Spotlight on Leadership: Doak Crabtree

Meet Doak Crabtree, member of the IBAT Leadership Board of Directors and chairman of the Leadership Communications Committee.  Doak is president of the Stratford Office of Happy State Bank.  Read on to learn more about Doak’s personal and professional life and his passion for community banking.

What music do you listen to on your way to work?  I listen to both Christian and Country, but neither are a high priority.  I don’t own an iPod, but will usually turn on the radio while driving.

What was your first car?  My first vehicle was a 1978 Chevrolet ½-ton pickup.  I was 16 years old and it had a 454 engine.  I needed new tires after about 10,000 miles.  A guy’s first vehicle is kind of sentimental and I wish I still owned it.

Tell us about your mentor.  My mentor was Quinton Thompson.  He was a retired FDIC chairman that taught money and banking classes at SMU.  He could sure tell some great stories about bankers and bank exams.  Several of my classmates are still in banking because of his love for the industry.  Once I got back to the Panhandle, there were several people I looked up to.  Many are no longer in banking but sure made a positive impression on me — Kenneth Irwin, Harold O’Quin, Jay Godwin, David Phillips and Glen Lemon.

How did you get into the community banking industry?  Since college I have always worked at a community bank and it still continues to be a passion.  It all started from the stories my grandfather, R.P. Crabtree, shared about the banker who got him through the Great Depression.  He farmed and ranched in Dallam County, Texas during the worst of times.  His community banker provided the capital to survive during the Depression and the Dust Bowl.  The economy improved and my family prospered in the decades that followed.  If not for that one banker’s commitment to his customer, it is easy to say that I would not be in banking today.

Outside of family and work, what is your passion?  Outside of family and work, I have many passions.  Currently I enjoy helping in my family’s ranching business and riding bicycles.  This July will be my third time to participate in a 500–mile ride across Iowa through some of the greatest towns in America.  All the towns welcome the riders with some of the greatest food in the world.  Sometimes it is referred to as a 500–mile long buffet line.  I have many other passions but don’t seem to have enough time to enjoy them all.  Things like hunting, arrowhead collecting, coin collecting, cruises, watching track meets, fishing, and cheering for the OU Sooners.

What are you most afraid of?  I do not have many fears.  In fact I feel so blessed and thank God daily that we live in such a great nation.  We have so many freedoms and I am thankful for the generations before me that have given so much.

What is your favorite junk food?  My favorite junk food is chocolate. Specifically that would be M&M’s (both plain and peanut).

What is one of the most important lessons you’ve learned as a member of the Leadership Division?  I have learned so much from Leadership.  I know we talk about one of the greatest perks of Leadership is the networking.  It is so true.  I have a contact list that spreads across Texas of people that I can call with just about any question.  However, Leadership is much much more than networking.  It is about friendships.  There is just a special bond among the Leadership Division, coming together for the good of Community Banking.  We develop a friendship among the board members and the IBAT staff that will last a life time.

What motivates you?  I am not sure what motivates me but most people say that I am very competitive.  Maybe that’s true but I also like to help people.  I guess some of it goes back to the example my family set before me, but in a Christian sense I think we are called to share our gifts with others.  I have always been interested in agriculture and working with numbers.  God has given me a job in the banking industry and I owe it to him to help as many people as I can.

If you could sit down one-on-one with your congressman, what is the one thing you’d tell him or her about community banking?  I have been fortunate to visit with our legislators in Austin and in Washington.  I consider both a highlight in my banking career.  I am very fortunate that all of the legislators in my area are like–minded and strongly support Community Banking.   I was so impressed to listen to Kay Bailey Hutchison share with our group the importance of Community Banking.  I want to thank Pat Hickman, HSB CEO, and Gary Wells, HSB President, for giving me the opportunity to serve on the IBAT Leadership Division Board.