Latest / Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden / Elevate Ep 75: Paul Gifford, Chief Investment Officer of Wealth Advisory Services at 1st Source Bank

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Elevate Ep 75: Paul Gifford, Chief Investment Officer of Wealth Advisory Services at 1st Source Bank · Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden

• 0:02
  Welcome to the Elevate podcast where
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  every leader has a story.
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  We bring you conversations with
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  influential leaders who are shaping our
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  local communities.
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  Hear about their path to leadership
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  and experiences that define them.
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  And how they're driving meaningful
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  impact today.
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  >> Hey everybody, Jason Alm here for
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  another episode of the Elevate powered
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  by Braden podcast.
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  This one's going to be an awful lot of
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  fun. Had a good conversation a little
• 0:27
  while back with this individual and
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  thankful that they made the trek down
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  from South Bend. But Paul, welcome to
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  the show.
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  >> Uh it's great to be here and uh it's
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  always nice to get an invite.
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  >> Absolutely. Love that. All right, so
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  let's give everybody the company and
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  title and then we'll get back and talk
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  about your journey.
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  >> I am with First Source Bank and I'm the
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  Chief Investment Officer of the Wealth
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  Advisory Services team.
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  >> Excellent. I know that's where you are
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  today. We'll talk more about that, but
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  let's go back to the beginning. Where
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  you from originally?
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  >> Originally from Minnesota. Grew up in
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  God's country in northern
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  >> Minnesota's country in Minnesota. Did
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  you grow up on a I mean a lake?
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  Everybody grows up on a lake in there,
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  right?
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  >> You're saying no, my mom and dad's do
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  not have a lake. I'm all right.
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  >> All right, cuz everybody's up on the
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  water there. All right, so Minnesota uh
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  high school, thinking about going to
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  college. What were you thinking about
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  doing? Where did you think you were
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  going to go after you finish up high
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  school?
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  >> It's pretty fascinating. My mom and dad
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  moved uh quite a bit early on in our uh
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  lives and ultimately we ended up in
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  Cambridge, Minnesota, which is about an
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  hour north of Minneapolis.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> And at that time uh there'd always been
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  my dad's dream to open a grocery store.
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  He'd always been in the grocery
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  business. So him, my mom, him, and they
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  found a business partner. Uh they opened
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  up a grocery store as I started my 10th
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  grade year.
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  >> No kidding.
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  >> And so we moved to Cambridge and
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  my dad and mom didn't realize how big of
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  an impact that would ultimately have on
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  my life.
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  >> Really?
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  >> Yeah, uh
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  eventually we'll talk about management
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  things, but that was kind of my first
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  experience in management. Uh but dad
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  made it made uh all the kids work at the
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  grocery store, right? And we'd do the
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  night management and balance books and
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  close out registers and uh things like
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  so that. So,
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  getting to deal with the public was a
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  great experience, getting a little bit
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  of that management experience. And
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  my dad always told me, uh if you're
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  going to be a manager, you have to know
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  how to do everything.
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> And then he gently said, you don't have
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  to have to do everything well.
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  You just have to be able to do
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  everything, right? Uh from that
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  perspective. So, we learned a lot of
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  cool things.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> Uh
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  personally and professionally though,
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  that's really the big changes. And you
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  know, I've uh the first high school
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  cashier that my mom hired uh was a woman
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  by the name of Karna Gifford. I met her
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  at the end of the fifth aisle of the
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  grocery store.
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  And as she was walking away, I told my
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  buddy, I'm like, I got to date her
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  sometime.
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  And about a year ago, we started dating.
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  And that's 42 years ago. No kidding.
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  Yeah, we dated for about 4 years, been
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  married almost 37. But that move put me
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  in the town where I met my wife.
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  >> Put you in the right place, and your dad
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  starts the company, gets you in there.
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  So, he actually set you to a What What a
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  great guy.
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  >> He's a great That's awesome.
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  >> Absolutely.
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  >> Uh he also did a second thing for my
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  career, which you which sounds odd at,
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  you know, 16 or 17 years old. But there
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  was a gentleman by the name of Bob
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  Heikel. He was a new investment rep in
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  uh Cambridge, Minnesota. And he was
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  calling on business owners. That's what
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  you do, right? You You need to grow
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  business, you sure do make calls. He
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  called them on my mom and dad.
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  And my dad's like, I just sunk
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  everything in this store. This is my
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  dream. I just put every penny. But my
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  son's shown some interest in investments
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  in the stock market and things. And he
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  goes, would it
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  you know, would you talk to him?
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  And Bob was more than gracious.
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  He took the time. I met with him one
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  time. And he goes, if you want to really
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  get the experience, uh let me talk to a
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  client and see if I can have you join me
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  in a client meeting. So, not only did do
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  Yeah, so we he got a client to say,
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  "Okay, I'm going to let this 17-year-old
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  >> Right.
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  >> sit in while we talk about investments.
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  And so, after those two experiences,
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  >> Wow.
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  >> hooked.
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  >> No kidding.
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  >> Now, did I think I'd end up as the chief
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  investment officer of a regional bank in
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  South Bend, Indiana? No.
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  >> Right. But, it was clearly the start of
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  >> No kidding.
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  >> that career potential.
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  I followed my wife to University of
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  Minnesota, Mankato.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> Uh which is now At that time it was
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  Mankato State. Uh she was a year year
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  ahead of me. Got my finance, insurance,
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  real estate designation, was the fire
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  designation for BAs.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> And
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  as part of that, the college experience
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  was pretty interesting. I got two unique
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  experiences.
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  Uh the first was with a a company called
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  IBS, became Ameriprise up in Minnesota.
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  Uh
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  gentleman, investment representative
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  again,
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  uh was personally tired of making cold
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  calls.
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  And so, he hired three of us or four of
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  us, can't remember the number. And we
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  literally called out of the phone book
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  for 6 weeks for him. So, we would go in
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  Tuesday nights and Wednesday nights from
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  6:00 to 8:00, and I'd start with the
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  letter I, and you'd take the first
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  letter, first name, and you'd call them.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> Back when you had a phone book.
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  >> That's right. And everybody had a home
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  phone.
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  >> Yeah, you were getting everybody at
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  home. But, you're calling at dinner
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  time, probably, around the I eat low,
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  right? Okay, so they probably were home
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  from work.
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  >> Home from work.
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  That's where I learned rejection does
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  not kill you. That's right.
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  In the a cold call thing, did that for 6
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  or 8 weeks until the Was there were
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  three or four of us got through the
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  entire phone book for him.
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  >> No kidding.
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  >> Got paid minimum wage, and if we
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  happened to get an appointment, then we
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  got a $10 bonus.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> Uh but, that was his way to get
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> people in in the room. So, that was
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  It was an interesting experience cuz you
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  you learn that rejection does not kill
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  you.
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  >> That's right. No, it was okay.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> It gets you one step closer to yes.
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  >> That's right.
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  From that perspective, the second one
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  was I had the opportunity to join First
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  Investors Corp, which is a New York
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  firm, but they had a local investment uh
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  program, and got my securities license
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  and things like that.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> That was quite a challenge being 20, 21
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  years old at that time, running around
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  trying to tell people how to invest
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  money.
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> They don't really trust you a whole lot.
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  It's only a wait a second, what do you
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  really know about life, you young man?
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  >> Yeah, that's right, yeah.
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  >> Exactly. And that first year, I think I
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  made $5,000.
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  Okay, that was before my time, travel
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  and expenses.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> It was pretty much a failure.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> From a a financial perspective.
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  >> Unbelievable. All right, so I want to go
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  back to high school, dad starts a
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  grocery store, you get a chance to work
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  in there. What great advice, you should
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  know how to do everything. You don't
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  necessarily have to do everything well,
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  but you should know how to do
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  everything. I really like that kind of
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  piece of advice he gave you. And then of
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  course, he created the opportunity to to
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  bring a young lady in that you'd end up
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  marrying. Thanks to Ed, appreciate you
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  that 42 years later, by the way. And
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  then going through, it was it's amazing
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  that somebody comes in in a cold call to
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  your dad, and then says, yeah, I'll
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  create an opportunity for you to come to
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  a meeting with me at 17, and takes you
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  in there to a client call, and hooks
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  you, that's just amazing, by the way.
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  All right, so you finally you finish up
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  college, and you get your degree, do all
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  these things. Where do you go next?
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  Like, where's the journey go?
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  >> Well, after First Investors, it's really
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  been the only job I ever quit, uh
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  because I wasn't going to make any money
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  doing what I was doing.
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  Uh
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  about six or eight weeks later, and I'm
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  at some employment center in our county,
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  and a job opening comes for Bremer Bank
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  in Marshall, Minnesota.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> And I applied for it, and fortunately
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  was hired as an administrative
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  assistant.
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  And back then, that means
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  typing up farm leases,
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  crop sharing deals, okay, and answering
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  the phone.
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  >> Got you.
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  >> Exactly what all investment
• 7:46
  professionals think that's how you
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  should start. So, when this started, you
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  were thinking that's exactly what I'm
• 7:50
  going to do.
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  >> Right. That's all right. Okay.
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  >> After about a year there,
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  the individual who did our trading desk,
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  who actually executes the trades on
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  behalf of the portfolio managers, took a
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  leave of absence
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  and decided not to return.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> And they knew I had my securities
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  license from the First Investors days.
• 8:09
  >> Yeah.
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  >> So, I had failed. I had that expertise
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  and knowledge. Sure, I came and I said,
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  "Why don't you come and run the trading
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  desk?" And then when that individual did
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  not return,
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  they said, "You're now our trader." And
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  also hit me. Now, I'm like, "Okay, now
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  we're on the right path."
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  >> Yeah, now you're doing what you want to
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  do.
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  >> Exactly. And then 6 months later, the
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  the good fortune continued. The head of
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  what is fixed income, or the more
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  conservative investments we make on
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  behalf of our clients, she had earned
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  her Chartered Financial Analyst
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  designation, and she left to work at
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  Northern Trust in Chicago. And they're
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  like, "Paul, you love all this math.
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  You kind of get nerdy about it.
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  Why don't you take on managing the fixed
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  income portfolios?" I'm 26 years old.
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> And I did that
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  for probably 3 or 4 years. My career
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  there really wasn't going to progress.
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  And that gave me an opportunity to do a
• 8:59
  little bit of job hunting at that time.
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  And uh
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  while at Bremer,
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  uh I had a great conversation with one
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  of my colleagues, and I mentioned the
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  woman that had left uh to go to another
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  job. They earned that Chartered
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  Financial Analyst designation. Uh had a
• 9:14
  great conversation with the head of
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  investments at that time, and he goes,
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  "You got to get an MBA or the CFA
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  designation."
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  And I'm like, "I love managing money.
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  That's a passion of mine." And he goes,
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  "Then you just go do the CFA." And
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  during that time at Bremer, it took me
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  uh five tries to pass three tests.
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  Uh
• 9:31
  back then, you could only take the test
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  annually. It's a 6-hour exam, and you
• 9:35
  either pass or fail, and then you wait
• 9:36
  till the next year.
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  >> Okay.
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  >> And so, 5 years later I got it and
• 9:41
  that was great and 12:30 I'm sorry,
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  12:24 of 1999
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  uh so, Christmas Eve 1999, I'm actually
• 9:49
  at work at Bremer and I'm looking on job
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  application sites and I found a job
• 9:54
  opening at First Source
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  uh in the investment area for wealth
• 9:58
  advisory services. And I literally cold
• 10:01
  called the head of investments, the
• 10:03
  chief investment officer there.
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  >> I'm used to getting a no. You run into
• 10:06
  cold calls, so that wasn't anything that
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  knows that going to kill you, but you
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  don't know unless you call. Pick up the
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  phone and make the call.
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  >> Absolutely love it. And that's what
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  happened and after Ralph Shyfe, who was
• 10:15
  the head of investments at that time
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  was unconfused finally after a 5-minute
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  explanation of what I did
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  he's like, "Why are you calling me on
• 10:23
  Christmas Eve?"
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  From that perspective, uh he actually
• 10:27
  invited me to do a phone interview on
• 10:30
  12:31 of 1999.
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  So
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  >> Yeah, right before.
• 10:34
  >> Yeah, just before Y2K.
• 10:36
  >> Yeah.
• 10:37
  >> Uh call right, we had
• 10:39
  in-depth conversation, we we bonded well
• 10:42
  together.
• 10:43
  Uh and he goes, "Assuming the world
• 10:44
  doesn't end when all the computers don't
• 10:46
  flip to the year 2000
• 10:49
  we'll have you out." And about 4 months
• 10:50
  later I joined uh First Source at that
• 10:53
  time as the head of fixed income for the
• 10:54
  team.
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  >> No kidding, by the way. I love the idea
• 10:56
  that you just cold called him on
• 10:57
  Christmas Eve. That's phenomenal. And
• 10:59
  the fact that they picked up is actually
• 11:00
  cool, too. So, but at this point, had
• 11:03
  you ever been to South Bend?
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  >> The answer is no, I'd never been in the
• 11:06
  state of Indiana.
• 11:07
  >> Never been in the state of Indiana. All
• 11:08
  right, so just out of the blue you see
• 11:09
  this, I'm going to call this is the role
• 11:11
  that's interesting to me. So, you show
• 11:13
  up in South Bend in 2000, right?
• 11:16
  >> Mhm.
• 11:16
  >> Now you're with First Source. What's the
• 11:19
  how does the how does your progression
• 11:21
  go there to what you're doing today?
• 11:23
  Tell me more about that.
• 11:24
  >> I
• 11:25
  I get to thank a couple individuals,
• 11:27
  Ralph who hired me and then Steve
• 11:29
  Wessel, who who the head of the wealth
• 11:31
  team at that time, uh really gave me a
• 11:33
  great opportunity. They They allowed me
• 11:35
  to develop my career. I got into uh
• 11:37
  managing some of our junior analysts.
• 11:39
  >> Mhm.
• 11:40
  >> Um during that time, Ralph taught me a
• 11:42
  tremendous amount about how to make
• 11:44
  better investment decisions, even though
• 11:46
  he was a stock picker per se and and ran
• 11:49
  our equity mutual funds. Uh that
• 11:51
  combination of what I did and him we we
• 11:53
  had some great conversation and I became
• 11:55
  a better investor on behalf of our
• 11:56
  clients
• 11:57
  during that time. And then he He also
• 12:00
  took some time to teach me a couple life
• 12:02
  lessons. And probably the one I remember
• 12:04
  most was uh about psychic income.
• 12:08
  So, I got paid last Friday. I'm going to
• 12:10
  get paid next Friday. We all get paid.
• 12:12
  You know, you know, you know, I get
• 12:13
  money in some electronic form mainly
• 12:15
  today.
• 12:16
  He goes, "What you don't realize about
• 12:18
  this position, Paul, is you're going to
• 12:19
  get psychic income."
• 12:22
  And being 32 years old, I'm like, "Huh?"
• 12:25
  >> Mhm.
• 12:26
  >> "What does that mean?" And it's the
• 12:30
  income or the feeling you get from
• 12:31
  building relationships.
• 12:34
  And the joy you get out of those or the
• 12:36
  reward or the thank you for that.
• 12:39
  And I've seen it over the years. I I've
• 12:41
  had the fortunate to work with some
• 12:43
  families now 20, 25 years and I'm on the
• 12:45
  third generation of the family, young
• 12:46
  kid with them. And that's personally
• 12:48
  rewarding. Of course it is. Uh to me and
• 12:51
  even had a situation had a client pass
• 12:53
  away a couple years ago and we basically
• 12:56
  got invited to the funeral.
• 12:58
  >> Wow. And that was touching.
• 13:00
  >> It was a pretty private funeral and and
• 13:02
  my wife and I got invited cuz we had
• 13:04
  built a relationship with her family.
• 13:06
  And so,
• 13:07
  I I try to teach these younger
• 13:09
  generation like, "Yes, you're going to
• 13:10
  get paid, but if you can get the psychic
• 13:13
  income out of what you do as well, it's
• 13:15
  truly a win."
• 13:16
  >> Wow. I One, I've never heard that term.
• 13:19
  That's actually pretty cool. I've heard
• 13:20
  psy- I've heard psychic income before,
• 13:21
  but that's a great way to think about
• 13:23
  it. All of those intangible things that
• 13:26
  you get by doing what you're doing to
• 13:28
  get a paycheck. If those things can be
• 13:31
  very gratifying and building those
• 13:32
  relationships with psychic kingdoms is a
• 13:34
  great way to think about it. All right,
• 13:36
  so South Bend, Indiana, at First Source
• 13:38
  Bank. For those of us that don't know,
• 13:40
  tell us more about the bank and tell us
• 13:42
  more about what you guys are doing
• 13:43
  there.
• 13:44
  The bank has a an incredible history and
• 13:46
  and I'm going to share a couple dates
• 13:48
  and if you think about what's happening
• 13:49
  in during those dates, it's amazing that
• 13:51
  a bank was even launched at this time.
• 13:53
  Uh First Source Bank was originally
• 13:54
  launched in 1863
• 13:57
  in the middle of a Civil War.
• 14:00
  The decision was made to launch a bank.
• 14:02
  And so that's a pretty fascinating
• 14:04
  thing.
• 14:05
  Fast forward to the Great Depression,
• 14:07
  worst economic time basically in the
• 14:09
  last 150 years of American history.
• 14:12
  And E.M. Morris
• 14:14
  uh makes a $600,000
• 14:16
  investment in 1931 into the bank to
• 14:19
  essentially recapitalize it as banks
• 14:21
  were failing. He put the money in. And
• 14:24
  today we're on the fourth generation of
• 14:26
  leadership.
• 14:27
  >> Yeah.
• 14:28
  >> At First Source in the year 2026. So the
• 14:31
  First Source history is
• 14:32
  pretty fascinating. World War, I'm
• 14:34
  sorry, Civil War, Depression, still you
• 14:37
  know, in the same family for leadership.
• 14:39
  >> Yeah, four gens is amazing by the way.
• 14:41
  The timeline's unbelievable. And when
• 14:43
  you told me that I remember saying that
• 14:44
  it was during the Civil War, like yeah,
• 14:46
  it seems like a good idea to start a
• 14:47
  bank.
• 14:48
  And uh but at the
• 14:50
  the end of the day, if you can go
• 14:51
  through that, if you can go through the
• 14:52
  Great Depression, you can make it
• 14:53
  through just about anything as a trusted
• 14:55
  partner. I mean, it's just awesome
• 14:57
  story.
• 14:57
  >> No, I I think that we talked about the
• 14:59
  word about volatility and uncertainty
• 15:01
  with clients.
• 15:03
  Those are two pretty volatile and
• 15:04
  uncertain times. So it's kind of in our
• 15:06
  DNA
• 15:07
  >> That's right.
• 15:07
  >> to work with our clients through just
• 15:09
  about any situation.
• 15:10
  >> That's right. That's right. All right,
• 15:11
  so
• 15:12
  >> So First Source, obviously what you're
• 15:14
  doing there today. Now that that's the
• 15:15
  bank and your your particular role,
• 15:18
  you're managing the the wealth side of
• 15:20
  the house. Is that right?
• 15:21
  >> Yeah,
• 15:22
  uh
• 15:23
  at the bank we have a wealth advisor
• 15:24
  services team.
• 15:26
  Uh the investment team which I lead as
• 15:28
  the chief investment officer is
• 15:29
  responsible managing most of that money,
• 15:31
  not all of it, but most of that money.
• 15:33
  And so day-to-day that includes doing
• 15:36
  research, due diligence,
• 15:38
  understanding markets, uh looking a lot
• 15:40
  of screens with a lot of green and red
• 15:42
  numbers depending how the day is going.
• 15:46
  Uh and then uh very fortunate that the
• 15:48
  bank lets me do two things. I get to
• 15:50
  manage money and lead a team that does
• 15:51
  that and then I get to take care of
• 15:53
  clients. I get I talked about that
• 15:54
  psychic thing.
• 15:55
  >> All right, right.
• 15:55
  >> Uh I get to spend a lot of time and my
• 15:57
  team spends a lot of time working with
• 15:59
  clients and so each day has a
• 16:01
  combination of those two and it's just
• 16:03
  uh it's a good way to do business.
• 16:05
  >> Absolutely. What a great cold call by
• 16:06
  the way 26 years ago to try try and find
• 16:09
  a new role. It seems like it's really
• 16:11
  landed perfectly for you. So, now you've
• 16:13
  had some history right in the banking
• 16:15
  industry and I'm curious you know, we're
• 16:16
  sitting here in Fishers, Indiana.
• 16:18
  Uh we're a technology company Braden
• 16:20
  Business Systems. One of the things that
• 16:21
  we ask our our leaders when we talk to
• 16:23
  them is talk to me a little about the
• 16:24
  evolution of technology. I'm curious
• 16:27
  how's it evolving in your space?
• 16:30
  >> Well, it's pretty fascinating for us cuz
• 16:31
  I I get to see it from two points of
• 16:33
  view. We are making investments on
• 16:34
  behalf of our clients
• 16:36
  in technology.
• 16:38
  >> Yep.
• 16:38
  >> And so every day my team of 11 is
• 16:40
  reading about what's going on in
• 16:42
  technology and they've been doing it for
• 16:43
  20 or 30 years. I was joking with
• 16:45
  colleagues the other day. I was showing
• 16:47
  them a piece of paper and it was a
• 16:49
  balance sheet that I had created in
• 16:50
  Lotus 1-2-3 and printed off on a dot
• 16:54
  matrix printer.
• 16:55
  And there's a couple people who don't
• 16:57
  know what either is. That's right. Yeah.
• 16:59
  So, we've been always involved in
• 17:00
  investing in that technology
• 17:03
  and today particularly with artificial
• 17:05
  intelligence and the advancements, it's
• 17:07
  pretty fascinating what's going on and
• 17:09
  so
• 17:10
  when we are thinking about technology
• 17:12
  today and how it's advanced, we really
• 17:14
  break it out into three things for our
• 17:16
  team. One is how can we personally get
• 17:19
  better at what we're doing from a
• 17:20
  productive
• 17:22
  point of view?
• 17:23
  What can I do to do my job better and
• 17:25
  faster so that I can either do research
• 17:28
  or I can take care of clients. The two
• 17:29
  things that are the most important out
• 17:31
  of that decision. So we do that.
• 17:33
  The second piece really comes down to
• 17:36
  how do we make better investment
• 17:38
  decisions? What can we do to help us do
• 17:40
  that? And one of the real interesting
• 17:42
  things going on now, particularly with
• 17:45
  AI, is that a vast amount of data and
• 17:49
  formatted in a way to help you make
• 17:51
  decisions.
• 17:52
  >> That's right.
• 17:53
  >> You obviously have the challenges all
• 17:55
  the data that came in truly accurate
• 17:57
  because AI while really good sometimes
• 18:00
  makes mistakes. That's why you have to
• 18:02
  go through and review that.
• 18:04
  What we have found though, particularly
• 18:06
  in our due diligence we're thinking
• 18:08
  about what investment to make,
• 18:10
  if we're working with another manager,
• 18:13
  we can basically understand what they
• 18:14
  are doing and have been doing for the
• 18:16
  last decade
• 18:18
  >> That's right.
• 18:18
  >> at every level. And that's an advantage
• 18:20
  that something we did not have 10 years
• 18:22
  ago and today we do. And then third is
• 18:27
  with all of that technology we have, how
• 18:28
  do we create an exceptional or even a
• 18:31
  hyper-personalized experience for that
• 18:33
  client?
• 18:34
  >> Yep.
• 18:34
  >> And it can be as something as simple as
• 18:37
  I can load up the report and we have a
• 18:39
  format that creates this written
• 18:40
  executive summary because some people
• 18:42
  want to listen to it, some people want
• 18:43
  to read it and some people want to see
• 18:45
  it.
• 18:45
  >> That's right.
• 18:46
  >> And so, you know, that would be an
• 18:48
  example of a very simple way to enhance
• 18:50
  the client experience, but really those
• 18:52
  three focuses are things that we are
• 18:55
  looking at and trying to drive forward.
• 18:56
  And with all that research we're already
• 18:58
  doing, my team tends to know what's
• 19:00
  going on in the markets. So I think we
• 19:02
  push the banks sometimes like, all
• 19:03
  right, hey, we have all these cool
• 19:04
  things to do. Yeah, what can we use?
• 19:07
  >> You know, it's it's terrific to hear you
• 19:08
  talk about tech. And you know, at the
• 19:10
  They're core when you think about it, at
• 19:11
  the end of the day, you guys are in the
• 19:12
  people business.
• 19:13
  >> Correct.
• 19:14
  >> You work with people, you happen to be a
• 19:15
  financial institution. But providing
• 19:18
  them an experience, doing that in a
• 19:20
  human way, getting some of those things
• 19:23
  done that would require me to be in
• 19:24
  front of a spreadsheet or to do some
• 19:26
  things over here. If I can get that done
• 19:27
  and I'm still in the loop, I'm there to
• 19:30
  make sure that the data is correct, all
• 19:32
  those types of things. But I'm not
• 19:33
  spending the 5 hours doing it. I'm
• 19:34
  spending the the 30 minutes doing that
• 19:36
  kind of stuff. I can be in front of
• 19:38
  clients and create a unique experience
• 19:40
  for those individuals. That's a great
• 19:42
  way to think about technology.
• 19:44
  >> Oh, it is. And And because we have that
• 19:46
  extra time, we can look at ways to
• 19:48
  enhance that client experience.
• 19:50
  Uh one of the things we just got
• 19:52
  approved a couple weeks ago at the bank
• 19:54
  is a software that analyzes tax returns
• 19:57
  in about 2 minutes.
• 19:58
  >> Yeah, that's amazing.
• 19:59
  >> And I can walk into a client and show
• 20:02
  them all the information on their taxes.
• 20:03
  Most CPAs
• 20:05
  >> Mhm.
• 20:05
  >> even have a little bit of a challenge
• 20:07
  doing that. But we now have a way, I can
• 20:09
  tell you where you are from a capital
• 20:10
  gains and income perspective, how it
• 20:13
  impacts your income if you're retired
• 20:15
  and don't have to pay extra for your
• 20:16
  Medicare, uh things like that. And so,
• 20:19
  that extra time they can be used to
• 20:21
  create a vision of a better way to serve
• 20:23
  clients. It's just compounds the
• 20:25
  benefits.
• 20:26
  >> It does, right? But at the end of the
• 20:27
  day, having the data, but then somebody
• 20:29
  has to understand and interpret it and
• 20:31
  then deliver that information to
• 20:32
  somebody in a way that they can
• 20:34
  understand it. Creating that ability to
• 20:37
  do so, speeding up the information, it's
• 20:39
  it's awesome here where you guys are
• 20:40
  thinking about technology.
• 20:42
  We'll shift gears completely. We'll get
• 20:44
  away from technology for a second. We'll
• 20:45
  talk about community.
• 20:46
  >> Okay.
• 20:47
  >> And you've talked about a couple of
• 20:48
  communities, obviously where you grew up
• 20:50
  in Minnesota and, you know, the the
• 20:52
  grocery business in different places.
• 20:54
  But the question we generally have is,
• 20:56
  what's community mean to you?
• 20:59
  >> Community is a
• 21:00
  is always been an important part of our
• 21:02
  lives and I'm going to share with a
• 21:04
  story. Uh Uh, my wife and I were at the
• 21:07
  altar.
• 21:08
  And uh, Pastor Steve was ready to give
• 21:10
  the homily at our wedding. And he goes,
• 21:12
  "But first, we need to have a
• 21:13
  congregational vote."
• 21:16
  And Karen and I look at the pastor and
• 21:18
  go, "What are you talking about? This is
• 21:19
  a wedding."
• 21:21
  And he goes, "On my left is Paul
• 21:22
  Gifford, my dad." And he goes, "He's
• 21:24
  president of church council." And then
• 21:27
  he looks over to the right and my
• 21:28
  mother-in-law to be in 20 minutes
• 21:31
  uh, is vice president. And we have 200
• 21:33
  members of the community in the
• 21:35
  congregation. He goes, "I thought we
• 21:37
  should call a vote." And so from that
• 21:39
  you can tell the community from both
• 21:41
  sides of our families
• 21:43
  have always been an an important part of
• 21:45
  our lives. And in fact, working at
• 21:47
  Bremer and working at First Source, you
• 21:50
  could not go into a nonprofit that
• 21:52
  somebody at the institution had already
• 21:54
  volunteered time for
• 21:55
  >> Mhm.
• 21:56
  >> or had the bank or in this case First
• 21:58
  Source Foundation had given money to.
• 22:00
  >> Yeah.
• 22:01
  >> Uh, we we truly believe in giving back
• 22:03
  and that's something that's been a
• 22:05
  blessing to me to be able to work at
• 22:07
  both organizations and and aligning with
• 22:08
  my own philosophy. I'm sure back to the
• 22:11
  community.
• 22:12
  So that's kind of cool.
• 22:14
  Personally, uh, really got a couple
• 22:16
  organizations. Uh, I serve on Beacon
• 22:18
  Health Systems Investment Committee. Big
• 22:20
  surprise, investment person working on
• 22:22
  the investment committee.
• 22:23
  >> Yeah.
• 22:24
  >> From that perspective, uh, I've always
• 22:26
  been involved with Christ the King
• 22:27
  Lutheran Church in South Bend. Served
• 22:29
  just about every role, been president of
• 22:31
  church council, followed in my dad's
• 22:33
  footsteps. From that perspective,
• 22:35
  recently co-chaired the strategic vision
• 22:37
  committee. Like to look forward and just
• 22:39
  chaired the capital campaign.
• 22:41
  Uh, the one that I get most excited
• 22:43
  about is really the South Bend Medical
• 22:45
  Foundation.
• 22:47
  Most of us through the years have
• 22:48
  probably once or twice donated to Red
• 22:50
  Cross, given blood in up in our area.
• 22:52
  South Bend Medical Foundation does
• 22:55
  a lot of that. And I The bank was very
• 22:57
  good. The bank was bringing a blood
• 22:58
  mobile to the downtown location where
• 23:00
  most of our employees are
• 23:02
  four, five times a year. So, I literally
• 23:04
  would able to walk out, donate, and go
• 23:06
  back to work.
• 23:07
  Uh about 10 years ago, one of the
• 23:09
  phlebotomist, Kim, uh goes, "You come
• 23:12
  here regularly. You donate.
• 23:15
  Why don't you think about donating
• 23:16
  platelets and plasma?"
• 23:18
  >> Mhm.
• 23:18
  >> I'm like, I really hadn't thought about
• 23:19
  that. I do my 6 minutes of donating,
• 23:21
  walk out, and good to go. Well,
• 23:24
  platelets and plasma is a much more
• 23:25
  intensive process. And I sit in a chair
• 23:27
  for about an 100 minutes, hour and 40
• 23:30
  minutes. And they basically take out
• 23:31
  platelets and plasma. That helps cancer
• 23:33
  victims. It helps burn victims.
• 23:35
  >> Mhm.
• 23:36
  >> Uh my dad was a burn victim at one point
• 23:38
  in his life, and both parents had
• 23:39
  cancer. And so,
• 23:41
  uh I do it 24 times a year cuz you can
• 23:43
  give every 2 weeks.
• 23:44
  >> No kidding.
• 23:45
  >> And uh once a month you can do uh
• 23:48
  plasma. And so, if I'm sitting there,
• 23:50
  they're taking platelets and plasma. And
• 23:52
  I just have found it's a great way to
• 23:54
  recognize my parents.
• 23:55
  >> Yeah.
• 23:55
  >> But more importantly, to help people who
• 23:58
  I will never meet.
• 23:59
  And probably needed at what's probably
• 24:02
  not a great part of their life.
• 24:04
  >> That's right.
• 24:05
  >> I
• 24:05
  I I I enjoy it. So, I'm a little weird
• 24:08
  when I s- you know, go sit for 100
• 24:09
  minutes, but it's doing good.
• 24:11
  >> Yeah, it is doing a lot of good, by the
• 24:12
  way. Paul, when I think about your
• 24:14
  story, growing up in Minnesota, and you
• 24:16
  know, your dad starting a grocery store
• 24:18
  when you're in 10th grade, and getting a
• 24:19
  chance to work in there and do all the
• 24:21
  jobs, and of course, him setting you up
• 24:23
  with your wife, which is amazing.
• 24:25
  And married now 42 years, by the way.
• 24:27
  Congrats on that. And then going through
• 24:29
  school, and having somebody, you know,
• 24:31
  invest in you so much they took you into
• 24:33
  a meeting, you know, obviously within an
• 24:34
  organization so you could see what it
• 24:36
  looked like to do their job. And that
• 24:38
  kind of starting your career path.
• 24:40
  Ultimately, ending up here in South Bend
• 24:42
  for the last 26 years.
• 24:44
  And to hear you talk about the bank,
• 24:46
  people have the thoughts about banks and
• 24:47
  what banks do.
• 24:49
  But the way you broke down technology
• 24:51
  and community, you're you're in the
• 24:53
  people business.
• 24:54
  >> That's correct.
• 24:55
  >> Helping those that are there with you,
• 24:56
  that are part of your team, that are
• 24:58
  part of the individuals that are working
• 24:59
  with the bank, but also from a community
• 25:01
  standpoint, helping those that you'll
• 25:02
  never meet through some of the things
• 25:03
  that you're doing in those
• 25:04
  organizations. It's a terrific story.
• 25:07
  The last question I have for you,
• 25:09
  easiest one of the day, if you're not
• 25:11
  working, what do you do for fun?
• 25:12
  >> That's the one I'm still trying to
• 25:14
  figure out.
• 25:16
  Got a few years hopefully before I
• 25:17
  retire to be to figure it out
• 25:18
  ultimately. Ultimately,
• 25:20
  started to play some pickleball. Isn't
• 25:21
  that the thing that everybody's
• 25:22
  Everybody's playing pickleball. So, from
• 25:24
  that perspective, so I play pickleball.
• 25:26
  I have to catch up with my wife who
• 25:27
  plays three or four times a week and I'm
• 25:29
  at one. Okay. From that perspective, we
• 25:31
  have started to do more travel as we are
• 25:33
  empty nesters. Which is truly enjoyable.
• 25:37
  And the rest I'm trying to figure out.
• 25:40
  >> Well, as you continue down that story,
• 25:41
  congrats to you and your wife as you
• 25:43
  continue forward. Congrats to the bank
• 25:45
  and the growth that you guys have had
• 25:46
  and continuing to help in the community
• 25:48
  and that growth for there. And Paul,
• 25:49
  thank you for being on the show and
• 25:50
  sharing your story.
• 25:51
  >> Well, I want to thank you. You know,
• 25:53
  when we got the invite, it's always nice
• 25:54
  to get the invite and that's special.
• 25:57
  So, I appreciate it.
• 25:58
  >> Awesome. Thank you.
• 26:00
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