markacelli family and the Wright
35:22
family. That means teammates across our
35:24
organization and it it's so fun for me
35:26
to hear
35:28
uh our teammates, you know, say they
35:29
feel like family or they say, "I'm so
35:31
glad I get to be a part of the Star
35:32
family." And and to me that's rewarding
35:34
because that's the culture we're trying
35:36
to create, right? And and and we think
35:39
that just correlates so much with
35:40
community banking. Of course it does,
35:42
right? Cuz you're part of people's
35:44
families. You're helping small
35:45
businesses and owners and be able to
35:48
support their clients and support their
35:49
employees and that's all about fam,
35:51
right?
35:52
That's awesome. All right, so president
35:54
of Star Bank, but I mean, I guess maybe
35:57
let's talk a little bit about Star.
35:59
What's unique about you guys? Culture
36:01
sounds unique, but maybe just about the
36:03
people you serve and growth and kind of
36:05
where you guys are going in the future.
36:06
Yeah. Yeah, 83 years old, uh founded in
36:09
Upland, Indiana. So, uh home of Taylor
36:12
University, right? Um
36:15
but the reason we were founded there is
36:16
actually my great grandfather Ceola
36:19
Wright, who's the S in the acronym of
36:21
Star. So, Ceola, Tom, Art, and Ralph
36:24
were the four founders. There you go. Uh
36:26
and our employee base, our teammates,
36:29
uh in the mid-90s when the when the
36:31
banking laws changed and you could
36:33
consolidate into one holding company, we
36:35
had a naming contest and we asked our
36:37
teammates to submit, you know, submit
36:39
names that that we could possibly become
36:41
as we try to
36:42
identify as something together as
36:44
opposed to,
36:45
you know, 12 separate institutions back
36:47
in the day.
36:48
And Star is is what came out of no kid
36:51
out of that contest. And so,
36:53
really really cool legacy, really cool,
36:55
you know, story of how we got there.
36:58
Uh
36:59
My great-grandfather went to work for
37:01
the Marcellis in the trucking business.
37:03
They owned a trucking business in
37:05
Marion, Indiana. And
37:07
those they had some success together,
37:09
you know, working together,
37:11
but not necessarily ownership together,
37:13
right? Well, my great-grandfather was
37:15
from Upland, Indiana.
37:17
The little town The little bank in in
37:19
Upland was failing at the time in 1943
37:21
and
37:22
uh Cila uh you know, didn't want to see
37:25
his little his little community go
37:26
without a without a bank. And so, uh
37:29
talked with the with the Marcellis and
37:31
said, "Hey, but this we've been
37:32
successful working together here. Let's
37:34
go try to be successful owning something
37:36
together
37:37
in the banking industry." And so,
37:40
you know, for less than $30,000, they
37:42
they bought this bank in 1943 and and
37:47
you know, we're 37 locations these days
37:49
plus a fleet of
37:52
nearly 80 ITMs. We call them Orbeez, but
37:55
it's effectively a video banking machine
37:57
that's goes more than an ATM.
37:59
Uh we've got the largest fleet in the
38:01
state of Indiana of those. And we're up
38:03
to, you know, over 3.2 billion in assets
38:06
today. And so, really fun story, you
38:09
know, technology's always been really
38:11
really important to us. Uh
38:13
Uh before laws changed, we had a back
38:15
office company that we basically
38:18
had common ownership of, but we
38:20
outsourced a lot of our back office work
38:22
into this service center and that was
38:24
pretty cutting edge for the time. Back
38:27
in those days each bank had their own
38:29
departments that would function
38:31
in those roles. We thought we could gain
38:34
some efficiency, right, by creating
38:35
that. Uh
38:37
So, we did that. We we were one of the
38:38
first to
38:39
image your checks, you know, and your
38:41
and your email statements back in the
38:42
day and then like I said to you know,
38:44
today that translates into how we serve
38:46
our customers, you know, from a
38:48
technology perspective. Both
38:50
online banking but also through our Orbi
38:52
machines. No no kidding, right? So, but
38:54
$30,000 purchase back in the 40s to $3.2
38:57
billion in assets today. Fairly decent
39:00
size growth sure. Uh pretty good. And
39:01
you said 80 some locations? Yeah, 37
39:04
locations. 37 and like 80 of the of the
39:06
Orbi machines. Well, that's awesome. All
39:08
right. So, you talked a little bit about
39:10
technology and you guys have always
39:11
been, you know, maybe ahead of the curve
39:14
in some cases.
39:15
Tech is changing rapidly, right? And so,
39:18
today as you think about the banking
39:20
business and what you guys are doing,
39:22
are there some things happening or you
39:23
think will happen in the banking
39:25
business? Obviously, nobody has a magic
39:27
eight balls, right? But and everybody
39:29
uses the term AI a million times a day.
39:31
But where do you kind of see things
39:32
going from a tech perspective?
39:35
Yeah, we we think well, our big focus in
39:37
26 and and likely 27 and beyond
39:41
is really around, you know, automation,
39:43
right? In in some cases that use that
39:45
uses AI, in some cases it's it's it's,
39:48
you know, it's it's other technology to
39:50
help us automate.
39:51
And [clears throat] so, in our minds,
39:53
you know,
39:54
the reason for automation
39:57
is so that our teammates can spend more
39:59
time on you know, value add activity.
40:01
That's right. And so, if we're a
40:03
community bank and if our focus is on
40:04
serving our customers and our
40:05
communities really well,
40:07
um let's
40:09
let's try to get the ratio of a day of
40:12
the the amount of time in a given day
40:13
that our teammates get to spend on
40:16
uh activities that are are with our
40:17
customers or are really helping our
40:19
customers. Uh how can we do that? So
40:21
That's right. So just a huge um
40:23
push for automation and efficiency. One,
40:26
I think accuracy is there as well,
40:28
right? So the customer gets some value
40:29
from uh
40:31
from that side of things, too. But um
40:33
and then, you know, from a from a really
40:35
practical use case, you know, our teams
40:37
are using it for you know, agenda prep,
40:40
right? Um how can it be a strategic
40:42
partner in terms of, you know, Copilot
40:43
and whatnot. Um
40:46
How do you you know, one of my favorite
40:47
use cases, you know, in real time is is
40:49
just here's who's in the meeting.
40:52
Uh here's the players, right? This is an
40:53
internal meeting. Here's the players.
40:54
Here's the agenda. Here's what we're
40:56
trying to accomplish. Uh
40:58
uh
40:59
Where do you think the conversation may
41:01
stall? And what questions can we ask to
41:04
to stretch to try to uh
41:06
re-engage them once and get conversation
41:07
going or where do you envision the
41:10
uh the biggest challenges or or or most
41:12
uncomfortable parts of these meetings,
41:13
right? And what are some strategies to
41:15
help us, you know, work through those
41:17
including, you know, some some pre-work
41:19
and surveys that might that might help
41:21
in that case. And so um
41:23
instead of, you know, an individual
41:24
trying to come up with all that stuff on
41:26
their own, right? It's it's spit it in,
41:27
spit it out, uh uh tweak it, understand
41:30
it, ask seven more questions and get to
41:32
something that's really useful. Yeah.
41:34
Now it's terrific and I've heard this a
41:36
lot from a lot of leaders. It it's
41:38
there's a lot of things that we need to
41:40
be able to do as a human. I was talking
41:42
to somebody the other day that's they're
41:43
taking care um and they've got nurses,
41:46
right? And so the nurses are out working
41:49
with patients and they want them at the
41:50
bedside, but they're having to do so
41:52
many other things at the computer. Well,
41:54
if we could automate some of those
41:55
things, they can provide better service,
41:57
right? It's no different than any other
41:59
business. There's pieces where we need
42:01
to be more human with our clients. And
42:03
if we had instead of 4 hours a day to do
42:06
it, if we just had six, right? What are
42:08
those two other hours we can do? Yeah.
42:10
And so it's great to hear you guys talk
42:11
about, you know, automation and and AI
42:14
and different things. But to really
42:16
supercharge, you know, you you call them
42:17
family members, supercharge the family
42:20
members so they can serve the clients
42:22
cuz ultimately that's what you're there
42:23
for, yeah, right? And so it's terrific
42:25
to hear that from a tech perspective. Um
42:28
thinking about community.
42:30
All right, so going into community and
42:32
obviously you guys are a big part of the
42:34
community and serving the community. But
42:36
I know you also have uh some ties to
42:38
some nonprofits. So I'm just curious,
42:40
when you think about the community,
42:41
what's that look like for you and who
42:43
you out working with and serving these
42:44
days? Yeah. Yeah, so from a business
42:46
perspective, you hit the nail on the
42:47
head, right? That's why we exist. It's
42:49
one of our core values is community
42:51
involvement, right? And so uh you know,
42:53
our teammates, you you know, are
42:55
expected to uh be a part of their
42:57
community and and and that doesn't mean
42:59
uh you know, open their mailbox and shut
43:02
their garage door where they pull in the
43:03
pull in the garage. It means It means
43:05
how can you make it a better place? How
43:07
can you help What's your skill set? What
43:09
Where do you find that value to help
43:10
make it a better place? And you know,
43:12
sometimes that's dollars, but more often
43:13
than that it's it's thought leadership
43:15
and it's and it's time. Time. Yeah. And
43:17
so um you know, how I incorporate that
43:20
into to to to my day these days, uh one
43:23
is
43:24
uh
43:25
I've got three kids and we'll probably
43:27
talk a little bit about family, but
43:28
yeah, I'm
43:29
I've got three daughters that are just
43:30
absolutely awesome and have had a chance
43:33
to coach all three of of them through
43:34
their various Carmel Dads Club, you
43:36
know, teams and and through they go to
43:38
Heritage Christian schools. And so they
43:40
you know, their basketball teams and
43:41
stuff. And just the ability to uh
43:44
live what, you know, in some ways my dad
43:46
lived in being my coach.
43:48
>> Yeah, coming back around.
43:49
>> Coming back around just has been a
43:51
blast. And so, you know, having that
43:53
some of that relationship with them, but
43:55
then also getting to know their friends.
43:57
>> Sure, yeah. Yeah. And and uh you know,
44:00
um
44:01
I try to keep up with the you know, with
44:03
the lingo. Yeah, of course you do,
44:04
right? So is there a good way to do it?
44:06
Remind me, so the age of your three
44:08
daughters? Yes, we've got our oldest
44:10
will be 14 here in about 30 days and
44:12
then we've got a 12-year-old and an
44:14
8-year-old.
44:15
>> Okay, so this is some some serious
44:17
basketball. Yeah, so that's a lot of
44:19
fun.
44:19
>> Yeah, so it's it's fun and they're in
44:20
all different activities, right?
44:23
Not just basketball but everything from
44:24
horseback riding and viola and softball
44:26
and basketball and soccer, which my wife
44:28
grew up playing really kind of soccer
44:30
and so
44:31
we we we are
44:33
we're running a lot of places a lot of
44:34
times but we're we're absolutely, you
44:37
know, leaning in and enjoying being
44:39
stressed out and and on the run and and
44:42
and laughing and joking and trying to
44:44
win and being competitive and intense
44:46
and and and then going home and saying,
44:48
you know, we love you guys and who cares
44:50
what happened on the court? Do your
44:51
best.
44:51
>> Do your best. Try to get better, be a
44:52
good teammate, and how do we move on and
44:54
learn, right? So So that's kind of on
44:56
the, you know, on the fun front for sure
44:58
and then the two probably most
45:00
passionate, you know, uh in the
45:02
community
45:04
organizations that I'm fortunate to be a
45:06
part of is is Providence Cristo Rey High
45:08
School here in Indianapolis and so uh
45:10
talk about team. I mean that that that
45:13
school has got an absolutely fantastic
45:15
team. Uh the board is really engaged and
45:18
leaning in to to ultimately serve the
45:21
students, which are the most important,
45:23
you know, of our organization. Yeah, so
45:25
it's been fun. We we uh
45:27
we host three students as a part of that
45:29
corporate work-study program and so uh
45:31
if anybody doesn't know about Providence
45:33
Cristo Rey or that corporate work-study
45:35
program, uh the school's always looking
45:37
for for businesses to
45:39
um you know, to hire and and sponsor uh
45:41
students as as that pays for part of the
45:43
the tuition of of the school. So I just
45:47
just very fortunate to be a
45:49
small part of of what that school's
45:51
doing and and continues to grow and um
45:54
and really uh help provide an
45:55
environment for these students to yeah,
45:57
to flourish. The stories are amazing
45:59
coming out of there. It's Tyler, I
46:01
think, is the the president running the
46:03
school and Fred Yakey and all those
46:05
guys. Terrific individuals. The program
46:08
is really cool. The kids that you get a
46:10
chance to interact with,
46:12
you know, I showed up at that facility 4
46:14
or 5 years ago to see Fred. I remember
46:17
walking around and seeing the students
46:19
kind of look at me in the eyes, shake my
46:21
hand, say hello, tell me who they were,
46:23
what year they were, maybe where they
46:25
were going to go to school or where they
46:26
were working.
46:27
You know, when I compare that to some of
46:29
the other schools that my kids have gone
46:30
to, a lot of kids kind of look down at
46:32
their own shoes, they have a hard time
46:34
saying hello. I was just so impressed
46:37
with with the quality of the education
46:40
that that I saw down there. So, that's
46:42
cool that you're part of that. How long
46:43
have you been on that board? Yeah, so
46:45
I've I've been involved with the
46:46
corporate work study side for probably 5
46:48
years or so. Okay. And then
46:51
just joined the the school board. Okay.
46:54
A 6 months ago. Excellent. All right,
46:56
good on you. That's terrific. And then
46:58
and then secondly,
46:59
um, uh, part of a kind of a branch off
47:02
of Taylor University. So, uh, it's
47:04
called 1846 Enterprises, which 1846 is
47:07
the year that Taylor was founded.
47:09
And, um, the goal there really is, uh,
47:12
you know, Taylor exists in the community
47:14
of Upland. Right? And so, uh, it should
47:17
be one, not separate. Mhm. And so,
47:19
Taylor has recently won some, uh, recent
47:22
awards and accolades. I think they call
47:23
town and gown relationship, right? So,
47:25
the university to the community
47:27
relationship. But, uh, they've leaned
47:29
in, uh, President Lindsay, um, and his
47:32
team have really leaned into, okay,
47:34
cool, we won that award, now what? What
47:36
else? Right? And so, uh, the the group
47:39
that I'm a part of is really an economic
47:40
development arm, uh, that's that's
47:43
really trying to to bring, uh, some some
47:45
retail and some businesses and and
47:47
hospitality and and more single family
47:50
living,
47:51
um, to the community of Upland and help
47:53
us sort of that the totality grow
47:54
together. Okay. That's awesome. So,
47:56
you've got that So, that you've got that
47:58
going on Providence Cristo Rey. I think
48:00
also maybe something with the zoo is I
48:02
serve on the Indianapolis Zoo board as
48:03
well which is which is really fun and
48:05
and you know to get to see you know what
48:08
what goes on behind the scenes and how
48:10
the decisions are made and what's the
48:11
strategic direction
48:13
to provide you know one of the best zoos
48:15
in the country not just the Midwest or
48:17
other states or our communities our size
48:19
but one of the best zoos in the country.
48:21
Of course. It's been really fun. Yeah,
48:23
that's awesome. All right, so a lot of a
48:24
lot of community involvement which is
48:26
again makes a lot of sense when you
48:28
think about the business that you're in
48:29
your community business, right? All
48:31
right, so we've talked a little bit of
48:33
family and we know three we know three
48:34
girls. We know you married the your best
48:36
friend from college at Hanover College.
48:38
How many years at Hanover College? How
48:39
many years you guys been married? We've
48:41
been married we got married in 2008 so
48:43
we're about to come up on 18 years here.
48:45
Oh my gosh, good for you guys. That's
48:46
awesome. All right, so we talked kids we
48:48
talked
48:49
a little bit of family we talked
48:50
community. How about fun? Right? So I'm
48:53
imagining with three kids and all the
48:55
different sports and events is fun
48:57
chasing those kids around these days.
48:59
What are you guys doing for fun? The
49:00
quantity of time yes for sure and you
49:03
know and just
49:05
again back to the theme of community the
49:07
teams that we you know have been a part
49:09
of and the other parents and and the
49:12
great kids you know that that are
49:14
teammates of our kids have been a lot of
49:16
fun. We we're fortunate to have a lot of
49:18
family around here. So
49:21
unfortunately my my father-in-law passed
49:23
away several years ago. So so he's not
49:26
with us but the rest of of my wife's
49:28
family
49:30
is here and and my mother my mother
49:31
remarried and so we've got just this
49:33
this close-knit family both sides
49:36
hers and mine that are together so we
49:38
spend a lot of time that's awesome with
49:40
with family and then
49:42
I I don't suit up on the basketball
49:44
court anymore
49:46
too many
49:47
I always blame it on I saw too many
49:49
injuries in adult church league but I
49:50
think uh
49:52
the reality is
49:53
uh my level of competitiveness and my
49:57
skill level, reaction time, and
50:00
um
50:01
likelihood of injury all be attributed
50:03
to the the to the uh no longer playing
50:05
in those leagues, but
50:06
um
50:07
so now how how do you how do you find
50:09
that outlet, right? You're still that
50:11
competitive juice and drive and
50:12
business, so it's great and and you
50:14
know, you know, trying to uh be a good
50:16
dad and and husband and and all those
50:19
things, you know, uh
50:21
definitely correlate, but uh the golf
50:23
course is where the the competitive
50:24
juice goes now.
50:25
>> Okay, good idea. Yeah, yeah, I had five
50:27
kids. I had too much going on to be able
50:29
to play golf, but I remember distinctly
50:31
the last time I played, you know, a
50:32
church league basketball game.
50:34
We were playing, I came home, and and I
50:36
was a little bit sore, and my wife,
50:38
Kelly, she was uh "So, how'd you do?" I
50:39
said, "Well, you know, I I said I I cut
50:41
off a an angle, I stole the ball, I took
50:44
it down, and I dunked it." She goes,
50:46
"Really?" I said, "No, I went for the
50:48
steal, the kid went back door, and he
50:50
beat me by three steps, and he dunked
50:51
it."
50:52
And uh and I I remember saying, "I think
50:54
I'm done." I don't cuz in my mind, I
50:56
totally made the play. I mean, I
50:58
I my body could not get it done. But my
51:00
mind, I knew what I was going to do.
51:01
Exactly. And I'm like, "Well, I think
51:03
I'm finished." And so, she goes,
51:04
"Really?" I go, "Yeah, I think I'm
51:05
pretty well done."
51:06
And uh but it was a lot of fun playing.
51:08
Like you said, there's got to be
51:09
something you can do, and you pour into
51:11
your kids, and pour into work, and
51:13
uh now pickleball is all the thing. So,
51:16
we just got pickleball rackets, all
51:18
right? So, I guess we're going to be
51:19
pickleball players here, which is going
51:20
to be fun. So, but uh terrific story,
51:23
man, as you think through, you know,
51:24
your journey going from high school
51:26
playing basketball,
51:28
earning a spot on the team, you know,
51:30
having the highest percentage in uh
51:32
three-point, you know, uh accuracy in
51:35
college from not being able to shoot
51:36
well in high school, but you can see a
51:38
lot of those things in your journey from
51:41
sports correlating into the business
51:44
world and your leadership. And so, it's
51:46
just it's just awesome to hear your
51:47
story and uh congrats on everything you
51:49
guys are doing. Cool business, great
51:51
story and I appreciate you being on the
51:52
show. Thank you. Appreciate you having
51:54
me on, too. Thank you. It's fun.